How important is a good recorded music to you?

[manicm]

Most of you are missing the single most important point - the music. No matter how well recorded, if I don't like a piece of music I ain't gonna buy it. On the other hand, even if not so well recorded, if I like an album I'll buy it.

Otherwise it's just hifi for hifi's sake.

 

[Electro]

Most of you are missing the single most important point - the music. No matter how well recorded, if I don't like a piece of music I ain't gonna buy it. On the other hand, even if not so well recorded, if I like an album I'll buy it.

Otherwise it's just hifi for hifi's sake.

I agree but it really pi##es me off when I hear a piece of music that I really like but the production or recording is so bad it saps the life out of it , It makes me feel angry that the artist obviously puts time and effort into creating good music only for the bad recording to spoil it and hide part of the beauty of the music .

I know if I was a musician that I would make dam sure that any recording that was recorded and realeased on my behalf was presented in the best possible way so that people could really hear and understand my talent in the best possible light .

Why would any musician allow his or her music to be recorded badly and do nothing about it !

 

[Snooker]

A good recording is very important and I believe the most important part of any hi-fi to allow it to reproduce very good sound, and then speakers and then amp and to have the volumn up at a good reasonable level

So if you had the best system you could buy for your own taste, then when ever a bad recording was played it would still sound "around" the same from out of the speakers, maybe a little better but nothing in comparision to a very good recording

 

[cheeseboy]

I know if I was a musician that I would make dam sure that any recording that was recorded and realeased on my behalf was presented in the best possible way so that people could really hear and understand my talent in the best possible light .

Why would any musician allow his or her music to be recorded badly and do nothing about it !

Ok, no easy way to say it without being blunt, but please, don't take it offensively. That's not the way the music industry works, and what you've just described is akin to a musicians fairy tale and is sooooo far of the mark as to how the music industry works I wouldn't know where to start. Sorry, but it's just the way it is.

 

[Covenanter]

I happened to get out my box of Mercury Living Presence recordings this morning (because somebody on another forum posted something about "Taps" and it has two CDs of authentic Civil War sounds that were relevant). Reluctant to put the box away I put the 1961 "Appalacian Spring" recording in the player and immediately I was struck by what a fantastic recording this is. All the instruments captured clearly and excitingly in a beautiful sound-stage. The recording really matters IMO.

It seems to me that you need a great recording to let the music shine through. The music can be great and the performance can be fantastic but a poor recording can severely diminish it.

Chris

 

[Al ears]

I happened to get out my box of Mercury Living Presence recordings this morning (because somebody on another forum posted something about "Taps" and it has two CDs of authentic Civil War sounds that were relevant). Reluctant to put the box away I put the 1961 "Appalacian Spring" recording in the player and immediately I was struck by what a fantastic recording this is. All the instruments captured clearly and excitingly in a beautiful sound-stage. The recording really matters IMO.

It seems to me that you need a great recording to let the music shine through. The music can be great and the performance can be fantastic but a poor recording can severely diminish it.

Chris

Quite agree. The amount and the genre of music I tend to buy these days is entirely driven by reviews of recording / pressing quality.

 

[bigfish786]

referring to my earlier post.

i'm not making out that the rega apollo is some miracle machine, but it has brought my whole cd collection to life.

good recordings still sound good, the cd's that i'd leave alone,because in the past i have thought they sounded flat and lifeless now sound fantastic.

the rega brings out musicality, something my previous 3 arcam disc spinners failed to do.

 

[jcbrum]

I happened to get out my box of Mercury Living Presence recordings this morning (because somebody on another forum posted something about "Taps" and it has two CDs of authentic Civil War sounds that were relevant). Reluctant to put the box away I put the 1961 "Appalacian Spring" recording in the player and immediately I was struck by what a fantastic recording this is. All the instruments captured clearly and excitingly in a beautiful sound-stage. The recording really matters IMO.

Absolutely agree.

JC

 

[chebby]

I happened to get out my box of Mercury Living Presence recordings this morning (because somebody on another forum posted something about "Taps" and it has two CDs of authentic Civil War sounds that were relevant). Reluctant to put the box away I put the 1961 "Appalacian Spring" recording in the player and immediately I was struck by what a fantastic recording this is.

I have this in my small (but growing) collection of RCA Victor 'Living Stereo' disks ...

 

[Electro]

I know if I was a musician that I would make dam sure that any recording that was recorded and realeased on my behalf was presented in the best possible way so that people could really hear and understand my talent in the best possible light .

Why would any musician allow his or her music to be recorded badly and do nothing about it !

Ok, no easy way to say it without being blunt, but please, don't take it offensively. That's not the way the music industry works, and what you've just described is akin to a musicians fairy tale and is sooooo far of the mark as to how the music industry works I wouldn't know where to start. Sorry, but it's just the way it is.

No offence taken

I am sure you are right but maybe the it's music indutry that needs to change if we are going to get better quality recordings that reveal the full talent of their artists .

Places like this give me some hope .

http://www.recordproduction.com/high-barn-recording-studio-uk.htm

 

[Covenanter]

I happened to get out my box of Mercury Living Presence recordings this morning (because somebody on another forum posted something about "Taps" and it has two CDs of authentic Civil War sounds that were relevant). Reluctant to put the box away I put the 1961 "Appalacian Spring" recording in the player and immediately I was struck by what a fantastic recording this is.

I have this in my small (but growing) collection of RCA Victor 'Living Stereo' disks ...

RCA did some fine recordings (I don't know this one). I know quite a few people who think the analogue recordings from the 1950s/60s/70s mark the high point of recording technique. I wouldn't go that far as there are many very fine digital recordings too but I do have a lot of stuff from that period. On RCA I can clearly recommend the Previn/LSO Vaughan Williams Symphonies if you like that repertoire. Hard to find now but wonderful stuff.

Chris

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Quite agree. The amount and the genre of music I tend to buy these days is entirely driven by reviews of recording / pressing quality.

The saddest thing I've read in a while, mate.

 

[Womaz]

Quite agree. The amount and the genre of music I tend to buy these days is entirely driven by reviews of recording / pressing quality.

The saddest thing I've read in a while, mate.

I was thinking exactly that.

Enjoying the music is all that matters. A good recording helps that I agree but a bad recording can still get me purring

 

[fr0g]

Quite agree. The amount and the genre of music I tend to buy these days is entirely driven by reviews of recording / pressing quality.

The saddest thing I've read in a while, mate.

I was thinking exactly that.

Enjoying the music is all that matters. A good recording helps that I agree but a bad recording can still get me purring

¨

And I totally disagree. I have CDs I no longer listen to because the quality is so bad.

The last Coldplay album was awfully recorded so I didn't buy it.

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

 

[jcbrum]

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

Appropriate critique from the reviewers might help.

JC

 

[Tear Drop]

I agree with fr0g, the problem with a lot of the modern day recordings which are so bad is that they are musically destructive. Listen to some early recordings transferred (properly) from acetates or 78s and the sound is relatively poor, but they are still hugely listenable.

 

[bigfish786]

i think the worst recording i have ever heard is Metallica's St. Anger. that is, and always will be effin awful. no amount of money spent on audio equipment will ever make that sound anything but utter garbage.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

And I totally disagree. I have CDs I no longer listen to because the quality is so bad.

The last Coldplay album was awfully recorded so I didn't buy it.

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

Yes, you'll stop it because CDs won't be sold any more. Which would you rather, no music at all?? Silly idea, cutting off your nose etc. You ever passed at an old painting, a Van Gogh, but refused to look because you know the colors have faded over time? Or refused to visit the forum because building have fallen down?

Silly.

 

[Macspur]

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

Appropriate critique from the reviewers might help.

JC

This guy here does exactly that. At the end of his reviews he gives a mark for SQ

http://georgegraham.com/reviews.html

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

 

[fr0g]

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

Appropriate critique from the reviewers might help.

JC

Absolutely.

 

[fr0g]

And I totally disagree. I have CDs I no longer listen to because the quality is so bad.

The last Coldplay album was awfully recorded so I didn't buy it.

The only way we will stop the madness with highly compressed, often clipped CDs is to refuse to buy them.

Yes, you'll stop it because CDs won't be sold any more. Which would you rather, no music at all?? Silly idea, cutting off your nose etc. You ever passed at an old painting, a Van Gogh, but refused to look because you know the colors have faded over time? Or refused to visit the forum because building have fallen down?

Silly.

Again your logic knows no bounds. It has no bounds as it is non existant.

Jit.

 

[matthewpiano]

Most of you are missing the single most important point - the music. No matter how well recorded, if I don't like a piece of music I ain't gonna buy it. On the other hand, even if not so well recorded, if I like an album I'll buy it.

Otherwise it's just hifi for hifi's sake.

Agree entirely. Not even a reference quality (whatever that means) recording of Coldplay would make me buy one of their albums. Likewise I have some terrible recordings in my collection but the performances/music are so valuable to me that the music wins through.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Exactly. Nice recording s are good, but that doesn't, or shouldn't prevent enjoyment of those that are less than perfect. I've got some old classic and blues stuff that are magic, despite sound quality being cr*p. Anyone who buys on quality of recording.alone has forgotten what the whole hifi thing is about.

P.S I have a Coldplay CD. Played it once then filed it under mistake.

 

[steve_1979]

Most of you are missing the single most important point - the music. No matter how well recorded, if I don't like a piece of music I ain't gonna buy it. On the other hand, even if not so well recorded, if I like an album I'll buy it.

Otherwise it's just hifi for hifi's sake.

I agree. The Red Hot Chili Peppers album Californication is rubbish quality but I love the music and have listened to it literally thousands of times.

There's also an illegal 'pre-mastered' studio version of it available on the internet with more dynamic range and less clipping. The quality's still not great but it's much better than the CD/LP versions. I wonder if the band deliberately slipped the pre-mastered version out on the internet themselves because they were so dissapointed with what the record label had done to their music (the Californication album has a reputation for being the worst victim of the loudness wars ever).

 

[steve_1979]

Quite agree. The amount and the genre of music I tend to buy these days is entirely driven by reviews of recording / pressing quality.

The saddest thing I've read in a while, mate.

+1

Wow! I've just agreed with both manicm and lemon in the same thread. I think I need to go for a lie down now to recover from the shock.