"...everyone needs to define that inherently indefinable neutrality for themselves. I think this is a big part of the art — and wonderful, awful struggle— of ultimately putting together a great-sounding system."
Great point. The "struggle" part comes in when people chase some sort of holy grail of sound by constantly "upgrading" to equipment that others report to deliver "neutral" sound, when instead, they should simply trust their own ears and stick with the gear that sounds the most "natural" (i.e., good) to them.