Can a great system make a mediocre recording sound good?

If you ask an acoustician he/she will tell you that 80 percent is the room and 20 percent is the system (if not 90/10). Something to think about when you judge a recording being bad. Maybe its you and your system/room that is at fault. I’ve tried to learn the lesson and agree with others that have pointed this out. A good system should make any recording sound interesting. It’s an easy task to make a Steely Dan recording sound sweet.

+1 @gosta 

Well said, my experience exactly.

There is still lots to hear in even a mediocre recording and a better system will do a better job of delivering what’s there.  That means a better listening experience and a better listening experience means the mediocre recording just got better. 

I've found that most 'poor' recordings only sound poor because the system/room I was hearing them in was not good enough to translate the acoustics of the space the recording was made in.

Exactly.....

There is still lots to hear in even a mediocre recording and a better system will do a better job of delivering what’s there.  That means a better listening experience and a better listening experience means the mediocre recording just got better. 

Exactly!

I will add  that the mediocre recording get acoustically more "interesting" and now reveal more of the original acoustical cue choices  even if he stay mediocre...We listen to it more easily, we stay with the music in it forgetting the bad recording now...