[markot86]

The local CD shop is going out of buisiness so i bought 6-7 cd's on an impulse; too bad when I got back and popped them into my rig, the quality was absolutely horrible =/

In desperate fury, I figured the HD650's were the culprit, but a switch over to my sr-60's and even the ksc-75's didn't solve things at all. Even though the CD's didn't cost much, it still angers me that the quality is so bad.

So what do you all do when you get absolutely horrible recordings? I LOVE the songs, but I just have major troubles listening to the cd's =/

 

[Mercuttio]

What discs were they? I've had some dissapointments with a few albums too lately.

 

[markot86]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio What discs were they? I've had some dissapointments with a few albums too lately.

Too many to list really, the BIGGEST dissapointment (as was probably expected) was the grand theft auto vice city emotion 98.3 cd. You'd think they'd actually put the true recordings off the CDs, but it's as if they wanted you to get the true "radio" feel. It's a shame too since there's a lot of good songs on there.

 

[Duggeh]

Its perhaps part of the conditions in the game makers using the songs that the soundtrack album be so dreadful that it forces peopel to go out and by the actual artists albums.

Vultures.

 

[thestumper]

I don't know what kind of music youtypically listen to, but anyone who listens to a lot of jazz suffers through this on a regular basis. Some of the really good old stuff, even in remastered form, is the pits in terms of sound quality, but the music is brilliant and timeless. You can't get blood from a rock, and some of the old recording rigs back in the late 50's, 60's, and early 70's was, errr, not so good.

You can try to EQ the hell out of it, but that ony goes so far. It may make some really crappy stuff tollerable, but it doesn't really solve the problem.

You can search for the material in remastered form. Sometimes they re-issue special collectors "gold" CD's that are a little better.

Or, as lame as it sounds, sometimes I just try to organize my listening: I'll spend a day just listening to the old stuff, and nothing else. Somehow, its not so bad when I don't have a good recording as a baseline. If I try to listen to a well recorded, modern album, and then try to switch back to the old crappy stuff, it just seems to suck even worse.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but I can commiserate. There are simply some recordings that no headphones can help (and the better ones will even make it worse by revealing all the (nasty) detail.

 

[markot86]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thestumper I don't know what kind of music youtypically listen to, but anyone who listens to a lot of jazz suffers through this on a regular basis. Some of the really good old stuff, even in remastered form, is the pits in terms of sound quality, but the music is brilliant and timeless. You can't get blood from a rock, and some of the old recording rigs back in the late 50's, 60's, and early 70's was, errr, not so good. You can try to EQ the hell out of it, but that ony goes so far. It may make some really crappy stuff tollerable, but it doesn't really solve the problem. You can search for the material in remastered form. Sometimes they re-issue special collectors "gold" CD's that are a little better. Or, as lame as it sounds, sometimes I just try to organize my listening: I'll spend a day just listening to the old stuff, and nothing else. Somehow, its not so bad when I don't have a good recording as a baseline. If I try to listen to a well recorded, modern album, and then try to switch back to the old crappy stuff, it just seems to suck even worse. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but I can commiserate. There are simply some recordings that no headphones can help (and the better ones will even make it worse by revealing all the (nasty) detail.

I listen to basically everything, so I can commiserate with the jazz. Once you hear a really good jazz recording (i.e. Brubeck's Time Out) everything else that's even slightly worse just sounds like crap. It's a shame too because armstrongs early stuff is just absolutely genious. Oh well.

 

[smeggy]

Sad thing is that jazz is much better recorded than pop/rock/metal. The recording industry is a joke.

 

[muckluck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy Sad thing is that jazz is much better recorded than pop/rock/metal. The recording industry is a joke.

I listen to a lot of punk, and well poor recordings are just a part of it. Honestly, it wouldn't sound right if it was recorded perfectly. Then again punk musicians aren't musically talented and the only reason I listen to it is for fun. Nothing is more fun then The Descendents or Catch 22. Good stuff.

 

[toastmaster]

I doubt the recording is to blame for modern garbage CDs. Mics and studios keep getting better and better. It's the mastering that does them in. When discs are hitting -4db RMS at parts, there's no music left. Might as well record and mix in 8 bit at that point.

 

[markot86]

I think it's just because the music industry can get away with it and still sell CD's honestly. Why oh why didn't audiophilia continue in mass popularity after the 70's-80's =/

 

[smeggy]

They're making for and selling to the average chimp with an ipod.. sound quality doesn't enter into things.

 

[stewtheking]

I find that when a recording is bad, I have to listen to it through my speakers. The less "immediate" sound means that I am less pained by nasty recording artefacts.

I also hate getting a new CD, getting into my listening chair, popping on the cans and being hit by a wall of mess when expecting beautiful sound.

Nothing I have found helps... It's a bummer.