The
*
entire* chain matters.
Some artists and producers obviously understand this.
But most don't.
Or they do but can't be bothered.
…and—
to be fair—why should they, when what feels like 99.9995% of the world's music consumption occurs through car stereos, laptops, phone speakers, cheap (but often also eye-wateringly-expensive-for-what-they-are-but-somehow-still-cheap-sounding—I'm looking at you, Apple!) ear buds and "smart" speakers, and bargain basement sound bars.
And of course not before it has been wrought through and mangled by a virtual smorgasbord of compression algorithms.
What am I trying to say with this?
No idea, as per usual.
Maybe I'm just really frustrated that so much music in genres I enjoy has been recorded and produced with all the dedication and care of a third-rate sausage factory. There inevitably comes a time in your audiophile's "career" when you hit the point where your system(s)'s accuracy outgrows the quality of the source material that you're given. That's frustrating because you have no control over it. And the further you take your system(s), the thinner your selection of "worthy" source material becomes.
Or maybe it's that I'm sincerely elated to be reminded every once in a while that—even though music has for the most part become a commodity that one consumes all day for dirt-cheap and without much (if any) thought or attention afforded to it—there
are, after all, still producers and artists out there who
actually care about recording methods and environments, sound quality, and that, when all is said and done, it is most of all about the emotional effect that they can (and will) evoke with the product of their work.
Now, cue at least half a dozen comments about "I listen to/enjoy the music, not the gear/recording!"
To that I say: All the more power to you, my friend! and that I am sincerely happy that you don't have to deal with this (admittedly as-first-world-as-it-gets) "problem."
But that doesn't change the fact that there are plenty of genres where the recording truly does matter—like classical, acoustic, and most jazz—where, for better or for worse, the objective quality and accuracy of the recording will vastly influence the subjective, emotional response a piece of music can affect in the listener. And based on the experience I have with watching how different people react to different levels of recording quality, this really seems to apply to most genres—and regardless of whether the listener is aware of the effect or attuned to differences in recording quality or if they're "just listening to the music."
That's really all this is about.
Plus: If the recording industry at large were to also care even just a tiny bit more about quality instead of only quantity, the music you already enjoy wouldn't suddenly become any less enjoyable to you. You wouldn't miss out on anything. But the rest of us—that small group of aurally hampered, us perpetually disillusioned chasers of an even just somewhat accurate reproduction of the art form we all can agree that we share a deeply felt connection to—would finally get a sorely needed bit of relieve.
I imagine a world where recordings like Rutter's Requiem, Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert, Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club, Adam Ben Ezra's Hide And Seek, Jennifer Warnes' The Well, Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Yosi Horikawa's Vapor, or the 2014 remaster of Arne Domérus' Jazz at The Pawnshop were the norm, not the exception.
A boy can dream.
Oh well…
Now it's back to work for me. This Schiit doesn't pay for itself. Chop chop!
