Perception varies from one individual to another, as does taste. While there are some truths, it's hard to find the line between truth and subjective perception. 
The idea of a standard pitch is a modern one, which really doesn't fit with the whole esthetic of early music. Adherence to a given pitch before, say, 1750, would most likely be something associated with pipe organs, whose pitch probably varied some with the seasons, and non-adjustable wind instruments in a given location. In some places, at some times, there probably were tuning aids that may have encouraged a standard pitch. But it's also true that keyboard instruments project quite different timbres and sound qualities at different pitches. I have an early 19th century piano that sounds very different at 425 versus 435, which is the range it seems to fluctuate within as the seasons change. My perception is that it's better at 425. I doubt I could hear the difference in timbral qualities between 430 and 429, but maybe someone could. Or maybe there are other variables that trick someone into thinking they perceive a difference. I have a harpsichord that sounds much better at 410 than 415, I think, but I'm not entirely certain what I'm perceiving.  Other instruments seem to just sound best at 415, for reasons perhaps the builder would understand. 
If I can hear a significant difference in 5 hertz, it's entirely possible someone else can hear a significant difference in 1 hertz or maybe even less. Such is the nature of human perception; our brains are all different.
So we should find the pitch that our instruments sound best, to each of us, and when we have to accommodate to a modern standard for practical reasons, do so. 
David

> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2016 20:49:41 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Human ear
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> DP:
> 
> >>The fatal flaw in the argument above (which I seriously doubt has ever entered a school text book) is that the unit of a second is not fundamental: it is defined  "conveniently" by reference to other physical phenomena, and the ear does not depend upon this definition.
> 
> David, you beat me to the punchline.  Pitch is perceived on a continuum.  While it is true that there are differences so small we cannot perceive them, the spectrum is still continuous.  It doesn't work like auto-tune.
> 
> dk
> 
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