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Is revealing always good?

I recently bought a very revealing and transparent CD player (and AVM player). Because I listen to redbook CD's and 705 of the CD's I listen to are jazz recordings from ca. 1955-1963 the recordings often have bad "digititus." The piano's ring, clarinet is harsh, transients are blurred --- just the nature of the recordings. With a revealing CD player, all this was palpably evident so much so that at least 1/2 those CD's were rendered unlistenable. Now, with a cheaper, more colored CD player (a new Creek) --- not nearly as revealing --- one that "rounds off" some of this digititus, these CD's are again listenable.

So... is revealing a particularly good thing for redbook CD playback? I think not. is "colored" always a bad thing? I'd say no. At least for CD playback. Thoughts?
robsker

Showing 2 responses by jmcgrogan2

jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Is revealing always a good thing? No.
Is "colored" always a bad thing? No.

There are no absolutes in this hobby, no right or wrong, only what is right or wrong for each individual listener. I have been down the road of ultra resolution, been there, done that. I have found that balance is the key, for me, and probably most others too.

Yes, we all want resolution, but we also have to be able to listen for hours at a time too. If you are running out of the room with your ears bleeding, tone it down a notch. Some gear accentuates the bass, some gear accentuates the high's, some gear is neutral. Make your system sound enjoyable to you. Don't believe all the crap that you read.

It sounds like it's time to dump that CDP for something musical.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I think the problem is people's idea of what the word "revealing" actually means. I know many folks who feel that revealing equipment/cables, are those that highlight the upper frequencies, and thereby seem to offer more resolution. This makes for entertaining HiFi, but not for natural music.

I prefer a more neutral sound, one that neither highlights the upper frequencies hoping to inspire a heightened sense of resolution, or one that highlights the lower frequencies hoping to inspire a heightened sense of musicality.

I like to call it naturally revealing. There is plenty of information there, but not artificially stimulated sound.
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