Should a good system sound bad with bad recording?

gentlemen, the choice is between production and reproduction. when it comes to sound quality, no stereo system is good or bad in an absolute sense.

it is only bad or good reative to a set of criteria established by anyone.

accuracy is just one criterion for evaluating stereo systems. it is not a necessary condition for a high quality stereo system, but is rather the conventional wisdom of most experts and many audiophiles. still there is no right and wrong with respect to aesthetic endavors. they don't follow the laws of logic. It's just a matter of pleasure or the lack of it. live and let live and let the individual decide for him or herself whether a stereo system should be a clear window of the recording, or an opportunity for creating a result which is consonant with personal taste.

according to a new stereophile poll, most audiophiles spend less on prerecorded music than a kid earns on a paper route. this speaks volumes about how twisted our collective goals are when we are spending far more on cables and equipment.

I spent a very interesting morning at a local dealer. He knew I was just looking around while my girlfriend was up the street.
We ended up going through his whole product line. He kept referring to "audiophile' speakers as we listened to the small bookshelf speakers and floorstanders. Nothing could have been more obvious as we switched to the big floorstanding "audiophile" speakers. Instead of just hearing the music, they were so clear you could hear the degradation from burned CD's, etc. etc.
It's a dangerous line to cross.

I don't consider that the "system sounds bad" in the case of a bad recording. It sounds either accurate or not. The more accurate, the more obvious the recording quality flaws.

I agree that this is the "dangerous line to cross" - where you prefer to not listen to music you like because your system "takes no prisoners" with its accuracy. It is for this reason that certain systems or combinations of components are better suited to some types of music than others.

My solution - a second system which is listenable on lesser quality recordings - some tube warmth and less transparency but it serves the type of music I play on it and provides me enjoyment. For its purpose (and those are the critical words) this is a "good system" for me.

It does suck when you play a recording that really is poor and try to plead your case that your gear is only as good as the recording,and it always is a crappy recording your buddy wants to hear when you even get the least bit of interest from a non- Audiophile guy, and it just makes you look like a crazy fool.