Should a good system sound bad with bad recording?

is it possible that many of us ...want a stereo system to sound as close as possible to the correct instrumental timbre--as we remember it, regardless of accuracy considerations

Maybe, ultimately -- but from a hi-end consumer's point of view -- probably not.

It seems that many audiophiles choose one of two schools of sonic illusion (preferences changing with fashion trends of course)
The "Transparency" school: the illusion of the musical instruments being suspended in space before us, clearly delineated. Add a liberal measure of mid bass (often perceived and reported as "bass") and you;re there.

The "Neutral/ musical" school: "warmth" -- i.e. some prominence in the mid/lower mid range -- at the expense of ultimate clarity -- the latter seen as hearing every sound contained in the recording, however trivial or little. This is termed "neutral" because the prominence referred to above should not be due to non-linear distortion products...

IMO, YMMV, etc.

Nothing is perfect, not even your stereo. Just find what YOU like and all will be well. If you seek perfection, you will spend your days in frustration.

Arthur

I personally don't blame the quality of any cd. I do blame the quality of 'hi-fi systems' that can't make 'musical' sense of a cd regardless of price of ones' hi-fi, after all whats the point in spending bazillions on a system if It doesn't play all/any of the cd's and makes pleasing noises of what one puts in it? Would anyone buy a car that could only drive down an Interstate?

Zar-

As I listen virtually every genre of music, lots of it well produced, a fair percentage is of 'lesser' quality than for example most 'classical' cd's, should I buy a portable to play some of my cd's? and only play the best on my main system? When I audition hi-fi systems I only take 'lesser' engineered cd's, coz if it plays them well, It will surely sound good on any well produced cd. One of my particular fav cd's that pushes hi-fi systems to the limit is 'D'ya know what I mean' by Oasis.

I think a good analogy here would be a high-definition television. You feed it a low-res source like a vcr and you will regret it. Feed it a nice hi-def signal and it is outstanding.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that your individual goals should be considered. One has to understand, that with the ultimate resolution of playback equipment, lesser quality material will not be a pleasure to listen to. This is a price to pay, in most cases.

I try to strike a balance somewhere between hi-rez and musicality, although it is tough to achieve so I think my system leans more towards musicality now, although about 4-5 years ago, I couldn't listen to a less than perfect recording and about 90% of my music collection was just collecting dust. Now I am able to play almost any cd and still enjoy it. Not all of them for critical listening, but at least these discs don't drive me out of the room like they used to.

HELL YES! What. Are you new?