Benchmark Media Systems. Right or wrong

In many instances a very neutral piece of equipment will expose deficiencies in a system. Someone with a system that is too "hot" will prefer a DAC that is rolled off.

A neutral system (flat frequency response curve) will sound too hot (sibilant) at higher volumes. This is why Loudness Compensation was so popular.

Most of the audible problems with stereos are issues of amplitude or frequency response. It only takes 0.5 dBFS at any given frequency between 100 Hz and 10 kHz to make an audible difference in sound quality. I think what we tend to do is compound errors to achieve a curve we like. You can accomplish the same thing with digital EQ and if you measure your system after you have achieved the sound you like you will be able to adjust your system to any component. This is called a target curve.   

or maybe many listeners just don’t like Benchmark gear...and yes, we do know how to listen and how to set up systems..

I had the LA4 preamp for a brief while. At first I liked the dynamics it produced, but it was fatiguing after a while. Many people call it transparent,  but it did have a sound of it's own. Like a sheen layered over the music. Hard to describe, but in the long run, not very pleasant.

Or could it be that the LA4 revealed a “sheen” inherent in either your source or amplifier? I suggest this possibility because I had that very experience with the LA4 until I upgraded my source (to the Electrocompaniet ECD-2).

or maybe many listeners just don’t like Benchmark gear...and yes, we do know how to listen and how to set up systems..

Possibly, but the impression I get is most audiophiles don’t even understand the principles of impedance matching, let alone good speaker placement or room treatments. 

Benchmark equipment is not sterile, it is neutral, very nicely made and fairly priced. After that you can take it anywhere. Want an analog glow? Add a turntable with a tube phono stage. The difference with good electronics pales in comparison to the difference in speakers.

Benchmark amps sound quite sterile. All my SS amps from different manufacturers are way juicier (expensive and cheaper ones). I actually tried out that sterile crap and sent it back in a hurry.

ASR Golfing panther equipment --> Benchmark + Revel (oof)... That one fanatic and his reviews have brought so much sterility into the lives of many.