Glad to see a recording engineer's point of view. Just goes to show how many steps in the recording chain to home system can get f*#k'd up. My rant is more about these golden ear audiophiles including reviewers who claim a component is neutral. When you see their mega expensive, apartment/home living room audio system with no room treatment, you know they're speaking out of their asses. IME, how you acoustically treat your room has more impact on sound than any speaker, amplifier, DAC, cables, etc. I don't strive for neutral anymore because I have no "true" reference (ie, original recording event). Now I strive for what sounds natural and good to me based on my live concert experiences and my playing the classical guitar for many years.
