Can a great system make a mediocre recording sound good?
I spend a lot of time searching for well produced recordings as they (of course) sound so good on my system (Hegel 160 + Linn Majik 140 speakers). I can't tolerate poor sounding recordings - regardless of the quality of the performance itself. I was at a high end audio store yesterday and the sales person took the position that a really high-end system can make even mediocre recordings sound good. Agree?
The fact that good recording sound way better does not contradict the fact that the less wellrecording begins to be interesting by the way you detect new acoustical cues... it is no more only a mess...
No room system can make bad good...
But a good room /system will make bad interesting no more a mess...
I listened for example now with more pleasure to the very bad recording of Scriabin opus by Michael Ponti a musical marvel in horrible recorded way, but now it is more interesting even if it stay bad recording ...You guess more about the subtle touch and Italian virtuosity of the pianist... you read more between the acoustical cues and line so to speak...
Same phenomenon with the bad recorded Sofronitsky...
I've found the opposite - the better the system, the more it reveals how bad/mediocre the source was.... Good sounding sources sound even better, though....
Then you lack something in your acoustic tuning or system tuning...
A balanced room /system must be neutral in a way which will make it able to reveal for the better all there is to be revealed acoustically...
I perfectly distinguish between bad and good recording , but i enjoy listening them all... Sound is no more an obstacle anyway for the music...
100% yes. Recordings are works of art, some abstract, and a good hifi let’s you soak it all in.
But you have to learn to appreciate recordings as works of art with unique qualities for better or for worse, not that most are deficient in some way or not technically perfect.
I've found the opposite - the better the system, the more it reveals how bad/mediocre the source was.... Good sounding sources sound even better, though....
A well tune room with a relatively good system will not transform bad recording in good one ...
But ALL recordings will become interesting acoustically, because you will be able to appreciate all acoustical cues chosen by the recording engineer and now manifested ...Because your susyen/room is able to do it...
I listen to all my music now with pleasure, bad recording or better one...
I dont speak about artificial horrendous studio commercial trafficked sounds here... For listening to that you will need the worst system possible ...
I spoke about jazz, classical and other "naturally" recorded relatively non trafficked music styles...
It depends on what you consider a great system. A system that is euphonic makes poor recordings sound better but does not make good recordings sound as good as they can. You may tire of the euphonic distortion (usually boosted second and third harmonics which the ear finds pleasing) over time.
A system that is accurate and transparent while still being musical, not analytical, will let you hear how bad those bad recordings are but will let you hear just how good a good recording can sound. If you listen to a lot of bad recordings you may tire of the accuracy of this type of system.
I find plenty of good recordings in many different genres of music, so finding something to listen to that sounds good and is musically enjoyable is not a problem for me.
I've owned a CD for years that I could never find listenable on any of the systems I've owned in the nearly twenty years I've owned the disc, a Vanguard Classic recording of J.S. Bach's Brandenberg Concertos, by the English Chamber Orchestra, Johannes Somary conducing.
I was able to listen to both CD's in the set, and actually enjoy it.
I'm inclined to say the system can have quite an affect on how music sounds on it.
considering that the best music (from the one recorded on media) was already sung in the 20th century and hardly anyone can surpass it (now we have a monstrous degradation of performing skills) - I would not look for systems with a very high resolution ... CD is a good format.
With age, you will still come to headphones and YouTube - the content of the song will become the most important factor for you ...
Tune your system so it plays 90% of your recordings well. That is the key. If you have a highly critical system, you will only be able to listen to 1% of your collection. Tune your system to satisfy yourself with the music you play.
If by mediocrity you mean bad mastering, I beg to differ.
If it is really bad mastering then sure, I agree with you. But how do you know unless its heard and verified by a great system? But even then, I suspect it will still sound better than with a lesser system
Most poor recordings that used to sound quite musical to me no longer do, on any of 7 systems. My ears have evolved. Don’t know about you or your sales person.
it depends on why (we think) the recording is bad. a great system can unravel some recordings that a less capable system might interpret as hash or distortion.
a couple years ago, a friend of mine was listening with me, and i suggested we listen to this ’new’ artist, Billie Eilish, that i was really enjoying. my friend mentioned he liked the music but the recording was crap. so i played it.
my system was able to make sense to him of lots of big bass lines that his system could not. in his system it was just a wall of confusion. how can you judge the music, when it is demanding more of the system than the system can deliver?
that’s happened with some large scale classical too.
how able is any system to be able to handle all types of music? with effortless ease and complete authority? can the system stay natural, retain liquidity and continuousness? stay coherent and linear in the low frequencies?
this is why you need headroom in your power grid, your amplification, your resonance control, and your acoustics. it’s not easy to be able to honestly judge a recording.
A ’great system’ should not be additive, sound wise, to a recording. What it does do right is not become additive. A bright/harsh CD for instance, a very common thing, can sound better on a well executed system because with a poor system you are just adding more brightness/hash etc. FWIW, with some very careful planning you can get a ’great system’ going without spending ’great’ sums of money. FWIW.
the music is what counts, and IMHO any system should br geared towards getting the best out of every recording.. ie the system should be subservient, to the music and not merely a showpiece for demonstration records.
@artemus_5But who takes their mediocre music to a $100K system? Few, if any
If by mediocrity you mean bad mastering, I beg to differ.
Many people bring such music to their mega systems, probably most people. Because as you rightly imply, a better system gives you better sound, so you hear your favourite music as well as is possible under the circumstances. If the musicians have passed away or are not longer recording, that recording is all we have, and a good system makes that living better 😀
I have found that as your system gets better with better equipment, what you thought was mediocre gets better too.
The problem with the "garbage in = garbage out" argument is inaccurate . IE, What happens when you pour pure water into polluted water? The pure becomes polluted also. This is what happens with mediocre systems. how do you know that the mediocre music you hear is a product of a mediocre recording or mediocre system?
The only way to know is if you hear it in a great system. But who takes their mediocre music to a $100K system? Few, if any
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
