Do you trust your system?
I was constantly upgrading gear, demoing songs, reading reviews, trying to find out why I had the feeling that the song I was playing shouldn’t sound the way it does. Something off or lacking, I luckily found a set of equipment and a room setup that if a song is off, it’s likely recorded that way. I trust my system to do a decent job. I wonder do others get to a point where they are more critical of mastering techniques than something wrong with their equipment? Admittedly, it’s easier to say how a piece of gear or cable made some significant difference, but in what exactly since the music sources are so wildly manipulated by engineers?
The quality of the recording makes a huge difference. I recently attended a performance at Stanford University special jazz room and really enjoyed the quality of the sound. Returning home I played the same songs and it sounded pretty much the same. It's the recording, our expensive systems are really good.
Spend your time looking for great recordings. |
@steakster - A-ha! Clive indeed! First I was gonna say 'none of them' or something like that, but I changed it to 'with a very few exceptions' - also people like the late Ahmet Ertugan. A friend of mine used to be president of Capital Records for a few years (I first met him when he was an order taker for a record company), and he was also somebody who really cared about music; he'd even send out CD's of music that wasn't even on his label to people because he thought they should hear them. |
Of course I trust my system, but it’s only as good as the mastering or recording I feed it.
Speaking of recordings, I spent years chasing the dragon for decent sounding Richie Valens tracks. I tried several 1980’s CD releases and always came away feeling that there could have and should have been much more done in the mastering chain instead of leaving us this kind of bright lifeless sonic presentation. When I discovered the 2003 Audio Fidelity SACD Hybrid my prayers had been answered. Apparently Mr. Hoffman knew what it needed in the redbook layer. Finally decent sound! For kicks, knowing that there are no tools for doing anything in the DSD layer, I threw the SACD layer on. Well imagine how surprised I was when I realized all of those 1980’s CD’s were flat transfers and the real way the Valens recordings sound because they’re the same sound as the SACD layer on this AP hybrid. Recordings definitely matter. |
I will always enjoy reading about all the different versions of the same album mastered by different companies and individuals. I'll pick up the best version in the majority of the people's opinion and compare with what I already have and also with Qobuz and Tidal. Pretty cool when you start to hear the difference and confirm with what others are saying. If you can spot the differences and agree with the majority of folks I believe you and your system are in the ballpark. |
