1. If you don't disturb the root mass what so ever when you transplant (not one piece of soil or root disturbed or broken), what would cause transplant shock? When I transplant the whole piece comes out of the old pot perfect, goes into the new one and is watered in with PH'd water to 6.6 with orca. Plants don't skip a beat, still have their leaves pointing to the lights and put growth on like normal. Double in size weekly.
2. To tell people that they don't have to worry about PH in soil is absurd. If some ones PH is coming out the tap at 9, theres no soil in the world that will buffer that. It will 100% affect the growth and possible out come of the plant. I like my PH to be 6.4-6.6, found this to be the optimal PH range for soil. When watering/ feeding and you use PH water 8.5-9, the soil is not going to magically lower the PH to the optimal range for nutrient uptake. Its a scientific fact that plants uptake nutrients best in the 6-7 ph range in soil. Every nutrient is used efficiently at slightly different PH but at the 6.4-6.6 range, your in a great range to get the most out of all of them. Plants will still grow if the PH is off, but not optimally and to their full potential.
3. What does your PH come out of the tap at? What is your PH after you mix your nutes? It might explain why you don't have to PH anything.