Recording quality...

Echoing @wlutke I am increasingly finding that as I improve the resolving ability of my system (both analog and digital) I am able to hear more in every recording. There is more musical information available in the vast majority of recordings, of whatever vintage, than most of us are able to access. Whether it's the subtle timing cues of the interplay of different players, or the delicate decay of an instrument into the hall, this sort of information is there even on 80 year old mono recordings, or 20 year old DAT tapes.

I will agree with @shadorne that much of what passes for mass market popular music these days is produced with off the shelf software that sounds terrible -- Adele is a great case in point, what was a natural voice in 19 became electronically processed pablum by 25 -- but lets not blame the producers, they can make great stuff (contrast the terrible sound of 25 with the same producer's work with "The Bird and the Bee") but taste/marketing whatever drives them to make the in your face hot stuff we get.

It's interesting that when it comes to classical recordings it's an opposite story -- almost everything produced these days sounds good, whereas in the 70s and 80s the high point of multi-miked recordings, many were hit or miss

Not to worry though as we have 100 years of material to access and many labels both large and small are still doing great work - so to the OP I'd suggest take the recording you hate the most but performance you love and see how as you improve the resolving ability of your system you can hear more of what the artists intended

I agree most facets of technology that have advanced; however, gold remains gold. I would not want the constraint of only listening to the output of the last 5 years. I have an ultra refined Spectral/MIT/Goldmund system with exceptional AC power/ isolation; and, countless discs/cd's over 5 years old sound fabulous to me. Case in point; with my freshly brewed coffee,sitting on the cozy sheepskin throw in my favorite chair I'm presently enjoying a CD titled "Moments Musicaux"  Musical Moments of Autumn 1999 and Spring 2000 of the Zig Zag Territoires label from Paris(now of Outhere Music in Belgium). The care put into the recording quality shines through and provides as much enjoyment ,to me,as any good disc. I think of musical enjoyment of classical and jazz recordings more like quality classical automobiles or fine art. If you are transported in a 1980 Rolls Royce I don't think you would find any significant increase in comfort in newer cars.When we observe an 'old' masterwork we cannot but see the effects of age if we're up close;but, does this detract from the art? As they say today-- "just sayin". I think with that I'll put a touch of French Brandy when I'm nearly finished my coffee. "Cheers to the Music!" 

Echoing @wlutke I am increasingly finding that as I improve the resolving ability of my system (both analog and digital) I am able to hear more in every recording. There is more musical information available in the vast majority of recordings, of whatever vintage, than most of us are able to access. Whether it’s the subtle timing cues of the interplay of different players, or the delicate decay of an instrument into the hall, this sort of information is there even on 80 year old mono recordings, or 20 year old DAT tapes.

Agree. I think what bothers listeners who did not grow up listening to vinyl is the presence of tape hiss on recordings. In the digital age, many are searching for the blackest background at the expense of dynamics and nuance in the music.

@wlutke, thanks for the kind words!

@folkfreak, 

"There is more musical information available in the vast majority of recordings, of whatever vintage, than most of us are able to access."

It seems it may take each of us a certain amount of time on our journey to reach this realization (whether by gear, wiring, tweaking or whatever), but I think that is the very heart of it and that it is a notable milestone in the hobby.

"Shadowfax" on the Windham Hill Record label; this recording was made on a modified MCI JH 16 recorder at 30 inches per second, and mixed to a Studer Mark III half-inch two track recorder, using no noise reduction, limiting or compression.


      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sauQ6TsdT_c


Studer MarkIII half inch two track;


     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1k1SZ2R6ME
Enjoy the music.