Ok, but if
Ok, but if you go back to your original post, you're talking about this from the standpoint of a recording studio, and wondering why Neve and API don't sell audiophile listening gear so you can "listen to it the way it's intended."
Bringing mastering into the equation actually helps get my point across, though, because that's another step in the process that changes how something sounds and has its own unique objectives and challenges and goals. So, you have three seperate stages here - the actual recording and mixing process, the mastering process of getting the mixed recording ready for distribution and to ensure it'll translate as well as possible, and then the playback process. And they all have different challenges and different objectives.
I'm absolutely not trying to defend the audiophile market here, which IS a wee bit nuts, just saying that if you think you need a Neve circuit to play back an album cut on a Neve board, you're probably missing the point of why that Neve board was used in the studio in the first place.
EDIT - which, considering my post was pretty clear I was talking about a recording studio ("...in the studio...") I'm not sure where the confusion about mastering is coming from.