Is Recording quality the real culprit?

@emerging soul - thank you. I think that playing and recording music helps a lot to understand how music is reproduced. I've spent a long time listening to, playing and recording music. The recording and reproducing camps are often divided and I try to bridge the gap between the two.

Great "sounding" recordings are great, but imo and ime poor sounding recordings are great too, as my primary interest in listening are the performances and the compositions. These are the reasons I listen to music to begin with. Why obtain a great system if the recordings are poor? There is magic in these recordings, musically speaking, and I hear more of the music. The music is more important than sound, and it comes before great "sound". If you understand music, I believe it is easier to listen to poor recordings, because they give us "great music". I can appreciate those recordings that are sota, but it is the music that drives my emotions. Folks who cannot listen to their systems with poorly recorded music, I feel are more interested in the "sound" first, and the music second. Nothing wrong with this; whatever floats your boat. I have catered to music listeners and audiophiles most of my adult life, and there is a distinct difference between these two types of listeners. It is wonderful when both types are combined into one. I admit I am a combination, because I appreciate it all. If the music itself was not to my liking, which is quite rare, I would likely not listen to it for it's recording quality, except to show off my system, or make adjustments to my system. But it is the music for me, 1st, and I have stated this forever. My best, MrD.  

@yoyoyaya  @mrdecibel +1

@mrdecibel It's a coincidence that tonight I heard a Edie Gorme/Los Panchos CD that was horrid sounding just 10 years ago but I liked the performance (huge reverb on singers/Gorme sounded distorted).  I have upgraded my equipment including a near SOTA DAC/Pre-amp, transport, speakers and SOTA amps with matching cabling.  Tonight, I heard a mediocre but acceptable sounding Gorme, somewhat better Los Panchos and great guitar sound.  Overall, a real keeper until I purchase the LP (which I hope was mastered better than this).  I have 61,100 LPs/CDs/78s/R2R recordings.  This was one of the worst sounding.  Another poorly mastered early digital recording sounds acceptable with very good instrumentals and acceptable vocals.  Most recordings sound great (including monos and well recorded 78s).  Unfortunately since about 1995, pop and rock recordings suffer from poor recording technique, computer manipulation of the recording, high compression levels, etc.  Basically, worse than ever sound.  Jazz LPs and CDs have the most consistently great sound from all eras.  Many rock recordings are superior in their initial LP format than poorly remastered CDs/streaming.  85% of streamed music sounds worse than a comparable CD version with the other 15% sounding as good or better.  

@2psyop Tell me, is there a bad Bones Howe recording?  Various genres and I haven't been disappointed.  Or Robert Fine, or many others from the 50s and 60s.