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What songs/albums/artists actually sound worse when played through audiophile systems?

As much as audiophile equipment has elevated my enjoyment of music on many levels, there is some great music that just sounds worse than it used to when I had a cheapo system.  My number one example is the artist Ariel Pink (and the Haunted Graffiti).  His album Before Today is one of my all-time favorites, but played on my SET amp w/ Chord DAC and Klipsch Forte IIIs, it just sounds harsh/bad.  I know that my system is very revealing, and I love that about it, but damn, I may have to get a crappier secondary system to enjoy some great low-fi music again.

What songs/albums/artists are painful to listen to through your audiophile system?
redwoodaudio
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
The Stones, Iggy Pop, The Ramones..Janis Joplin they all sound  bad... sorry... The Stones, by design for sure.. The rest, just crappy recordings, mixing, mastering... you know all that jazz.. Just BAD... Even DEVO took better care, with the end product...;-)

Regards
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
Oh, "Whip it good"

Regards
redwoodaudio OP
413 posts
 
Yeah, I just can't bring myself to play Janis Joplin either.  Love Mark Mothersbaugh and Devo!
bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,593 posts
 
First that come to mind, unfortunately, are my early Charlie Parker and Miles albums, specifically the stereo releases. I think some of these older recordings may be better in mono.
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