Long before ProTools was derided as 'necessary evil', was the SSL console. Their rise to de facto prominence has very little to do with their sound and very much more to do with routing and automation (and the
convenience of dynamics per channel). They presented a new level of ergonomics and control for mixing. But... many loathed their sound in a way that you might find very similar to some of what's been said about PT over the years. ...
The difference however, is thatat almost any form of distortion becomes "character" at some point, and once enough hits got mixed through SSLs, their veil of artifacts became something people associated with good music.. And now those artifacts alone are something that many people now think will stamp their music with some air of authenticity, or some aura of a "hit" ...
Not that there's anything wrong with this... but as a personal flavor issue, I'd still much rather hear the warmth and grit of a Trident, or the girth and smoothness of a Neve ... or the "nothing at all" of digital before that 'crunch and honk' that can build up on an SSL. .. and yet, they're still much easier to build complex/contemporary mix structures on...
I know... Sacrilege!!!
-dave