Why should we think of "what microphones heard " as a standard

No need for golden ears, just good enough ears.
He is right, I think, but this is not the only failing. Close to everything means far from reality. Can't they make better microphones and other elements in the recording chain ? What keeps them ?

Let's not slide into tape/vinyl debate. As for Pink Floyd, DSOTM and WUWH are not good recordings, to put it mildly, whatever the reasons. If the very best microphones were made decades ago, what have they been doing ever since ?

I didn’t say that microphones were the biggest problem., but that’s the beginning of the recording chain - microphones in the room.
Yeah, I know it about Pink Floyd. Who did those recordings ? They could’ve at least cleaned the record head and used decent cables.

Good posts, everyone.

And that's not even pro tape decks and no high end microphones, I suppose. It says a lot about how bad most commercial recordings are.

Yeah, microphones and speakers - the beginning and the end. As important as everything else in between is, I would get it right first.

Yeah, digital matters a lot - it should be eliminated once and for all, along with the "black boxes" it is in and those producers and engineers who run the show. There is no audiophile reason I am aware of to convert analog into digital at any stage. 'The world is analog stupid' ! At least to us, I would add.