[veloceleste]

Music first, system second. I won’t listen to music I don’t like no matter how well recorded but I will listen to music I like regardless of the recording quality.

[whydontumarryit]

The types of music you mention (if as poorly recorded as you claim, which I doubt) may need a good dose of deliberate coloration in order to sound uniformly better. Luckily, this would be simply a matter of enhancing the off axis (room sound) vs the direct sound from the speakers by altering the listening/speaker positions in the room. If that isn't enough, instead of considering your problem as a fait accompli, modern dsp correction, when needed, can be used to make your music sound anyway you want it to or at the very least much more bearable.

[BikeFi10]

Ill backstep a bit from my earlier post as Nlitworld touched on.
I admit, I enjoy my oldest record 1958? Julie London. Mono with some pops and crackles, but it kind of adds authenticity to that era with her smokey voice and simple jazz trio.
However, my Analog Production lp with a couple of her songs is very clean and sounds beautiful.
Many of my old fav records, cds and now digital files are unlistenable anymore on my upgraded system.
Such as recordings by  Neil Young, Moody Blues, Pretenders, U2, etc.
Not alls lost as these same poor recordings are fine played as background through my wifes low end $200 JBL bluetooth "pill" speakers by the pool.
So, I guess not all music has to be enjoyed in the sweet spot LP of a multi $k system.

[corndog71]

Throughout my journey as an audiophile my initial goal was to reach the performance level of the best system I had heard at the time.  Or get as close to it as possible on a very limited budget.  Since then I’ve heard many systems and some even more impressive than I could’ve ever imagined.

Probably the worst lesson I’ve learned is that the best costs more than what most people consider… reasonable.  It’s not to say one cannot put together a satisfying stereo at a reasonable price.  Just as long as one accepts compromises.  It’s almost a curse to hear the best.  The good news is that the cost of excellent performance has come down.

I’ve gone back and forth between listening to the system and listening to the music.  The former was usually due to the previously mentioned compromises.  Happily I’ve finally reached a level of performance that brings me back to the music.  While I haven’t tested my poorer quality recordings, so far I haven’t found one that is unlistenable.

Oh, and Danny’s kits are some of the best speakers out there for the money!

[Early B.]

Probably the worst lesson I’ve learned is that the best costs more than what most people consider… reasonable.  It’s not to say one cannot put together a satisfying stereo at a reasonable price.  Just as long as one accepts compromises.  It’s almost a curse to hear the best.  The good news is that the cost of excellent performance has come down.

Yep. The more you spend, the more you realize how far away you still are from the best systems out there. Believe it or not, there's a huge sonic difference between a $2,000 DAC and a $10,000 DAC, generally speaking. So if you buy a $5K DAC, you'll yearn for the $10K one (and for some people, a $10K DAC is their low end). Although the cost is coming down for great performance (think: Purifi, Mini GaN5, etc.), the cost is rapidly increasing for the best gear.   

[xXEarvinXx]

I feel this. While I haven’t heard any $10,000+ single pieces of equipment, my total headphone system is close to that amount. I never thought I would spend this much to enjoy music, but after each new purchase I couldn’t help but be tempted to hear the next upgrade.
I also agree that the highest end gear s getting more and more expensive, but the entry level
options have never been a value. It’s a great time to be in the audio hobby.

[Letitroll98]

So does it actually cost the most to build the best quality products, or are the best sounding products able to charge the most?  We see this most with cables and least with speakers.  We have a great guy here on AC who's basically selling an uber expensive German amp for a tenth of the price of the high priced spread.  Another well respected manufacturer here has a couple of mono blocks on Stereophile's class A list for very reasonable prices.  Both of these guys started out on the bargain basement rack and have maintained the value for cost model.  So that begs the question is high price more vanity than than actual sound quality.  With speakers it's pretty hard to get past the laws of physics and BOM, you're generally getting what you see, with cables anything goes, where do amps, dacs, and preamps fall in that spectrum?

[trito]

I LOVE listening to 80's music but unfortunately most of them are recorded horribly.  I can't listen to them on my MartinLogan ESL for too long.  I listen to classical and modern well recorded music at home and listen to 80's music in the car.

[zenfishbike]

A most enjoyable thread to read through. It's good to briefly get away from the excellent tech topics and get some insight on how each of your hearts, minds, and ears all come together in your own special ways in our shared hobby.

For me, I listen to both the music and the system concurrently. The weighting between the two depends on my mood and the music (type and quality of recording) being played. The duration and extent of the weighting shifts all over the place from seconds to minutes to hours.... it's a playground. 

[melchionda]

I’ve found that while searching for music to “test” my system I’ve actually discovered lots of great music!