What would perfect audio reproduction even look like? A system with no coloration, no editorial choices, no point of view?

Would you want to listen to it?

Every transducer adds its signature. Every room has its character. Every recording was made somewhere different with different choices. The chain from studio to listening chair is long, and something changes at every link.

This isn't a counsel of despair. It's a reason to stop chasing perfection and start chasing something more useful: conviction.

The systems that have moved people most in my experience weren't the ones with the fewest measured flaws. They were built around a clear point of view—a designer who decided what mattered and pursued it without apology.

Perfect is a specification. Convincing is an experience.

The goal has never been to reproduce sound flawlessly. The goal is to reproduce a performance convincingly enough that the listener forgets to be skeptical.

That's a very different target.