I believe I've read that in this challenge the amplifiers would be manipulated so they all measure the same. If the different amplifiers then measure within certain tolerances, levels were matched precisely, etc. they should sound the same. In the real world nobody is going to go through that effort when changing amplifiers. They're going to hook the **** up, hopefully then adjust the gain in a sane manner, and play the system. Our aural memory is too short to accurately remember exactly how the system sounded, so of course one can hear differences with the other amplifier. What we hear is entirely in the mind, which is an unreliable thing.