Bad recordings and high end audio


Hello. Have decided that the kids are out of the house and I can dedicate some space and money to my long ignored hobby. What is different now is there are so few audio stores. I firmly believe in listening to products so thus I start this great new chapter of my life. The first 2 stores I went to the people were very patient with me and I listened to a ton of combinations. They asked me did I want to hear anything else and I said  yes, ummm,.. how about Led Zeppelin? I received the same response from both stores which was “all Led Zeppelin recordings are horrible” except for this one version of Led Zeppelin 2…blah blah. So I said what happens if I am at home and i have a desire to play Led Zeppelin or another perceived poor recording? They did not have an answer for me nor did they play Led Zeppelin lol . I ended up ordering a pair of Magnepan 3.7i’s from a different store. 13 weeks until I get them, ouch. I am going to guess that people do listen to poor recordings on great systems because you just want to hear a particular album, right? Or am I missing something? Just looking for a bit of insight. Yes, I know they want it to sound the best so I will buy it but is that the only motivation. Or maybe they hate Led Zeppelin, lol.
daydream816
I'm very much trying to take in all the info and enjoying every minute of this. It makes me even more excited. 
well i have a $13 k preamp and a $13 k dac……but….

maybe we should back up a bit…

what sources do you intend to use; Streamer, CD, Tuner, R2R, Server, DAC , Turntable, etc ? 
@asvjerry lol I know every word you said is true. I was nervous about posting  but am glad I did as I am finding so much info in the responses. I do first and foremost love music, i do however appreciate the sound that can be had with a nice system. I believe that you guys understand this. I get on genre jags lol. I am looking forward to discovering new music. I am always open. 
@tomic601 i will be using a turntable and streaming. I do have an older NAD cd player and many CDs but I really dont listen to them much and do not believe that will change. 
Putting Paragon in the mix and well given that you need (3) inputs, you might want to consider a high power Integrated, looks like Paragon carries Mac and Audio Research. ARC isnt the best fit in your budget, speaker choice , local dealer. With the right Mac you might get a built in DAC. man does paragon ask a ton of coin for used ARC preamps….

You imo need audiophile inputs from the Michigan and surrounding states input.

IF it were me, hold pat on maggie order but visit Chicago, and a few other places….