"Also, when recordings are engineered so poorly that they are not tolerable on a good sound system...." Funny, I listen to bootlegs recorded both in the audience, and from the board, as well as old mono records and even transfers from the acoustic era. I have around 3000 LPs and a few stacks of CDs. I can honestly say that I do not find even one less than tolerable sonically. Musically yes, sonically no. Perhaps my system is just crap, like my musical taste.