Do I have to buy all new CDs?

There is no easy answer to your question. I, too, have been increasingly frustrated by the number of mediocre quality CD's on the market. The better your audio system, the greater the extent that you notice poor recordings. You don't indicate your tastes in music, but I have had good luck with these labels: ECM; Chesky; Ma (small label with some interesting, eclectic music); Dorian; Mapleshade, and their subsidiary, Wildchild; the JVC XRCD re-issues (mostly jazz from the 1950's and 60's); Verve; the Mosaic re-issues; RCA's "Living Stereo" re-issues; Mercury's "Living Presence" re-issues; Alligator (blues); Water Lily (very eclectic world music, so you may not care for it); Premonition (the label that issues Patricia Barber's recordings); Reference Recordings; and Telarc. Beyond these suggestions, it's mostly trial and error.

I do not have a high resolution resolution system but I do alternate IC's. I prefer the Harmonic Technolgy Truthlink IC's for poor recordings as they seem to smooth out the HF's. It takes less than a minute to switch as I leave them hanging from spare inputs on the back of my preamp and just switch them on the CD [player. Otherwise I use silver IC's. Though more costly I think that Sam has the real ticket here. The reviews of his Bel Canto DAC are very good indeed and all mention its smooth/liquid but detailed sound quality. I am game for the Bel Canto after I resolve a few basic system issues (speakers, amps and how to shield $500.00 wooden speaker stands from five evil cats, LOL).

Megasam's post is right on. My CD collection is probably 90% non-audiophile approved, but I've got a system capable of great "resolution". To some extent, I've actually "de-tuned" it to sound good with average rock/pop recordings. You can do this with with such things as tube pre-amps, or amps, which I have, power cords, ICs, and speaker cables. Your SL-3s can be very revealing even to the point excess brightness depending on the rest of your system and room acoustics. My system is now slightly to the warm side of neutral and I like it a lot-- I have somewhat warm, forgiving Vand. 3Asig. speakers. Don't let the tail wag the dog. Cheers. Craig.

wsmatau: how old are the 300 cd's you have? most cd's released in the past couple of years are a good deal better sounding than those from the beginnings of the medium. to be sure, there are wide variations in sound quality among discs but few are now being produced that are simply non-listenable. my cd collection numbers some 2000+. of these, there are maybe 100 that i listen to frequently. few of the remaining 1900 or so are painful to my ears; they're just not among my faves. i would guess that your system if thus far incomplete. once you find the right combo of cables/interconnects, etc., i bet you'll find you still want to listen to most of the 290 discs in your collection that you now beleive have been degraded by a "revealing" system. put another way, don't confuse distortion with resolution.

I have a different opinion about this. I beleive that if your system is well balanced, with matched components that are not in and of themselves harsh, bright or aggressive, most cds will sound good to very good. I am not speaking of only very expensive systems either. Also, a better system does not make poor cds sound worse. It will reveal whats there, but can still be very enjoyable. I can't comment on your components, but I suspect your system is not well matched, and also has other setup problems that are affecting the sound. I cannot emphasize how important system matching is, and I don't think many dealers, in their haste to make a sale, care or even KNOW what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, no one tells this to uninformed buyers until it is too late. I am speaking here from my own experience and frustration. I have spent a great deal of time and energy putting together my system, trying to get it right, while friends and family shook their heads and said "there he goes again". I think this is why many audiophyles become obsessed, while others think their systems sound great. You can put on reference cds to impress, but when you are there, by yourself, going through your collection, you know the truth. I have demoed high end components in my home that were just terrible together. I did this based on reviews and others advice. I don't doubt that many were good pieces. They just did not work together, in my room. I have heard so may people rip the Krell sound, and I am convinced it is because they have not heard it set up right. In the wrong system, it can chase you from the room. I am not speaking here about taste. Of course it is not for everyone. It is not even my preference. So anyway don't give up. And don't buy anything else unless you can hear it in your system, and spend time listening to those poorly recorded cds.