Are most recordings so bad it's not worth spending large on speakers?

Overly compressed

This is the key to bad sound, as there are no quite gaps/passages anymore between the softest notes and the loudness notes, they are all just given to you at the same level, which sounds LOUD! even when turned down.
Your brain doesn’t get a chance to chill in-between the notes anymore.

Go to the dynamic range website, and see the older first recorded version are less compressed that the later remasters! of the same album.
Sade albums when looking at this remember green is good, the later stuff is compressed red, orange, or yellow
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Sade&album=Diamond+Life

Cheers George

There are many good points made in this thread. I've been listening to music for too many years to count on systems that range from a KLH model 11 portable to a Yamaha/Klipsch system. Mostly, I've listened to a system that consisted of fairly inexpensive but excellent speakers and electronics (McIntosh, Beogram, Advent) So as you can see, I am not a high-end listener.

That being said there are two distinct observations I can offer. First, room acoustics and speaker placement are probably the most important factors affecting the sound. More so than the speakers themselves. Second is the engineering of the recording. Maybe the order is incorrect. I have been struck with how wonderfully some early recordings can be and how horrible a few later recordings are. There is a mix in between. While it is possible to move speakers, it is impossible to improve on a poor recording.

I know this doesn't offer anything different, but I would note that it is often the simple factor that can make the most difference. My question is whether one is listening to music or to the equipment? I feel there is a bottom line under which poor equipment interferes with the music. moving above that line can be wonderful to a point. Past that point, it becomes diminishing returns and emotionally borders on obsession. In the immortal words of Justin Wilson "the wine, you like is the wine that's right.

It's worth getting every detail possible out of every recording.

How much it costs to do that is another story.

The bottom line is these days, it need not cost much. The right pair of headphones with a common smartphone and good streaming software can do it.

It’s also not expensive with speakers at least in smaller rooms. A pair of Vanatoo speakers get you most of the way there again even off a smartphone wireless connection, if you just use good quality streaming software.

This is not true as i have many great recordings such as Mercury,RCA,Decca(England),EMI(England) and British Columbia all classical all sound wonderful.

I have been struck with how wonderfully some early recordings can be and how horrible a few later recordings are.

It’s "Dynamic Range Compression" in the newer ones, read my last post as sample of the same album, new release vs original release.
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Sade&album=Diamond+Life

Cheers George