True sound? There are so many different types of recording though. A typical classical recording is trying to supply the sound of a live orchestra, for instance. But a typical multitracied pop recording isn't doing that at all. All the soundstage illusion is constructed by the engineer; placing of instruments etc.
But if we accept that the master is the final output of an artist/engineer combined effort, then surely the flatter the response of the home reproduction equipment the better, if you don't want to stray far from that master. My old Quad 303 had a form of tone controls, but they weren't designed for the listener's taste but to adjust for the the listening room.
Howard, you say "everything gets better, technology triumphs" but I thoroughly disagree. The mp3s you mention followed directly from CD. In every way from cursory listening to detailed measurements, they are showably worse. Convenience won out, not audibility.
It's rather like the chap I was once with who was a posture expert. He said, remember that any chair you sit on in a public venue has been designed to fold and/or stack efficiently, not to hold you properly.
Nick
