As system improves, do bad recordings sound worse?


My early efforts to improve my system usually resulted in making bad recordings sound worse. But at some point in my upgrade history, bad recordings started to sound better - in fact, better than I ever thought possible.

Anybody have a similar experience? Anybody have a theory as to why?
bryoncunningham

Showing 2 responses by chazro

Sometimes the opposite!! I found over the yrs that as the quality of my rig improved, recordings that I used to enjoy started sounding worse. Makes sense as the better yr system gets at resolving details from the recording, the more revealing it is of poor recording quality.
"If it gets better at resolving details, should it not be more pleasing?" Yes, IF the recording is a good one, and I don't mean 'audiophile' good. I don't know how old you are, but when I was younger AM radio used to be a main source of music. Much of the music that I absolutely loved (and love), when played through a decent rig, sounds like absolute ka-ka. Much of the music wasn't recorded with true audio fidelity in mind and a good system reflects this, do you know what I mean? While I totally understand what yr saying, if the unsaid part of yr post is that perhaps my equipment or set-up is the culprit, I can assure you it isn't. I've been at this for close to 3 decades and have gone from an all transistor to an all tube set-up. I believe the popular audiophile consensus is, that if anything, a tube based system can add a euphonic coloring to the music. Which would actually make the system a tad more forgiving of poorly recorded recordings. As far as my analog rig, I've owned an LP12/Lingo/Ittok/Ortofon/ARPH3 that has regularly been tuned up by pros for yrs. It ain't my gear bro'!!;)