Do the poor ones really sound worse or just worse in comparison to how good the good stuff sounds?
AN improvement is an improvement. It can only make things better, though some way more than others perhaps. |
There are no recordings of the thousnds I own that do not sound their best on my main rig. Everything else is a compromise to some degree to various degrees on pretty much everything.
Let's not forget the individual is always a big factor in terms of expectations and how they respond to what they hear. that's probably more easily quantified than any other inherent technical deficiencies that exist in most cases.
Its the sure road to audio hell to not realize when a deficiency can be attributed mostly to a recording and try to make it into something it will never be via technology.
Once you learn to accept recordings of good music for what they are, rather than what you wish there were or expect them to be, it's mostly all good......to various degrees of course. |
Digital complicates things a lot in that there are unlimited ways any particular digital audio files may have been processed at various points in ways that have major effects on sound quality. The differences will no doubt be subtler
played on lesser equipment but more significant as the playback system gets better.
For example, there is much less difference between my best digital files and my worst(all lossless FLAC, a few converted from lossy compressed mp3 file download) played back on my Sangean WR-1 table radio, my least hifi playback device, though no slouch as table radios go, compared to played back at home via my main rig laying on teh big OHM F5 speakers. I have a half dozen or so other options in place for playing back those files concurrently. The others all fall in the middle somewhere in regards to overall sound quality. |
The true test of a good system is that you want to listen for hours on end and "recording quality" is not a deterrent but just part of the artistic presentation.
Also I don;t agree it can't be revealing and musical. It can. Just keep noise and distortion to a minimum. Then what is revealed is only what was intended. YMMV. |
" It would be kind of a foolish hobby to end up with an expensive system that makes the majority of your record collection sound bad."
I agree. If it can't get the most out of whatever you got, what's the point? Fortunately, it can. If it doesn't, then there is something else going on. The possibilities there are endless. Only a few ways to get things right, many ways to get things wrong. |
Also, one really needs to be a music lover. A music lover loves all kinds of music and will listen to almost anything at least once. That's me.
If you are not a music lover, there may still be good reasons to bother with any of this stuff, but not any that would pertain to me. |
Home audio is the only place where the amateurs believe they know what works better than the pros. Go figure. |
"I use bad recordings as a yeardstick to tell me how I am doing. IME, a system can 'editorialize' and can often react poorly to poor recordings, and also recordings with lots of energy."
I agree with this.
Like I said, keep noise and distortion, high order harmonic and otherwise, to a minimum, and it all works out. |
Skynrd recordings I am familiar with are pretty good.
VH in my collection often has highly compressed dynamics. I am often but not always disappointed in the recording quality. But metal recordings often are what they are. MEtallica tends to do a better job with their recordings in general.
Soundgarden is/was a grunge band and recordings mostly reflect that.
Of these three, overall I'd say VH recordings are the worst. Whatever is there still sounds best on my best system.
SOmetimes recordings are what they are and you just have to learn to recognize the limitations and live with them, if you like the music still enough to want to listen. Listening with a good set of headphones may work better in some cases and is a good way to easily familiarize with specific recordings and their good and not so good aspects.
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"Absolutely Whart, getting a very clear midrange that also is grain free, well, the only way is low distortion. "
"Poor" recordings are often have a lot more energy in the midrange compared to "higher quality" more extended ones. So getting a handle on noise and distortion there is paramount. All the best most extended and dynamic recordings should benefit as well. Otherwise, something is not right.
Some "Poor" recordings with limited frequency extension might properly be viewed as good litmus tests, ie most music occurs in the midrange so good performance there goes a long way. Only once that is right does anyone have any business going for top performance with the rest.
I wonder often if many "lesser" recordings are perceived that way mainly because they are not perceived as as flashy as the best and most extended recordings. After all if the recording has a lot of bling to start with, its not so hard to deliver at least some of that. When the recording is fundamentally sound within limits,often in terms of high and/or low frequency content, or perhaps also even in terms of mono versus stereo, there is less "bling" so revealing this kind of diamond in the rough is not so easy. ITs all about low noise and distortion, and the midrange is where things will make or break initially usually well before all the rest of teh harder stuff. If it ain't good there, chances are it is not so good with the rest either. |
Gl,
Can you provide one or two good examples of r&r tracks in you CD collection that you find unlistenable and why?
Just curious. A little digital remastering can go a long way, whether done well by a pro or at home. However, the details of how to correct best might vary largely track to track. |
Phd, one other point worth mentioning, nothing too far out there, is that most of the music you identified is meant to be played loud. When music is played loud, the first thing to be sure to have a handle on is amplifier clipping. Amps get stressed increasingly as the volume goes up, especially with many modern power and current hungry speaker designs. The effects start as subtle and become increasingly audible as things get louder. Its a good practice for rock and metal lovers I would say to do whatever is needed to have an insurance policy against clipping. Speaker minimum power ratings are not reliable for this. In general, with most full range speakers found only in more expensive systems, the more good quality watts and amps available the better. ITs an insurance policy against clipping at a minimum. Often people get speakers capable of a lot of output even at low frequencies but skimp on amplifying them optimally. ROck/metal music is often the kind that suffers the most in this case. Once its all cleaned up, at least then it is possible to experience what the recordings intended but not otherwise. |
