I read the Stereophile article mentioned above. It has some good points, but I think there are some problems with the viewpoints expressed.
Obviously, there are pop studio recordings that in no way represent a single performance in an acoustically accurate manner, whether due to recording engineering, overdubbing, etc.
But some recordings in various genres are essentially live recordings of everyone playing together at the same time, and these can be recorded in an "audiophile" manner which attempts to preserve (as much as possible) the timbral accuracy and ambience of the original performance. Or they can be recorded in a more doctored manner, e.g., by separately miking each instrument, adding artificial reverb, unrealistically panning instruments that distorts their spatial properties, etc.
Artists have the right to introduce deliberate deviations from accuracy for artistic purposes, and I can accept some of these (and engage in them myself in many of my own recordings). But it seems to me that many recording engineers doctor recordings to please the majority of consumers, not audiophiles. So they presume such things as having a reproduction system with limited frequency response and a narrow space between speakers (for which they exaggerate the panning of drum kits or a solo acoustic piano or guitar.) These are obvious deviations from accuracy (when the recording is played on a typical high-end system with wide-apart speakers) about which we audiophiles can justifiably complain. Perhaps some of these reflect the use of nearfield studio monitors that are spaced just a few feet apart.
Sometimes we can choose alternative recordings (especially of classical music) that contain fewer such deviations. I don't really care if performance mistakes are edited out or if microphones and their placement inevitably alter the perception of the performance. I care more about the other aesthetic compromises I mentioned.
To summarize, it's throwing out the baby with the bath water to conclude that accurate reproduction is somehow a false or unattainable goal with all recordings, just because it doesn't apply to some.
