I do not think "most" audiophiles like distortion. Indeed, most audiophiles spend a lot of effort and money trying to reduce it, imo.
But there are those who enjoy euphonic distortion. For example, one thread here got in to quite a bust-up when a user insisted his LP dubs to R-2-R were more accurate than the original LPs. He just couldn’t accept that he preferred the tape dubs because of the addition of small amounts of euphonic distortion. (After all, a dub of an LP can’t contain information not on the original disc. It can only add distortion, however slight it may be.)
But there are those who enjoy euphonic distortion. For example, one thread here got in to quite a bust-up when a user insisted his LP dubs to R-2-R were more accurate than the original LPs. He just couldn’t accept that he preferred the tape dubs because of the addition of small amounts of euphonic distortion. (After all, a dub of an LP can’t contain information not on the original disc. It can only add distortion, however slight it may be.)