IF you were to take a LEGACY Ford 302, Mopar 318, and Chev 302, and build 'em as close as you can to the same, IE cam, intake, headers, you would lose a lot of money betting on which was which
Maybe you'd lose a lot of money. Those engines STILL have a lot of differences. Bore, stroke, valve configuration and size, piston shape, port size and length. Maybe to the average person on the street they'd sound the same, but not to everyone.
And of course, all of that STILL assumes you've spent a lot of time and money trying to make those engines sound the same. Most people don't go through that much effort.
"Hemis sound different?" Not a chance. Take a legacy 426, built to the same general cam, carburetion as a 440, with about the same size headers, and nobody will ever know
What, at idle maybe? When that 426 hits its power band, it doesn't sound ANYTHING like a 440. Not when those heads start flowing.
I'd take that bet with a wedge 426, forget the 440. Just let it rip, wide open throttle. Even with all other things equal, the hemi sounds different at full song.
We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I know I can tell the difference. And not just because I think I can tell, but because I have.