Bottom line is you'll be hard pressed to identify a cue's hit/feel by its joint type. ...
You read that part wrong, ~79% did identify a wood to wood joint and regardless if it was preference or not, identity was made. But that was not the joint
PIN. That wasn't a valid test as 16 different sticks were used, which invalidates all findings, but again you still have that curious 79% making the identity of the entire joint design.
Of all the common joint PINS, only the Uni-Loc Quick-Release stands apart as the actual pin part (pilot) does little to nothing for the binding. That said, it might be the most durable and if you determine that you want a lot of weight right there in the middle, it's a great choice (which renders the titanium version near useless).
Edit: Here's the quote (55/70 = .078571...)
"Of the 70 players, nearly 55 liked the hit of two cues with different
numbers:
When the two were exposed, they both were sneaky petes, wood to wood joints,"
Again though, this wasn't a valid test by any means.