its your equipment..not the software...many new components are simply unforgiving of older(particularly rock)recordings..i would guess your loudspeakers are the cause.'a kind of magic' sounds better,because technology was better at the time of recording...those mfsl gold discs won't help...they are not from the original source material and were not mastered with the supervision of the artists,original engineers(or any member of the band).it sounds like your tastes in music call for a speaker system thats'vintage' friendly.
Queen quandry
Over the past couple of months I've turned over my entire system, one piece at a time. With each switch I'm liking my Queen CDs less and less. The problem seems to be in the discs themselves...poor recordings or poor transfers. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1991 re-release, Hollywood 61065-2) sounds really crappy on the first few tracks. The remixed versions of "I'm in Love With My Car" and "You're My Best Friend" are much better, but the rest of the disc is thin, and digital artifacts creep into the soundstream. A KIND OF MAGIC is a little better, but I'm still not happy with it. Any suggestions for better recordings out there? What about SACD -- is Queen in or out on that one? (No jokes, please.)
Jeff
Jeff