Should a reference speaker be neutral, or just great sounding?


I was thinking about something as I was typing about how I've observed a magazine behave, and it occurred to me that I have a personal bias not everyone may agree to.  Here's what I think:
"To call a speaker a reference product it should at the very least be objectively neutral."

However, as that magazine points out, many great speakers are idiosyncratic ideas about what music should sound like in the home, regardless of being tonally neutral.

Do you agree?  If a speaker is a "reference" product, do you expect it to be neutral, or do you think it has to perform exceptionally well, but not necessarily this way?
erik_squires
Post removed 
I can see we are getting off into discussions like "What do words mean anyway?"  so let me clarify my original intention.

If a vendor calls a particular speaker model "reference quality" does that bring out any specific expectations for you, or is this going to be variable based on who the vendor is?  Like, if you hear of a Focal and B&W "reference" speaker, do you expect them to be close to ideal, or close to the best each brand can deliver?


Best,
E
@erik_squires 

The last part of your sentence “close to the best of brand can deliver.” But, individually, everyone will have differing thoughts on this.