Thanks Phil - a good read and excellent explanation of the vague and subjective terms I used. Back in the day when I was a profession acoustician, trying solve noise problems in poorly converted apartments in Victorian properties, my thesis was on the comparison between subjective and objective effects from changing speaker stands. It will not be surprising to learn that a real time analysis of the sounds reveals the frequency improvements when the speaker stands are firm and rigid.
Perhaps one answer to question about the Naim Sound is here. Earlier in the year I asked about PRAT, (pace, rhythm and timing - PRAT ... what is it? - #2 by AlcideNikopol) here is one contributor’s response (thanks @jan-erik_Nordoen).
Martin Colloms piece about pace, rhythm and dynamics sums it up well (_link_ ).
“In high-end audio, we are often too busy examining the texture of the bark to see what kind of forest we are walking in.”