That's a wonderfully rational take on the whole issue. NOBODY can say you didn't perceive a difference. I am, in fact, certain you did. Unfortunately, it has been amply demonstrated that our peceptions can be influenced by a variety of psychological and environmental factors, and thus cannot be considered reliable in an accurate, scientific sense.
I'm a little confused by the phrase "trust your ears." If that means "when one hears something one likes, then that's the choice to make," I'm in COMPLETE agreement. If it means "one's psychoacoustical mechanism is incapable of being deceived," I must HEARTILY disagree.
