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Quality of recording while evaluating speakers

Melody Gardot, Diana Krall, and others.

The above recordings are done so well they sound absolutely Great in most systems. And then there are recordings that are not as open and have trouble filling the room enjoyably and yet the melodies are very good and it's unfortunate they didn't do a better good job in the recording studio.

So how do you evaluate a speaker other than to be familiar with a recording on how it sounds in your system versus how it sounds in another system.  Basically we are at the mercy of Recording quality when we listen to our systems.

Even more painful is home theater streaming when the music is wonderful but the quality sucks and once in a while it sounds really good but this can be rare which is sad.

So speaker manufacturers have to deal with these issues and we put up with poor recordings and how does this factor into your decisions when evaluating new speakers?

So we end up buying really nice speakers knowing that so much of what we will eventually listen to Will not have been recorded very well making things a bit frustrating at times.  There's only so much that can be done to make things sound better given these limitations. So how does one cope with all this?

 

emergingsoul
immatthewj
1,864 posts
 

 Makes me thankful for what I have put together because it actually does sound pretty good overall. 

 

Truth is I’m not really happy with my system so I’m reluctant to share the details.

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jji666
534 posts
 

Isn't this thread about evaluating speakers?  I assume that means at the showroom since you can listen to all of your own music at home.

I bring my favorite music that doesn't play well on my current speakers in order to evaluate a potential purchase. For example if something sounds sibilant at home, I'll bring that CD to the showroom to see if the speakers I'm interested in are better at handling that recording. 

I don't understand the comment about streaming music rarely sounding good.  That would be the case if you are on Spotify rather than any of the lossless services. That is just a matter of getting a better service and with it higher quality source material. 

Very odd how there are some posters here that get all up in arms about their perception that certain threads are manipulative.  Fine. Don't respond. Done. 

tkhill's avatar
tkhill
85 posts
 

The old rule was garbage in/garbage out.The new streaming rule: good stuff in, maybe garbage out.

oldaudiophile
306 posts
 

FWIW:  When I do serious seat-time listening to speakers, I bring music with me (i.e.  various cuts) that I'm very familiar with.  I bring a mix of different genres (i.e.  rock; classical, folk, jazz; etc.), good recordings, mediocre quality recordings, female voices, male voices, harmonies and music I've seen/heard live.  I make a point of bringing recordings that will tax speakers' abilities (i.e.  low bass tones; high frequency; mid-range; etc.).  I also make a point of bringing recordings that have brushed cymbals and other instruments that speakers have difficulty reproducing accurately or realistically.  Depending upon whatever's available at the various shop(s), I bring CDs and vinyl in addition to the streaming that most shops want you to listen to these days.  Some speakers are more forgiving than others with regard to poor or less than stellar recordings and some are very revealing and not forgiving at all.  My ears tend to gravitate toward those who are unforgiving and let you hear exactly what's on that recording, good or not so good.

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