With a grain of salt there Greg!
I've been a proper slut in regards to monitoring (as in buying, selling, an testing every god damn offer I could get my hands on).
While I absolutely do agree with everything you said, ergo, hi-end active gear kicks butt... it was in the 50 buck region I found my god sent budget attenuator. The TC Pilot. I love that thing so much I rave about it every chance I get, zero affiliation!!
It is by far cleanest and most transparent thing I've heard. Does not suck up tone at all, no noise at all (as in time prone scratching, 3 yrs now running), transients are clean, etc...
It only does the one thing, but it does it well.
