Speakers that reveal bad recordings? Not for me.

I should have included the old saying, " The wider you open the window the more dirt flies in." There is no way good equipment can improve the sound of a bad record. Good equipment reveals more of what is on the record. Garbage in, garbage out. I have the LPs of the original, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" which were very good. I bought it on CD. It was clanky, compressed, and generally bad. I never listened to it. It was remastered a few years ago and now is a close approximation of the LPs. If the thesis is that a good system makes everything sound better why do I hear a difference?

"A well designed loudspeaker will sound good even if musics poorly recorded."

Good is the enemy of great.

 
If a system does not reveal bad recordings for what they are, could there be less chance it will release the magic of really well made ones?

There is no right answer, but the one that works best for you. If we assume the recording is what it is, and what you hear from it is a product of your stereo, then do you get more satisfaction from adding distortion or removing it?

I'm still holding out for the view that truth and beauty don't have to be mutually exclusive. Alas, cost introduces compromise - at least for some of us.
 
Tim
 

How could one assume a speaker that hides bad recordings is not doing the same to good recordings?, you cant have it both ways.

I prefer systems that have some flexibility built in, so it is possible to listen to recordings which otherwise are unlistenable or tedious, and to compensate for the difference between your room and the recording venue. Euphonious speakers, however, will degrade the sound of recordings and performances which would otherwise be just right, with your equipment, in your room.