Extensive testing by the likes of Toole and Olive have shown that flat responses are preferred by listeners.
I do not play an instrument, but I do have access and attend regularly two highly regarded music centers. each of the venues have there own distinct sound, and I definitely prefer the less famous of the two. I also have a preferred seating position for the orchestral concerts I attend. Within the first seven rows of seating the music does not sum together nearly as well as the fifteenth row. If a piano concerto is being performed, the piano overwhelms the music in the closer seating positions.
This all brings to mind what sound I am trying to emulate at home in my listening enviroment. If I have my sound system measuring flat at the listening position it does not come close to matching what I hear at the music centers. It has no impact, the bass is thin and the highs are strident and very dominating.
A slight downhill slope totaling, perhaps 6 db sounds very close to what I hear and feel at concerts. This falls in line with what Sean Olive demonstrates in his study from 2009.