Real or Surreal. Do you throw accuracy out the window for "better" sound?

@snilf There is no corresponding "objective reality." That’s right. Everything that "is" must be somehow taken by us. No raw given, no way to check. Even the "real, objective" cello on the stage, playing live, is heard by me -- my sitting position, my ears, my distracted mind -- and, most important -- my interpretative taking of that acoustical experience.

If, in my home, I want to experience what I did in the concert hall -- ok, then I try to figure out how to do that. (And, as @mahgister points out: there are a hundred interpretive acts which are between me and that moment: engineers, mastering, etc.) But in this enterprise, let me not fall into the trap that I’m "really" getting back to something "more real." That’s folly and, worse, obfuscation. But it makes for some great chest-beating online.

Exactly... Thanks...

@snilf There is no corresponding "objective reality." That’s right. Everything that "is" must be somehow taken by us. No raw given, no way to check. Even the "real, objective" cello on the stage, playing live, is heard by me -- my sitting position, my ears, my distracted mind -- and, most important -- my interpretative taking of that acoustical experience.

If, in my home, I want to experience what I did in the concert hall -- ok, then I try to figure out how to do that. (And, as @mahgister points out: there are a hundred interpretive acts which are between me and that moment: engineers, mastering, etc.) But in this enterprise, let me not fall into the trap that I’m "really" getting back to something "more real." That’s folly and, worse, obfuscation. But it makes for some great chest-beating online.

I find that a speaker’s frequency response should measure flat on axis under anechoic conditions, and follow a downward tilted curve at the listening position something close to the Harman curve to sound best overall to me. That seems to be one measurable metric and established standard I can count on to work for me. Of course it’s not all that matters, but it is important and works for me every time. Indeed, some surreal and interesting effect can happen with boosted treble. I’ve been working on some new speakers recently and have been down that rabbit’s hole again, adjusting levels up and down by ear on the treble, mid, and bass to see what happens. The initial goal is to do tiny adjustments but then I sometimes go hog wild with it and hear some beguiling things. Like the OP said, the boosted treble and bass can be good at low volumes, acting as a loudness curve. Overall I just prefer to let the midrange become naturally more prominent as the volume goes down.

 I estimate myself to be in the more "real" than "surreal" camp. Some recordings sound surreal no matter what you do, and that’s fine. I don’t want to add my own particular flavor of surreal to every recording.

When I'm at a concert I don't hear precise locations of each instrument but can tell their decay easily. In a home system I'm trying to get all the small details as I can that to me makes listening more enjoyable. So I'd take hyper detail but not etched sounding over anything else. Each one of us has our own set of biases and that's why there are thousands of different types of speakers and tubed vs ss gear. We build our system to enjoy it ourselves not for others. 

I see a personal preference. What one likes is what one likes. It’s not going to be the same with every person.  
“Accuracy,” within the context of this, is a dubious definition to begin with.  
Accurate…how?  
Unless we were in the studio at the time something was played, we have no reference in determining how “accurately” our audio playback represents those performances. Even if we were in the studio at the time a performance took place, thusly providing such a reference point, after a few weeks (heck, depending on someone’s capacity for retention and auditory processing, maybe even after only a few hours) we have “forgotten” how it “really sounded” in the studio anyway.

I say, “have fun with your music, however that may be.”