Poor quality music

VR3

Makes me want to sell my stereo and listen to a boombox...

Then I throw in Millage Gilbert and its like stepping into another dimension...

Unfortunately my electronics are revealing every freaking god darned thing wrong with some of my recordings in my collection that even on bad speakers bad recordings sound bad... thats not how its supposed to work!

I guess I need a brand new rig from top to bottom with just bare bones basic so I can listen to crap.

decal

I would think bad recordings would always sound bad on bad speakers!!!! Am I missing something here?

VR3

I have found while yes your statement is true if you have components with less detail they reveal less therefore the recordings are more bearable.

BlueFox

So, the goal here is to acquire the best crummy stereo?

heiney9

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Makes me want to sell my stereo and listen to a boombox...

Then I throw in Millage Gilbert and its like stepping into another dimension...

Unfortunately my electronics are revealing every freaking god darned thing wrong with some of my recordings in my collection that even on bad speakers bad recordings sound bad... thats not how its supposed to work!

I guess I need a brand new rig from top to bottom with just bare bones basic so I can listen to crap.

That is exactly how it's supposed to work. I experience this on a daily basis and sometimes you have to get past the poorer recordings and get into the music. Of course if the music isn't that good and the recording isn't that good, why bother? What;s the payoff? I've had it go both ways. Listening to fantastic music but it;s either older or poorly recorded and I've also grown to like some music based on how well it's recorded..........atleast is has enhanced my pleasure because it's recorded fantastically.

H9

SCompRacer

heiney9 wrote: »

That is exactly how it's supposed to work. I experience this on a daily basis and sometimes you have to get past the poorer recordings and get into the music. Of course if the music isn't that good and the recording isn't that good, why bother? What;s the payoff? I've had it go both ways. Listening to fantastic music but it;s either older or poorly recorded and I've also grown to like some music based on how well it's recorded..........atleast is has enhanced my pleasure because it's recorded fantastically.

H9

+1 to that!

mhardy6647

Perish the thought that a true music lover (as opposed to the "audiophiles") be bansished to a repertoire of Sara K, Jazz at the Pawnshop, Telarc and Mapleshade recordings! There's much fine music that sounds just awful. What's a hifi buff to do?

It's not a bad strategy to own a pair (or two!) of more forgiving loudspeakers if one's tastes run to the popular, the (very) vintage, and the poorly mixed, mastered, recorded (or pretty much anything released on vinyl in the 1980s!). Examples, you say? Nothing sounds bad through a pair of the original Quad ESL-57 electrostatics. The 1970s-vintage ads (and/or the extremely-closely related Braun) loudpeakers are among the least-fatiguing traditional "monkey coffin" loudspeakers I've ever heard (the ol' Polk Audio Monitor Series Model 7 ain't bad either in this regard). Personal experience with one of the small Ohm "Walsh" speakers (possibly the Model 2, but I am still not quite sure of that) also found them to be extermely forgiving of poorer-quality source material.

Not an exhaustive list, but food for thought.

audiocr381ve

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Perish the thought that a true music lover (as opposed to the "audiophiles") be bansished to a repertoire of Sara K, Jazz at the Pawnshop, Telarc and Mapleshade recordings! There's much fine music that sounds just awful. What's a hifi buff to do?

It's not a bad strategy to own a pair (or two!) of more forgiving loudspeakers if one's tastes run to the popular, the (very) vintage, and the poorly mixed, mastered, recorded (or pretty much anything released on vinyl in the 1980s!). Examples, you say? Nothing sounds bad through a pair of the original Quad ESL-57 electrostatics. The 1970s-vintage ads (and/or the extremely-closely related Braun) loudpeakers are among the least-fatiguing traditional "monkey coffin" loudspeakers I've ever heard (the ol' Polk Audio Monitor Series Model 7 ain't bad either in this regard). Personal experience with one of the small Ohm "Walsh" speakers (possibly the Model 2, but I am still not quite sure of that) also found them to be extermely forgiving of poorer-quality source material.

Not an exhaustive list, but food for thought.

I like this idea.

mhardy6647

ads L-710, a personal fave. Smooth, like buttah.

Tony M

My ADS L-710's were the clearest sounding speakers I've heard to date. The detail was phenominal so I would think that would put them in the highly revealing of pour quality recordings. Now my ADS L620's fit the smooth category like you describe. Kinda like the Monitor 10's sound with the peerless.

I like the idea of a less than stellar system for some less than critical or poor recordings listening. Even the radio per se. But my new to me older Sony ES tuner shure makes the radio sound like a cd or vinyl spinning. Really.

After a certain point in our journey we have a hard time or refuse to listen to vinyl that is not clean and clear. You know your an audiophile when that happens!

mhardy6647

tony millard wrote: »

My ADS L-710's were the clearest sounding speakers I've heard to date. The detail was phenominal so I would think that would put them in the highly revealing of pour quality recordings. Now my ADS L620's fit the smooth category like you describe. Kinda like the Monitor 10's sound with the peerless...

Certainly not my impression of the L-710. They want for nothing, but they're utterly nonfatiguing. Detail? Ever hear a Lowther fullrange driver? My Altec Duplexes do 'detail' well (I'd say they were "highly resolving", but those are just froofy words)... but they're not obnoxious about it (ahem, Klipsch Cornwalls. ahem...).

Now the Cornies I had - those could be painful with poor quality program material! ABBA? oy, veh!. ABBA's OK on the Duplexes, and fine on the L-710s.

Tony M

I found no fault with the L-710's or them being as harsh as some Klipsch's or some JBL's. The sound that came from them was like a blanket being removed from in front of a set of speakers. I've done alot of A/B comparisons with my now gone L-710's and they were the best at detail and clarity. A set of Avids were like that too.

No, I haven't heard a Lowther fullrange driver yet. I have read great things about them though.

mhardy6647

Pair of AVID 102s downstairs, too. They're good, but not in the same league as the ads. Didn't cost like the ads when they were new, either, though.

As to Lowthers, they can sound scary good, or just scary. Largely depends on the program material and electronics chain. They're speakers for masochists :-)

drumminman

I had a pair of ADS L-700's from bought new in 1975. These were identical to the 710's but without the soft dome midrange. They replaced a pair of the original large Advents. They did everything the large advents did, but with more openness and transparency.

I managed to blow one of the woofers when my soon to be ex turned the the volume up all the way. They were being powered by a Marantz 240 (120 wpc) power amp, which was pretty clean, but they were only rated for 35 watts.

Had 'em repaired under warranty, and then I think a tweeter went out several years later. This was before the internet/google/how to forums etc. Knowing nothing about speaker tweaking/repair/modding I carted 'em to the thrift store :eek:

I had already bought RTA 12C's, which were leaps better in every category. Still, I'd like to have 'em back today.

drumminman

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Makes me want to sell my stereo and listen to a boombox...

Then I throw in Millage Gilbert and its like stepping into another dimension...

Unfortunately my electronics are revealing every freaking god darned thing wrong with some of my recordings in my collection that even on bad speakers bad recordings sound bad... thats not how its supposed to work!

I guess I need a brand new rig from top to bottom with just bare bones basic so I can listen to crap.

Agree with many of above comments, in that when the recording is bad you have to listen through it to the music. There's so much great music, both recent and in the distant past, where the engineer had no clue.

I like the Dixie Chicks, but whoever is in the studio with them just kills Natalie Maines voice. She sounds so harsh and screechie on all her albums except the first one.

And yet Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust", recorded in 1974, sounds spectacular. Very clean.

cnh

A little lower Fi is not a bad thing, sometimes. There isn't much that sounds bad with a set of peerless Monitors or ADS L520s and an old vintage classic, like an HK 730. YMMV

cnh

F1nut

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Makes me want to sell my stereo and listen to a boombox...

Then I throw in Millage Gilbert and its like stepping into another dimension...

Unfortunately my electronics are revealing every freaking god darned thing wrong with some of my recordings in my collection that even on bad speakers bad recordings sound bad... thats not how its supposed to work!

I guess I need a brand new rig from top to bottom with just bare bones basic so I can listen to crap.

Many times over the years I had the same thought about getting a boom box and calling it a day. Eventually I managed to put together a rig that excels with great recordings yet makes bad ones sound pretty damn good. Don't give up, you'll get there one day.

mhardy6647

There were some pretty nice boomboxes. Remember those JVCs that were about the size of a ranch style home's closets?

decal

Now here's a bad **** boom box!!!!!

erniejade

Chicago 2nd lP or cd just called Chicago is one of them like that for me. I love the music on it but the recording is horrible.

treitz3

Can you even play Millage Gilbert anymore on your system? I thought I heard you say that he isn't available on Tidal....?

On a different note, did you guys know that he passed away this year? (Not Trey, obviously) He apparently left us on Sunday, January 16th at 2:50am.

RIP, Mr. Gilbert and thanks for your great contributions to music.

I think I'm gonna spin some Millage tonight.

Tom

jbreezy5

Wharfedale’s are usually rather forgiving also. Agree about the a/d/s and Polk mentioned.

Often soft-dome tweets and paper/polyprop drivers bring the forgiveness.

VR3

man I miss this CD!!! Yes!! NOT AVAILABLE ON TIDAL!!!

Sad to hear he passed, RIP Mr Gilbert