Should a good system sound bad with bad recording?

the best recording with the worst system will sound better than the worst recording with the best system.

if a system is forgiving, i.e., subtractively colored, aan excellent recording will still present the cues to indicate its recording quality.

what may be lost is some extension and clarity.

a stereo system is as strong as its weakest link. most stereo systems sound pretty good with good to very good recordings.

it is the better stereo system which can sound good with bad recordings.

the better the recordings, the better the system will sound. it all starts with the source.

however, some so called bad recordings are not that bad. it is the stereo system that is flawed.

even on a mediocre stereo system, one can recognize an excellent recording.

stereo systems are bad for a variety of reasons.

i have not experienced a problem with overly dynamic material played on bad stereo systems. i am referring to music only recordings, not movies.

since i generally listen at 75 to 80 db, i would not encounter the problem you mention. in addition, many recordings do not have much dynamic range, especially, non-complex material, such as small ensemble acoustic music.

your example would apply to some cases but there are many instances where dynamic range is not an issue, especially classical, non orchestra music.

i value my ears too much to listen beyond 85 db.

besides some small ensemble chamber music is not very loud.

a harpsichord does not play loud and baroque and renaissance music sounds better at lower sound pressure levels.

one of the best speakers of all time, the quad esl was not known for its dynamic range. i will take that speaker any day over any speaker made today.

what i am trying to say is it depends upon preference and your choice of music.

nobody has defined what a good system is.

if one assumes it means as accurate as one can afford, then such a system is at the mercy of the recording.

a bad recording can sound brutal and a great recording can be sublime. thus, one may suffer the extremes of bliss and misery.

for me, i don't want to suffer when listening to bad recordings. i believe in the law of the golden mean.

life is too short to have unpleasant experiences. if it is not hifi then so be it.

gentlemen, the choice is between production and reproduction. when it comes to sound quality, no stereo system is good or bad in an absolute sense.

it is only bad or good reative to a set of criteria established by anyone.

accuracy is just one criterion for evaluating stereo systems. it is not a necessary condition for a high quality stereo system, but is rather the conventional wisdom of most experts and many audiophiles. still there is no right and wrong with respect to aesthetic endavors. they don't follow the laws of logic. It's just a matter of pleasure or the lack of it. live and let live and let the individual decide for him or herself whether a stereo system should be a clear window of the recording, or an opportunity for creating a result which is consonant with personal taste.

hi hens:

given the fact the sound of a recording is unknowable and the sound of each component is unknowable, how can you tell that a component or stereo system is accurate ?

at best you may say that one stereo system is less accurate than another, since, perfection does not exist.

hens and zar:

you are both right. there still is an issue as to how one would describe a "bad" sounding stereo system.

i have yet to see in print a description of a good and bad quality stereo system, other than accurate is good and inaccurate is bad. is it possible that many of us what want a stereo system to sound as close as possible to the correct instrumental timbre--as we remember it, regardless of accuracy considerations ?

gentlemen:

what does the word "should" have to do with audio ? it's not law 9or ethics. its aesthetics, in which case subjectivity rules. a good system will sound like whatever its owners want it to sound like. there is no absolute good. it's all personal opinion.

it doesn't matter waht a stereo system sounds like as long as it pleases its owner. the words good and bad are irrelevant.