Interesting story, somewhat related.
I met my new boss for the first time last week. I knew he was an electrical engineer but more interestingly enough, I discovered he used to work for an electronics company and a good part of his job was working in a small team breaking down amps, receivers and other items to determine why they sounded a certain way. He described a large room with a wall of various speakers and gear where they would sound test different components.

He definitely falls in the camp that amps and receivers from different manufacturers will have a different sound due to the components used, even modern digital receivers.

Not promoting the concept either way, I just thought it was great that we had a common interest to discuss over coffee other than work. 1st meetings with a new boss can be less than fun in many cases.

With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.