[nickbatz]

Those two statements appear to contradict each other. Were there any
tests and, if so, what exactly did they prove?

There were no actual tests, no men in white coats. Not worth dwelling on; I have a silly sense of semi-demi-quasi-humor that amuses me and triggers a mild gag response in others.

I think you are answering your own question here, people who listen to
compressed multitrack recordings with artificial reverb don't notice any
of those things because that is what they are used to - it may even be
what they prefer. People adapt to all sorts of changes in the visual
and audible pathways and these distortion have become the norm for
people who listen to most of the recordings of the last 50 years.

That's certainly part of it - what people are used to.

Someone who listens to recordings doesn't even have to think about
whether they are realistic or not - but if you intercepted the sounds of
real everyday life entering their ears and imposed those artificialities
on them, the same person would notice immediately.

Exactly!