Much of what passes for popular music is not recorded all that well. Current classical, jazz, and some other music from smaller labels is recored very well. So, its not good or bad across the board.
Once you own accurate equipmet like Electrocompaniet and ATC, one realizes just how good or bad a recording actually is. It's a bit shocking at first, but once you are exposed to it, becomes very hard to go back to gear that is not accurate. After all, live music is sometimes harsh, loud, and can be fatiguing.
The whole point of this hobby is to get enjoyment from listening to music. Trust your own ears, not some reviewer's point of view.
Recording and mastering are separate aspects of the process. A performance may be beautifully recorded and then mastered in such a manner as to make the recording less enjoyable for an "
audiophile" who owns "
Blah Blah" and "
Blah". The music is mastered for the intended audience keeping in mind their likely choices of playback devices. What may not be desirable to the "
audiophile" plunked down in front of an big pile of
"accurate equipment like Blah Blah and Blah" may be highly desirable to someone listening to the same recording in a car or through earbuds. These people are often described as : "
The Vast Majority".
Anyone who uses terms such as "
what passes for popular music" may need to come to terms with the fact that they may not be the intended audience and as such, will not be given primary consideration.
So let's see if I've got this straight:
The
"audiophile" has assembled a playback system comprised of
"accurate equipment like Blah Blah and Blah" which then reproduces the, to the
"audiophile", less-appealing characteristics of said recording with tremendous
accuracy. This causes the
"audiophile" to log on to various internet sites devoted to such things and to use up precious bandwidth complaining that his "
high-fidelity playback" system is providing him with "
high-fidelity playback" and that this is
"shocking" to him. This is frequently described as: "
Irony".
Fortunately for victims of "
Irony ", they can cling to their "
accurate equipment like Blah Blah and Blah" as a handful of enterprising entrepreneurs with a healthy sense of "
Irony" have begun to cater to this huddled group of music refugees, offering them a ration of mediocre but beautifully- recorded and immaculately-mastered new music co-mingled with somewhat- improved versions of hoary oldies no-one wants to hear anymore, all of this at exhorbitant prices. This is frequently described as: "
niche marketing".
"
Audiophiles" unable to relinquish their "
accurate equipment like Blah Blah and Blah", unable to enjoy music produced at prole-quality resolution rates but unwilling to pay extortion-level prices for "
the good stuff" can plunk themselves down in front of their "
accurate equipment like Blah Blah and Blah", fire it up and hope that a ground loop develops, thus giving them at least
something to listen to... And it will be immaculately reproduced with stunning accuracy and a deep, wide soundstage.
So tell me again...
why is this hobby dying?
D.D.
