The Absolute Sound vs Pleasing Sound

Frog and I are on the same page.
Biggest problem that I see is speakers. Do you want them to be 'neutral' transducers as much as possible or you also consider them 'instruments' as well ? Well, I would probably want to have two pairs of very different speakers.

With all due respect to some of our venerable members whose advices and comments I usually enjoy, music is an art but music reproduction is all science and engineering.  Hi-Fi is about high fidelity.  That doesn't mean we are not supposed to adjust the sound of our systems to our tastes, moods and budgets.  However, when I buy a Kind Of Blue album, I expect to hear what Miles Davis intended for me to hear, not what the recording engineer thinks it should sound like.  There is no room here for compromise.  Music reproduction should not be like a painting, it should be like a photograph.  The higher the resolution, the better the lenses, the better the result.  We are allowed to pick the filters to our liking but not to change the composition.  We do have a lot of liberty as to what filters we like but we should thrive to stay close to the original.

"...I expect to hear what Miles Davis intended for me to hear, not what the recording engineer thinks it should sound like."

There is a chance that Miles Davis was involved in that process to some extent. There are many pictures of musicians sitting next to engineers in front of the console.

@glupson
This is absolutely correct. More and more artists are getting involved in that process to ensure that their message is getting out as envisioned. Thanks for pointing that out.