What to do with bad recorded CDs

Can you tell us some examples of CDs you have listened to that do not sound good that we might be familiar with?

I have some CDs that sound better than others, but very few that sound bad (<10%).

I strongly believe that the % of CDs that sound "good" on a system is a useful measure of overall system quality. If a lot of CDs do not sound good on a system,that is an indicator that a change needs to be made. The change, if done right, does not have to even be very expensive, I have found.

Bad is a matter of opinion though. The only CDs I have that I would say sound bad are those that have extremely bad dynamics, excessively limited frequency range and significant background noise in the mix. Almost all CDs on my system nowadays are enjoyable within their inherent limits. Those limits are a result of lackluster production process in making the CDs. The same truth applies to vinyl records...some are good, some are poor, and some are great.

My recent satisfaction with CDs as a source overall I can attribute to several factors I've introduced into my system over time:

1) external (tube)DAC as an upgrade
2) Audio Research Tube pre-amp
3) careful matching of amp to speakers
4) careful choice of speakers to fit rooms
5) the MIT terminator interconnects seem to let the best attributes of the components connected by them shine through, ie the ICs are not a bottleneck
6) my music server has become my prime source of digital material over CD player and has enhanced my listening pleasure as much due to convenience and flexibility factors as due to the fact that it sounds fantastic as well, as does my Denon player/recorder through the same external tube DAC.

" I find some of the pop music recordings with syntheciser sound un-refined, as were the husky voices"

NEed to know what "un-refined" means to you?

Many pop synth recording suffer from compressed dynamics in teh recording process, which might be considered "un-refined", but other than that they should sound clear and undistorted at any reasonable volume you listen at.

Hak,

THis?

Listening on my computer using decent earbuds, it sounds OK, on par with most similar material I could compare with. Nothing great, nothing horrifically bad.

On a good system, really good recordings can make stuff like this difficult to listen to in comparison.

Myself, if the music is good, and I find it flat or less polished than most good recordings, I can still enjoy, as long as I find the listening to not be outright fatiguing.

ALso there is more that goes into system sound than just speaker and amp. The fine details can make or break things sometimes. There are many ways noise and distortion can be introduced into even the best systems in most environments, and with good gear and keen ears one can tell.

I added a Pangea AC14SE power cord for my DAC recently.

The biggest difference I seem to notice with this is that my worst loudness wars CDs that had some edge to them prior are no longer fatiguing to listen to. A good example is Accelerate by REM and Death Magnetic by Metallica.

This cord is designed for use in source and line level gear to reduce noise and distortion, and I think that is what I am hearing overall and is most noticeable with the edgiest CDs I own that now seem to be more pleasant.

SO yeah, if you still do not know what to do with your bad recordings, seriously, send them to me. I might be able to wean some enjoyment out of them. :^)

There is much good music recorded less than optimally. Sometimes poorly. If you love the music recording quality will not stop you from listening as long as things are going well. If not there are ways to make lesser recordings tolerable perhaps though always remember recordings are what they are each a unique sounding work of art with unique things to offer.   Much great music may never live up to audiophile standards but that will not stop a music lover from listening.  

Yes power conditioning  is often a ticket to better digital.  

Or or you can always just send your bad CDs to me.  😉