Audiophiles for popular music ?

It isn't that you haven't found more expensive gear that suits your music well, it's that you haven't found gear that suits your ears well enough IMO.

I listen to mostly classic rock, metal and alternative. I've heard my music sound great on very high priced systems, and it's sounded bad on other equally priced systems. Switching to music I didn't know sounded better, but put on music I'm familiar with in a different genre - ie jazz - and the same systems have the same result.

Just my experience. If you haven't found a 'better' system that sounds good with your music, you should either keep looking or keep what you've got IMO.

Well, I mostly listen to folk/alt-country/bluegrass/americana. I don't know if it's auidophile approved, but I know I have enjoyed it more and more as my gear has improved. some may say that my musical taste is one of the reasons why I don't find my Merlin VSMs bass-shy but whatever.

While gear matters in regard to the genre of music, you're a long long way from reaching that stage. It's only after you have received your "Doctorate of Audiophile" degree that you can begin to discuss what cartridge is best voiced for which genre of music.

What you have is fine.

What I'm saying is that it's not until you've gone off the deep end financially and otherwise can you begin to discuss such things in a way that it matters.

I don't think certain gear 'favors' one type of music over another. We 'hear' all this stuff, but to the gear it's all just electronic signals. Change the speaker / room relationship or the source if you don't like the sound. Gear is not alive!

I listen to mostly 70's rock and find my system enhances the music. I hear further into the music. The timbre is much better, where the instruments are and that they are in their own space. The music I like the most is more acoustic and it adapts its self better to high end systems.
The music from CSN&Y, Eagles, Little River Band, Simon & Garfunkel & Jim Croce to name a few. But also Led Zep, Black Sabbath & I must not forget Pink Floyd all sound great on a good system

I'm a cockroach with my musical tastes, all over the place and not always as picky as I could be. Most of what is played at my house is not audiophile quality by far. That being said everything I've done has made this "crap" more realistic even to the point that its sounds remastered. Now my goal has always been towards complete neutrality so sometimes this can be a dual edged sword, but almost all the time it all sounds better. The audiophile material I have sounds fantastic but I'm not always in the mood. My gear is Mcintosh electronics, B&W speakers with AQ cabling.