I was not enjoying the performance until I ......


Equalized it with the Schiit Loki unit.  Miraculously, when I boosted the bass which was lacking, the performance came to life.  It’s amazing how my long term  prejudice against using an equalizer caused me to reject so many recordings on the basis of sound deficiencies.  Now I can enjoy previously rejected wonderful performances.
The Loki is an amazing device.  The ingrained bias against tampering with the “purity” or sanctity of the original artifact is rendered ridiculous with it.  It’s of such high quality that it does  not interfere with the 
good qualities of the original disc.  By manipulating the frequencies slightly you can, to use a cliche, turn a sows ear into a silk purse.
128x128rvpiano
I agree. I grew up with tone control equipped electronics and think they've gotten a bum rap. It usually doesn't take much adjustment to make things sound "right". Instead of trying to make the controls better we threw the baby out with the bathwater.
Well, I'll throw a wet towel on this. And, since I know Richard personally, I say this as a friend.
If you need to add/subtract via a tone control, then I think your system isn't in sync.
And, I don't doubt that adding some tone control won't help certain recordings, but I find it a bit of a band-aid approach, as you will have to adjust the settings with each recording.
Bob