Quality system, make poor recordings sound better?

A good system should clearly highlight the differences in recording quality, but it shouldn't make a significant number of record sound so bad as not to be listenable. It would be kind of a foolish hobby to end up with an expensive system that makes the majority of your record collection sound bad.

Throughout the day your body is in a constant state of flux and it effects your ability to hear.

Radio Shack mixers in "good" studios? Please.

If you have a largish and diverse music collection it ultimately comes down to being a balancing act. You don't want soft and pleasant, but you also don't want electron microscope grade resolution. Over time you'll learn what works best for you.

To the extent that some of the problems with poorer recordings are frequency response based, a big plus for HD based digital playback is the availability of transparent, highly flexible and easy to use EQ solutions.

Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" and PJ Harvey's "4 Track Demos" are wonderful performances. Both were recorded with inexpensive mics using cassette recorders and they really don't sound very good. Rather than highlight the problems with these records I want a system that captures the energy and soulfulness of the performers.