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Using Bad Recording to Evaluate a System

Once I went to a dealer to audition a speaker, brought a few CD's. One of them was a CD of a group I like but has rather low quality recording.
Well, I put that CD in and cued up a track, and when the music ended the dealer asked why I was using such a horrible sounding recording to audition. (I think he looked kinda slightly pissed. Maybe because the music sounded shrill and irritating the whole time???)
Yeah, why?
Here's what I think: an audio system should make listening the music a pleasant experience. The better your system can reproduce, the more enjoyment you get regardless of recording quality. Saying that 'my system is so good I can only play my audiophile discs' is basically saying something is wrong with my system. Yes, nowadays I tend to play my 'audiophile' CDs much more than regular ones, but that's because of the music AND the excellent recording quality, but when I play my regular or lower recording quality CD's, I find that, although the shortcomings are more obvious, my system can reproduce the music as an enjoyable presentation, and I enjoy it more than when I used to in prev. lower-res/quality/musicality systems.
yr44

Showing 2 responses by tvad

tvad
9,467 posts
 
Hey, if most of your recordings are mediocre to bad (i.e., the music you like is generally recorded that way), why not get a system that makes them sound all right? You save some money and you enjoy the music -- isn't that what it's all about? The downside is that your good recordings may not sound as good as they could; as long as you don't buy too many good recordings, you're in great shape.

That sounds like great advice to me. A highly resolving, big-bucks audio system is going to reveal all the flaws in your recordings. If you think they sound bad now, just wait until you hear how they sound after you've spent the equivalent of a Toyota Camry on a highly resolving audiophile system.

Nevertheless, the salesman was being elitist, and more than a little rude. Shop elsewhere. But, be honest with yourself and with your salesman about the music you listen to and about your goals for your system. You may be able to get a really satisfying system by spending less. The folks who frequent AudioCircle.com are experts at this.

tvad
9,467 posts
 
I think a properly developed system can be 'ruthlessly revealing' AND more musically satisfying for ALL recordings.
In my experience, the primary issue with bad recordings is brightness and edge in the upper mids and highs. Do we agree on this as a basic premise?

If so, then I would propose that any system which magically makes these recordings more musical does so by either attenuating the highs (which therefore reduces resolution and transparency), or does so by shifting the focus of the frequency balance to the lower mids and bass region (thereby reducing the neutrality of the reproduction). Either way, a compromise is required. One may prefer the sound of what the compromise creates, but in my view "ruthlessly revealing" and "more musical" (a description open to wide interpretation) almost never co-exist.

If you've got it, Centurymantra, then we should all come over to hear it so we can copy what you've done, because you appear to have discovered the Audiophile Holy Grail. :)

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