Does it have to sound good for you to like it?

I think that it is a shame, in this day and age, to read that members of this forum have been cut off from some of our rich, recorded heritage because they have found the sound quality of those recordings to be obtrusive.

Fortunately, technology is moving us in the right direction. All of the Plangent Process corrected recordings that I have heard have been a revelation. IMHO, they absolutely make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I can only hope that the process gains more traction so that those concerned with sound quality can begin to enjoy more poorly recorded music.

This is not to imply that Plangent Process is a panacea for everything that can go wrong with a recording, but it goes a long way. And I can only imagine the results of future restoration software as the full weight of technology is brought to bare on the issue.

OP,

I know what you mean. I was just comparing several different recordings of Shostakovich’s 5th symphony. Poor quality recording gets dismissed immediately, there are quite a few of those. But I was in a real quandary between two, one more recent (Boston Symphony 2023 I believe) very well recorded one where i felt the conductor sped things up in places and lost the impact of the piece. So, I went back to my “go to”… 1980 Cleveland orchestra version… while clearly less resolution, the performance was worth it for me.

But in general, I’m not interested in poor recordings 

Bob Dylan at Royal Albert Hall. Probably considered a poor recording. I love that album so count me in on a person that will listen to poor recordings!

Classical is unique in that it's the same music played over and over by different ensembles.  You should not have to put up with bad recordings because there is always a better one available.  Fortunately, the recording technology seems to have peaked at the same time as the great conductors and orchestras.

On the other hand:

Jazz: well, Charlie Parker is exhibit A.

Pop: Motown is exhibit B.

Both examples border on the criminal.  Sometimes it seems as if the less the talent,  the more resources are committed to the recordings process.

Cheers

There are two quite clearly divided camps here.

Besides, that's when true audiophile rig shows real class - when it achieves an impossible task of making poor recordings sound tolerable.