michaelgreenaudio,
"I have to ask, who are you hanging around?"
I spend most of my days with people in their twenties, late twenties. Kind of people whose primary and, according to them, sufficient source of music is an iPhone (or similar). When it comes to sound, they are far from those sparse few who asked you to tune their rooms. When it comes to the rest of your description of twenty-somethings, you are spot on.
I am fully aware that people have hobbies and that someone’s hobby may be changing equipment or room or something else. They are no worse than those who like simplicity of on/off button and not much else. Tuning and tweaking is great for whoever likes to do it, for money or for fun, but it does not make those who do not do it any less correct.
Yes, I took the cover of an amplifier off and no, it did nothing. Yes, it was "walking" and I apologize that I could not report same findings as you. It may be, at least in part, due to a lack of financial interest I have in listening to music.
EDIT: One of those twenty-somethings I interact with these days finished SUNY Oneonta and highly praised the sound in that building you were involved with. Even many years later, you do get praises. I thought you might find it rewarding.