To non-a’philes, it’s just ear-hurting distortion noise veiling the real music.
Are you a non-audiophile? I do not think so. Therefore, please do not make statements on behalf of non-audiophiles based on imagination.
My better half and my children are definitely not audiophiles, yet they can clearly perceive soundstage width, left-right placement, front-to-back distance, and even the perceived height of a singer. With these spatial cues, they can easily distinguish whether the images are clear or veiled. To them—that is, to non-audiophiles—these attributes are not distortions.
Spatial cue information can be recorded, mixed, and produced in a way that is sometimes even better than what one hears in person in a studio or live concert when proper close multi-miking equipment and techniques are used on individual instruments. Some people, including myself, actually enjoy this because it can restore spatial cue information that would otherwise be lost in a poor acoustic listening environment.
Imagine yourself sitting in two different concert halls listening to the same symphony orchestra. One hall has better acoustics than the other and therefore delivers a superior listening experience. Proper recording, mixing equipment, and techniques can minimize the negative effects of poor room acoustics and help restore optimal sound quality. Most award-winning engineering recordings are produced using multi-miking techniques.