[medium jim]

The thread on Audiophile Rock got me wondering, have I been buying CD's that were well engineered and recorded versus music that I really like?   I do find myself seeking out really good recordings, a good example is Lyle Lovett, It's Not Big, It's Large...Funny thing, I grew to really like this CD and stuff like Vienna Teng's Warm Strangers....the list is too long to name them all...Stuff that you hear somewhere and say to yourself, that sounds really good...

Am I alone or are there others who prefer a great recording over a great band or group that doesn't transfer well to recordings?

Jim

[Zero]

My answer is both yes and no.

NO, because I'd rather spend my hard earned cashola on music that stirs my soul.

YES, because I am quite particular with the media that I buy.

Usually I try to find a product that offers the best of both worlds.  But as most of you already know, that's the kinda stuff that fairy tales are made of. Thus my loophole: two separate stereo systems.  System One, or what I refer to as the 'main system', is meant to showcase all the magic that an excellent recording has to offer - all the while being juusssst friendly enough to not rape my ears when playing back a recording that hasn't been given the royal treatment by its creators.  System two, otherwise known as the 'second system', is designed to sound pleasant regardless of whether or not the engineers gave an earthly sh!t about how good the recording actually sounds.

This approach can be (but doesn't necessarily have to be) pricey.  But to me, it's a reasonable approach to an age-old audiophile problem. 

[medium jim]

Zero, I agree with you.  The irony is that much if what I bought because it was well recorded has grown on me and does put me in a happy place and has expanded my appreciation for different genres of music and the musicianship.

Jim

[Elizabeth]

Never.
I may buy music i do not know, but depended on reviews that it is great music.. But no way would i ever buy music some mentioned had fantastic sonics, but only average music.

((I use ratings to pick up the top ''best liked" and stuff like Rolling Stones top 500 etc..
I accept that for whatever reason these are good muisc, and even if I do not really think they are great now, i can listen to them to understand why they are great... Since i have all the stuff i like, it is a way to grow...))

[SET Man]

Hey!

   Never! I buy the musics I like. The sad part is that most of the album especially of late are sonically horrible.  Suffering from the "Wall of Sound/Loudness War" syndrome

   But I have to admit that back than when I was fresh in the "audiophile life" I bought a few so called "audiophile CD/LP" 

Take care,
Buddy
   

[jqp]

Its probably good to have a few CDs that you  know are 'audiophile' just so you have a reference - some will be good, some so so as far as your preferences.

Fortunately for me, there are many artists who favor acoustic instruments, who also insist on good recording quality. Bireli Lagrene, Ry Cooder, Lyle Lovette, Leo Kottke, Norman Blake, Neil Young all come to mind.

I also have a wide variety of more mainstream rock albums, some well recorded, some not so much.

Another approach you can take is to look for producers you know will do good work - T-Bone Walker, Alan Parsons, Todd Rungren, etc.

[S Clark]

Lyle Lovette, Vienna Teng, Jennifer Warnes,Patty Larkin, Sting--- all have great recordings of good/great music.  And they all have great recordings of music that isn't so great that I own, but don't listen to much.  Warnes' "Famous Blue Raincoat" gets rave reviews, but it doesn't do much for me, so my copy sits and collects dust.  Her "The Hunter" gets regular play. 

But the answer to your question is yes, I do buy stuff that is supposed to be well recorded, hoping that I will like it.  However, if it's a genre that I know I won't listen to, I don't spend the $.

[Letitroll98]

Jennifer Warnes' "Famous Blue Raincoat" gets rave reviews, but it doesn't do much for me, so my copy sits and collects dust.  Her "The Hunter" gets regular play. 

Excellent example for my answer.  I have the original substandard CD release of "Famous Blue Raincoat", but wouldn't spend for the expensive vinyl reissue or even the more moderately price newer, better CD as I only listen to a couple of the cuts.  But I bought the excellent Cisco vinyl reissue of "The Hunter" because the songs are so much more accessible and I wanted a great sounding example.  I might have two or three copies of the same selection because the music is fabulous and there was a better reissue or whatever. 

So if the music is there for me, I'll seek out an excellent issue if available, but wouldn't buy something to hear special effects.  "Gladiator" comes to mind, great recording, couldn't listen to the music for more than five minutes, not on my shelf.  MA Recordings, amazing hi rez stuff, can listen to about two cuts on the sampler CD, sometimes.  I got it for free.  On the other hand, I'll take a flyer on something that looks like a good recording and the music seems promising, Joanna Newsome "Ys" for example.  The cover looked kewl and I heard the name somewhere, I still tear up listening to some of the cuts.

[low.pfile]

nope. I buy MUSIC that I like. I listen, enjoy, and revel in their creativity and talent. I spend 2 seconds thinking about the acoustics, and recording details.

[Bob2]

I only buy what I like. Pandora has cost me a LOT of MONEY.
Although I wish more of it was recorded better!

[rooze]

Guilty as charged on the first count. But I have gone on to find lots of interesting music this way, which I might otherwise have passed by. Ali Farke Toure's 'Talking Timbuktu' was banded around as an audiophile CD, so I bought it, not being at all familiar with his music. Not only have I gone on to buy more of his music, it has also inspired me to branch out and explore other African artists.

Oddly enough I look at it this way, the quality of the recording can either add or detract from the overall pleasure of listening to music. It doesn't make the musician any better or worse, but it makes my listening session more or less enjoyable, so why wouldn't it be a factor?

And yeah, I do tend to spot-check everything on Spotify these days, before buying it blind. I wouldn't want to get landed with another Diana Krall FFS 

[SoCalWJS]

Absolutely. You to buy some reference-type recordings (which exposes me to new music).

Conversely, I have found that some of my favorite music is recorded so poorly, I find that I prefer to listen to it in the car where the shortcomings are not so obvious. 

[medium jim]

Absolutely. You to buy some reference-type recordings (which exposes me to new music).

Conversely, I have found that some of my favorite music is recorded so poorly, I find that I prefer to listen to it in the car where the shortcomings are not so obvious. 

John:

I agree, plus most decent car head units have preset and user set eq that can help too.   Many of the stuff I bought because it was recorded or for better terms mastered well have turned out to be stuff I really like and as already noted, has expanded the horizons of what I listen to.   Brad Paisley, Lee Roy Parnell from the country world come to mind...the only areas not explored are Opera and Rap, who knows, maybe someday. 

Yes, Pandora Radio...

Jim

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Most of the music I love is classic hard rock and heavy metal.  Unfortunately most of it is badly recorded.  I will not purchase music that I don't like (or have no interest in), just because it is well recorded.

[django11]

I don't necessarily look for well recorded recordings but will buy with more confidence from labels that I know record well. 

Badly recorded stuff like Arcade Fire's the Suburbs get listened to in the truck if at all...

[Sonny]

nope!!

to me, no matter how good it sounds, in terms of sound quality and recording, if i don't like the music, i've got better things to do...

[ajzepp]

I never look into the audio quality of the recording prior to purchase, so I guess my answer is "no", I only buy music for enjoyment. That beign said, I HAVE bought some CDs from mapleshade records to serve as reference cuts for my rig so that I have something to compare the music I buy to...so I guess even though the music lover is driving the wagon, the audiophile in me is holding on to the back of it trying not to get run over.

[vinyl_guy]

I would never buy music just because it is well recorded. If I don't like the music, I'm not buying it. I also only buy CDs when I hear music I like that hasn't been released on vinyl. The Pines Dark So Gold is an example. I'm always interested in finding the best pressing. The new 45 RPM releases from the original analog tapes of the Doors albums by Chad at QRP are absolutely 2 die 4.

Curious to know if those who aren't crazy about Famous Blue Raincoat like Leonard Cohen in general. I'm a huge LC fan and a JW fan too. I have all of their individual albums (vinyl of course), and played the original FBR all the time. There are some great musicians playing on that album, like Stevie Ray Vaughn. I bought the 45 RPM as soon as it came out. I think Jenny sings Lenny better than anyone with the possible exception of Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.

django11, have you heard The Suburbs on vinyl?

[django11]

django11, have you heard The Suburbs on vinyl?

I have not, are you endorsing it?  I have a turntable here and it will soon be in it's own little system so maybe I will look into it...

[vinyl_guy]

I have not, are you endorsing it?  I have a turntable here and it will soon be in it's own little system so maybe I will look into it...

I don't know if "endorsing" is the right word, but it doesn't sound bad on my system. In fact, I think it sounds decent--not great, but certainly listenable. I have all of their albums and I think Neon Bible is the best from a recording quality standpoint.