Isn't it really about quality of recording?

Hi Jumia,

I think your point will or won't make sense depending on the type of music listener you have become. There are a lof of musicians who listen right through the equipment and even the recording quality and all they hear is the performance.  Their brains and ears are wired together

Some audiophiles can hear a system regardless of the room.  I cannot.   I can't do either of these things.  I need a quiet room with controlled reflections and smooth bass response or I find my brain has to work too hard to enjoy the music.

To each their own.

Mediocre, bad, or not so ideal recordings, for various of reasons, can sound confused, lacking in life and in some cases are barely listenable in lesser systems.

Still they will never sound ideal, but how many times have you heard the phrase from a friend or dealer saying that his or her system does not play well because of a bad recording, skip or be cautious.

Same material on a well balanced and better system is transformed to something with a meaning, easier to follow and the  performance has more juice.

Compared to the majesty of what a great recording can offer, these ones are more than lacking but at the same time you realize that your music collection has grown considerably.

It’s both actually but the dead end is thinking a hifi can transform a particular recording into something it is not. A very easy trap to fall into especially since no two setups ever sound exactly the same.

The idea is to get your system sounding it’s best for the music you like to listen to.

This is clearly the right answer. The alternative would be...what? To pay no attention to you system, I suppose, which is ridiculous.

A good system will not make a bad recording sound good. In fact, the better the system the more it will reveal the flaws in a bad recording and pinpoint what those flaws are.