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In Reply to: Drawing The Line Between The Quality Of The Recording Versus Your System posted by Robertc88 on May 2, 2007 at 09:12:55:
I draw it at whether or not I'm enjoying the music, no matter how superior or inferior the source. If I'm enjoying it, and in the moment, the quality of the source is not really very relevant.That doesn't mean I can't, won't or don't distinguish between the quality of the source, just that if the music is doing what it should, the source is then sufficient. I'd love it if my Arsenio Rodriquez or Sviatoslav Richter recordings qualified as "audiophile" recordings, and "sounded" more like my Cachiato or Time Fellner recordings, but they don't. It is my experience that they are more than fine the way they are, and I treasure them for WHAT they are.
Guess I draw the line at enjoyment of the music.
"I always play jazz records backwards, they sound better that way"
-Thomas Edison
Follow Ups:
"I draw it at whether or not I'm enjoying the music, no matter how superior or inferior the source."For me, this approach works for analog playback, but almost never for digital. This is why I no longer accept the notion that "it's about the music, not the quality of playback."
Or in other words, I can listen through a bad analog recording to a great performance, but when I listen to bad digital playback, the performance almost always seems to be degraded, relative to how it would have been perceived non-digitized.
I've lived most of my life within 20 miles of the Oracle turntable factory. I well remember the earliest versions, it's inventor and the local very high end shop where each new version appeared. I listened to it( and others) on any number of great systems over the years.
Here's the problem. Even though I grew up on vinyl ( although I could not afford an Oracle)I could never get past whatever negative effect vinyl placed on my listening pleasure.
One obvious problem ( for me ) was my absolute intolerance of any type of surface noise. For whatever reason, good ( not necessarily great) digital somehow appeals to my inner musical self unlike vinyl ever did. I don't understand why and I really don't care but it does go to show you that listening pleasure can be attained in very different ways for each of us.
...just maybe, the problem is with your digital source.In your post above, you remind people not to underestimate the recording. When I look at the components listed in your "Main" system, it seems to me as if your analog front end is *much* higher quality than your digital front end. Maybe there is a different CD player that would let you enjoy a "bad" digital recording...
My new CD player has been a revelation in terms of what is truly a "good" and "bad" digital disc. A lot fewer of the latter than I would have believed, as it turns out.
as most of the Richter recordings I have (for example) - and most that are available - are on CD, and the sound quality essentially qualifies as that of pirates or bootlegs. Still, the music therein trancends the source: they are still very enjoyable performances to my ears, and I would certainly rather listen to them than not.Guess I'm fortunate that in these (and most cases) it IS still about the music, and I have either the lack of expertise to be bothered by the results of the digitalization process as heard through my system, or...it just doesn't bug me for whatever reason.
As regards any analog vs. digital stance: I enjoy both equally these days. This was certainly untrue even 10 years ago, where digital was the defacto loser.
"I always play jazz records backwards, they sound better that way"
-Thomas Edison
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