The soul of the recordist needs to be in good condition as well. That includes a stress free studio one devoid of extreme cashflow wories or overwelming gear lust!
Simple, carefully picked recording gear and a great vibe are all you need to capture soul IMHO.
Once a recording is agreed to be embarked on, looking over your shoulder at a studio with better gear is not advantageous to you or your client.
Discussion on better gear becomes an instant dead issue once a project has begun because rarely will a session be halted and shifted to another studio purely because of better gear.
Examples of Soul Blindness
"It would be good to redo that 'properly' in a big studio"
"I would have got in all session musicians to do the bands parts"
"I would have retracked the song" (for a minor technical problem)
I had a friend who's mantra used to be "it would be good to do it 'properly' " (that always meant - redo stuff in a giant studio) He's kind of retired that expression now thank god.. It used to really chap my *ss. It was a prime example of Soul Blindness.