wht is the difference between good and bad sound ?

It's sort of like the difference between thick and thin... The trick is that one needs to decide where to draw the line.

There are very few sounds/components that are entirely good or entirely bad. Most include varying amounts of good and bad, so one needs to decide for him/herself which quality is domimant.

If one does not like the sound, it can still be good sound, and conversely, if one likes the sound, it can still be bad sound.

I hope that clears it up for you.

Mrtennis, if you play a poor recording on an excellent system and it sounds bad, what does that mean? If you are unfamiliar with the recording would you just assume that the excellent system is "bad sounding"?

Then if you played a really great recording on a poor system and it sounded "good," would that make the poor system a "good" system?

What about if you heard a great system in a room that had poor acoustics? Would it still be "good"?

Why don't you do the "wife test"? Play your system at a moderate listening level when your wife is in an adjacent room. If your wife asks you to please turn it down, it's a bad system. If she comes into the room and listens with you, it's a very good system. And if she starts asking for requests, while sitting next to you in the sweet spot, it's an excellent system! If you're not married, perhaps you could substitute your sister, mom, or a friend's wife...? If any of them tell you that the highs "hurt their ears," that's the kiss of death, and you can assume the system is "bad."

Hmmmm, well, I can see that nothing gets by you, Mrtennis.