2. amps-preamps
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Isn't it really about quality of recording?

Are most of us just chasing our tails?

I mean you listen to a variety of recordings and some sound a lot better than others. Your system has limited impact on how good recordings can be. I am awestruck how some music sounds and clearly my system has nothing to do with it, it all occurred when the music was produced.

We talk about soundstage and imaging and I am not sure all the effort and money put toward a better system can really do that much for most of what we listen to because the quality is lesser than other recordings.

You can walk into a room and hear something that really sounds good and you say wow what an amazing System you have but no!!! It's the recording dummy not the system most of the time. Things don't sound so good it's probably the recording.

The dealers don't wanna talk about Recording quality no one seems to want to talk about it and why is this? Because there's no money to be made here that's why.

 

jumia
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,973 posts
 

A great system can reveal the soul of the performance if the music is good but it was recorded poorly.

ghdprentice
6,465 posts
 

@rumi

 

Thanks for your perspective on recordings. Valuable to hear.

 

Personally, for years I pursued the latter “good” system… scrape details with lots of slam and over the years switched to the kind that makes all recording sound better… although there were a few early rock that sound like tin… and just cannot be salvaged. But those are rare.

deludedaudiophile
493 posts
 

@rumi 

 

Thank you for your post!

rdcollns
10 posts
 

@rumi,  This is exactly why I draw a line regarding how much I'm willing to spend on my system.  I think it is worth purchasing equipment that is one or two levels higher than the typical studio.  No use forking out $50,000 for speakers to reproduce sound that was captured on a $100 mic, or $1,000 for cables to playback music that was recorded using basic patch cables.  Your speaker cables aren't likely to be the weak link in the process.

fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
938 posts
 

@rumi,  This is exactly why I draw a line regarding how much I'm willing to spend on my system.  I think it is worth purchasing equipment that is one or two levels higher than the typical studio.  No use forking out $50,000 for speakers to reproduce sound that was captured on a $100 mic, or $1,000 for cables to playback music that was recorded using basic patch cables.  Your speaker cables aren't likely to be the weak link in the process.

If it makes you happy to take this approach, then that is all that counts but when you go to a live show the musicians are using cheap cables and most often moderately priced mics and monitors and most venues have mediocre sound systems and yet magic can happen desptte all of that. Likewise in the studio. I have some vwry good recordings from indy bands recorded in a home studio. In fact, the days of elaborate studios among the likes of Abby Road or Muscle Shoals is long gone. But despite the prevalence of home studios (some of which ARE relatively elaborate) some very fine recordings miraculously get made. And an awful lot of crappy ones. 

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