need advice for listening

[abell1234]

I have been playing music and recording for long enough to feel comfortable with my abilities. I moved from a 4 track to a roland vs 1880 and now I'm on a 002r. I have been trolling gearslutz for awhile now and i need some help. When I listen to shootouts of equipment (there was a recent one between a pacifica and a great river). I can hear a definite difference between things, but more often than not I don't hear one being better than another, just different. I wonder if I'm focusing on the wrong parts, for example in the aforementioned shootout the only thing I liked more than the other was the space between the notes. Blah blah blah. My real question is can someone shed some light on what to key in on when checking out gear. I would love advice that does not include words like warm and fat, I'm not trying to be an ass, but I want to know what to key in on not what the gear sounds like. I hope i made sense. flame me if you must