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.

Nelson was a great designer a long time ago. Now, not so much. Not surprising, since he left the refining fire that is competitive commercial products long ago.
Have you folks seen what kind of sources he uses and speakers he outputs to these days?

My criticism of Pass stuff is that NP is quite open to the idea of designing complete series of amps to have a certain "flavor" and then offering a range of flavors to the consumer. 
I don't recall if it was in that review or somewhere else but I recently read that NP now says that his .8 series of amps have a significant deficit in their circuit design resulting in inferior sound that he has now corrected with a new circuit design. How does that make the .8 owners out there feel?

mtdining, you are so far off the mark it’s not funny. :(

I am reviewing a Pass amp currently, and I was in conversation with Nelson a couple days ago about OB speakers. He is part of the industry that concern themselves with more esoteric sound in terms of speakers, not just what's popular. 

I am only going to say this at the moment; Imo Pass Labs is putting out a far superior sound now than in the recent past. Want to know more, wait for the review.  

BTW, you want to single out Pass for what kind of system is used? You would be shocked at the rigs used in the industry by many very well known companies. I have knowledge of companies that use what wouldn't even be considered high end audiophile gear in their design process. It's possible products you own have an insipid testing and development audio system.  So, I wouldn't get too fired up as though you know something important about Pass Labs. 

So I am curious if anyone has actually heard the Int 25, and how they felt it compared to other Pass amps, and other amps in general.

Is there something to match up between the distortion profile and listener impressions??
Best,
Erik