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Born to Run: Why the Poor Sound Quality?

I have always been disappointed with the sound quality of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run. Even the CBS 1/2 Speed Master pressing is underwhelming. Is there a good explanation for this? As I recall, Jon Landau produced the album, and he is certainly no slouch, but the recording seems inferior.

It's really a shame that there doesn't seem to be a decent pressing of this classic album
jeffreybowman2k

Showing 2 responses by onhwy61

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,302 posts
 
It sounds exactly the way Springsteen, the producer (Landau) and the engineer (Iovine) wanted it to sound. It's not intended to be played back over audiophile type systems. They were going for a Phil Spectre type wall of sound without too much stereo effect. Play it back over an average car stereo to get a better understanding of what they were trying to do. Springsteen has a reputation for being a studio perfectionist, but that doesn't mean he has audiophile sound values.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,302 posts
 
There isn't a Springsteen recording that's listenable over anything but an in car CD player or FM.
Is this statement audiophile hyperbole or should we take it as plain English? If it's the latter, then something is wrong with your system, you or possibly both, and on paper your system looks awesome.
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