Stereophile, Pass Integrated and personal taste

@OP New here and sometimes struggling to keep up but I think I get what you're getting at.  Example.  Jitter etc aside, CD source often considered cold, clinical and uninspiring.  Too perfect perhaps? Consider too that some added noise allows for our ears/brains to resolve better (just like certain algorithms and digital processes converge better) so maybe a similar relationship exists for amp likability.  An ultimately neutral, perfect amp may end up leaving many feeling less passionate than one with "color".  Perhaps one man's natural-sounding is another's imperfection.  Perfection may actually leave one less excited (amps).  But I get it since speakers and room nuances aren't going anywhere and total system matters.  No one ever "listens" to just an amp.