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Why aren't all CDs created equally?

The best part of my system upgrade, over this past year, is listening to music and hearing things (differently) for the very first time. You guys know the deal. I don't have to go there. What kills me, however, maybe more so now, then before, is that poor CDs are still poor--their inherent weaknesses even more highlighted. It's hard for me to get past the inadequacies of many CDs and just try to get into the music. I guess, the problem is, that after listening to, ie. Patricia Barber's CDs (which highlight what I've been trying to capture in my system) contrasted to a ho hum recording (which there are, frightfully, more) takes the wind out of my sails. I've paid a lot of money (for me that is) for those extended airy highs and, you know the rest, but they're just not there regardless of the system on many poorly recorded CDs. You can't listen to what's not there. The guys in the recording studios can't have tin ears, can they? Don't they hear what I hear? Perhaps the mass market really doesn't give a shit. I just don't get it. It's very frustrating. For older (jazz particulary) recordings and the like, I'm much more tolerant (though still frustrated by the poor sound), but new stuff? Anybody else relate? Can you suggest a good audio shrink to help me let go of this problem? Thanks in advance, guys...warren
P.S. And another corallary problem: when I get a shitty recording, (say, purchased from Tower Records) they don't let you return them anymore, due to the burning in thing. You used to be able, even after months, with a receipt, to return CDs. I get Beth Ortons new CD home, (Daybreaker-want to check her out) can't stomach the first four tracks. It's over. Her voice is so shrilly sounding and the music poorly recorded ( to my taste) I might as well chuck the Cd in the garbage. I'll give her a try again, but it's still very frustrating not being able to return it for an exchange. Anybody know where I buy CDs and return them, after being played, for credit toward other purchases? Sorry for all this rambling...
128x128warrenh
twl
3,251 posts
 
Warren, the more revealing your system becomes, the more it reveals the shortcomings in the software. This is one of those "double-edged swords" in that you can hear all of the good stuff in a great recording, but you also can hear all of the mediocrity in the others. The great sound greater and the bad sound worse.

This is true with any good revealing system, whether CD or vinyl is used as a format. A very good system will let you hear what is on the recording, and sometimes that isn't too pleasant.

A system that sounds the same with all CDs or records is at the lowest common denominator, and is not sounding really good with anything.
warrenh's avatar
warrenh OP
2,286 posts
 
Thanks Tom. One response: and I feel better, already. I guess I should have remembered that, but still...When the discs are right my system soars, but, then again--there's just a lot of inferior software out there and my system like all of ours, just amplifies those crappy recordings. It can be horrific to my tympanics. It truly is a double edge sword. It's funny, but some recordings sound better, or at least more tolerable, on friends' stuff, because of the inferior quality of their system. Not a diss, but the facts. I guess it's like having a Ferrari in traffic. Man, is that clutch hard to depress. Keep the posts coming; I'm not quite cured yet...
viggen
817 posts
 
About a few months ago, the same problem bothered me regarding inferior quality cds. It seems mass produced domestic US cds sounds worse than mass produced European and Asian cds. And, lets not even mention those BMG mail order cds.

I've purchased Meridian digital front end last year, and I really don't have the same problem anymore. Granted, Meridian aren't the most revealing cd front ends, but that might work in my favor. My previous front ends were CAL, and bad cds sounded very bad with that set up.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
First, read Twl's post again. Second, play the Beth Orton CD in your car, or on a boom box or compact system. I bet it sounds fine on a truly low resolution system. The current trend in mixing/mastering is to favor maximizing volume. Extremely aggresive techniques in limiting and frequency dependent compression are producing shrill sounding records. The engineers don't have tin ears, they actually know how bad the recordings sound, but commercial considerations are paramount as artist and record labels want that overhyped, squashed and loud radio sound.
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