Using very bright and very dull CD's to test the extremes.

Rumours rumor. The story is that when Nautilus was remastering for their half-speed release, there was "damage" to the master tape (not caused by Nautilus) and the release was quite delayed because the master tape had to be digitized and "repaired digitally." So, who knows what the actual source was for subsequent CD masterings? It seems that a good early original vinyl pressing should be the closest to what was intended if you care to compare. Somewhat OT, but ... :)

I can't make any sense out of buying or tweaking a system by using poor source material. In fact, how can that not lead to big, big mistakes? Especially with speakers! IMHO, a system should be able to reproduce as accurately as possible what is on the source. (Is that not a no-brainer?) It would seem to be more logical to have additional sources, (software when available, or hardware when necessary,) to choose alternative distortions of the presentation to make it more listenable. Maybe digital equilization will be made more affordable soon that might allow favorable tweaking of the sound for those unpleasant productions. Charlie

I'm generally in agreement with Charlie, but if you're looking for a bright recording check out Gaucho by Steely Dan, especially the title track--absolutely painful.

Tim