Unfortunately in an era where many of us who have these interests may not have the inclination/time or opportunity to work with certain kit in a major commercial studio, the learning experience ends up being at our own cost.

There is hope, and light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually we learn what works and what to avoid, but there's no running away from the investment in our own time, some money, and lots of listening.

The only thing I'll add is I've found that:

1. Lots of listening to a huge variety of good and poorly produced music, from a huge variety of producers/mixers/genres/cultures/times in the history of the recorded audio art form, poor quality streaming from sites + good quality CD's + High Definition 24 bit high sample rate audio.

2. at sensible healthy volumes,

3. proper positioning

4. in a very quiet environment,

5. and getting good sleep, with a healthy lifestyle

6. With lots of ear rest - periods where we listen to no amplified audio.

in my opinion trains, our ears to hear so much better - kind of like muscles that develop strength and effectiveness through regular and intensive use.

It gives us a strong foundation to know exactly how to transform our audio into what we want it to sound like. Like art - there are no rights and wrongs, only preferences, and like great art - new preferences are added to the palette each day, without taking any value away from previously established preferences.

Guess that's the value of the NS10, the newer, better shiny toys, do not eliminate its value, even though I may not have the inclination or budget to acquire one.