2. amps-preamps
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Is Recording quality the real culprit?

We spend Thousands on trying to improve the sound of what we listen to. But isn’t it really more of a problem that we can’t really overcome, eg. Recording quality? It’s so frustrating to have a really nice system and then to be at the mercy of some guy who just didn’t spend the time to do things better when things were being recorded.

Fortunately many artists make sure things are done well, but so many just don’t make it happen.

It can sound really good but just doesn’t have that Great quality we desire.

So why are we wasting our time spending so much money on audio equipment?

emergingsoul
bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,206 posts
 

I have argued this point many times.  Sure a better system makes good recordings sound their best, but as the saying goes, Your Can't Polish A Turd.  You can only reproduce what's on the recording.  No amount of money spent is going to change that.  IMHO.

bolong
621 posts
 

We spend the money on the system because we already know how to find top quality recordings.

sgordon1
438 posts
 

If only recordings were rated for SQ, like movie ratings are for content (G, PG13, R).  The music reviews in Absolute Sound have separate stars for performance and sound quality, though I have not found these to be close to reliable.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,316 posts
 

You need good equipment in order to be able to properly assess the quality or nature of specific recordings.

The trap to avoid is thinking that a better system will magically transform all recordings into something you want them to be rather than merely what they are or are not .  

The ability to enjoy details of all recordings and appreciate each for what it is or is not is a big part of the joy of hifi for me.

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