@ghdprentice Well stated. I also am drawn into the emotion of the performance, not the system. Just as you articulated, with previous systems I did the opposite and became fatigued quickly. The attributes of a musical system to me are timbre, tonal balance, PRAT, micro/macro dynamics, and the ability to reproduce harmonic decay. I prefer an organic presentation with dense images.
@12many No system will correct poor recording engineering. I have found overly analytical systems will highlight poor engineering. You indicate you are evaluating a new amplifier that is augmenting bass on recordings engineered with powerful bass to a degree you find unpleasant. The increased bass performance of your new amp may be overloading your room rather than a specific fault of amp or a system mismatching issue. My recommendation, if you have not done this already, is first attempt to tweak speaker or room treatment positioning. That may balance bass response. If it does not work you have a decision to make. When evaluating bass performance, I recommend you focus more on timbre and tone, micro/macro dynamic performance, ability to drive PRAT, and ability to reproduce secondary harmonics and decay, not on power per se. If balancing works, determine bass performance using my recommendations to determine if your new amp is better. Make the final decision based on which amp lets the music touch your soul so you stop listening to your system.