"Can't tell the difference?" is not true, once you're dealing with small enough parts.
Can I use a magnifier to solder 0.4mm pitch parts? Sure. Would I prefer a binocular microscope? 100%, every time. Both usable, not the same.
Yeah, but that's the qualifier - "small enough parts". Go small enough and even an expensive iron isn't going to help you.
Effectively impossible without a stereo microscope.
I'm not trying to proof you wrong but sometimes good enough will do. However, good tools are worth the money most of the time.
1: https://www.computerbase.de/forum/threads/t480s-backlight-si...
Edit: Apologies, in my head I was replying to a different thread. I would still say that if you're working at that scale you should deploy appropriate tools to make the job simple, fast and repeatable.
Doing work on extremely small parts without a stereo microscope offers extremely small returns once you've finished proving your point to nobody watching.