I think the OP's point is perfectly valid and in no way a reflection of some lack of quality within his system.
I have never bought into the idea that a really great system will make anything sound good. It really is preposterous. In fact, across my 3 or 4 different systems of various levels, poorly recorded stuff often sounds worse on the best of the systems.
Nor do I think there is any validity to the suggestion that there are not different levels of production quality. That is not even historically supportable. If nothing else dynamic range is a perfect example. Most of the time you can hear compressed DR easily and in many cases you can see the measured DR. And when the DR is narrow, nothing in a playback system can get back what isn't there. And on my primary system DR deficiencies are glaring.
So to the OP, yes, having set up my system(s) the way I want them I now spend time looking for the best recordings and sources. It is tricky business and requires a bit of research but the rewards are there. And those rewards, in my opinion, beat a constant cycle of equipment upgrades and dissatisfaction.
I also agree with the idea that there is no de facto conflict between appreciation of music in general and appreciation of well produced music. I enjoy music in my truck, on crappy ear buds, on mediocre headphones, on my low end system down at my cabin and on my high end systems at home. And a good song, at the right time and place can be enjoyable regardless of the system. But a well preformed, well recorded and well produced work on a good system is also a special joy.
I have never bought into the idea that a really great system will make anything sound good. It really is preposterous. In fact, across my 3 or 4 different systems of various levels, poorly recorded stuff often sounds worse on the best of the systems.
Nor do I think there is any validity to the suggestion that there are not different levels of production quality. That is not even historically supportable. If nothing else dynamic range is a perfect example. Most of the time you can hear compressed DR easily and in many cases you can see the measured DR. And when the DR is narrow, nothing in a playback system can get back what isn't there. And on my primary system DR deficiencies are glaring.
So to the OP, yes, having set up my system(s) the way I want them I now spend time looking for the best recordings and sources. It is tricky business and requires a bit of research but the rewards are there. And those rewards, in my opinion, beat a constant cycle of equipment upgrades and dissatisfaction.
I also agree with the idea that there is no de facto conflict between appreciation of music in general and appreciation of well produced music. I enjoy music in my truck, on crappy ear buds, on mediocre headphones, on my low end system down at my cabin and on my high end systems at home. And a good song, at the right time and place can be enjoyable regardless of the system. But a well preformed, well recorded and well produced work on a good system is also a special joy.