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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
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,172 posts
 

@bdp24 +1

emergingsoul OP
1,114 posts
 

I think most people on this forum are interested to better understand what they have as well as to improve their systems, and also to learn a lot.

Within our systems we identify weaknesses, and recognize limitations and are unhappy with certain things while being happy with other things. Overall I’m happy with my system, however there are certain things that I wish were different. Making moves to change components is a financially serious issue and that adds to the frustration. As well as the procurement/ decision process which makes it even more difficult.

I am looking for new speakers and wish my speakers made me happier than they do. Overall I’ve got a nice system. And I wish recording quality would not complicate my ability to understand weaknesses within my system. Unfortunately I don’t have much to compare things too. I don’t think alot of people are in a position to compare what other systems are doing because not too many people have Systems like a lot of people on the forum. If you go to audio shows as crappy as the sound in those hotel rooms is that’s helpful but they usually mix in so many different things it’s hard to evaluate what’s really going on and it’s all reference grade stuff and who knows what it all is doing when mixed together. Audio stores have a limited offering and the variety to consider is not very good. So this really complicates understanding all those things that are out there that most of us will never be able to experience and that really sucks.  So you take chances and you buy stuff and maybe it just doesn't work out.

kennymacc
387 posts
 

What is this???  "Rocket Science??? Just go out and find a recording that meets your standards and use it to audition the speakers!!!

thecarpathian
4,339 posts
 

"Truth is I'm not really happy with my system..."

"Overall I'm happy with my system..."

Why bother, I'm out.

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,891 posts
 

Krall & friends are indeed well recorded, but not so much as to be an outlier. Mainly it’s such simple, sleep-inducing music that it seems to magically avoid exposing most systems’ major problem areas - and this is why it’s such a popular choice in gear demos. To me - it’s not good choice.

I have a large collection of vinyl plus a decent digital / FLAC library. This is comprised of a lot of hard rock, heavy metal, pop, alt rock, new wave, & soundtracks - not much "audiophile approved" material. I’d say at least half of it (a bit more than half) sounds "really good" or better (with some real stunners), and I try to pick from here where when I get new gear. The other half...is unfortunate. It’s hard for me to enjoy that material, even if I love the music :(

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