Beware poor sounding media

I've probably come across more CD's than LP's that I would consider poor recordings due to the mastering process. Some due to the era of the Loudness Wars and some basically flat sounding. 

What does bother me is when I purchase a remaster or reissue to replace an original LP from the 60's or 70's that had seen better days and while the new copy may not have the noise from wear the original copy sounds much more dynamic than the remaster. 

Wind up the old victrola. It’s always easy to tell a poor recording/playback. Most are times listening is very good to great experience. 

Back in the day my cassettes bested eight track. That’s all it took. Now I’m scheming to put up an out building purpose built for listening. Point is that it’s not just the recordings but rather the whole kielbasa. Please pass the mustard.  
 

Poor sounding records are plentiful. That's why I appreciate the options to semi control some of their inadequacies. More specifically tone down the bright ones and liven up the dull ones. On digital I do it with the DAC OS filters and NOS settings, on analogue it's done with the phono preamp ohms settings. And I do it all from the listening seat with remote controls. No equalizer since I don't want to change the original intent, just looking for subtle overall fine tuning to my ears. 

Here’s a shocker. Get ready…..most records are just average. Some are better than average and some way better. Other below average. Goes for recordings in general as well. Lord help us!

If there is no bad, good means nothing