Wayne Parham Messages: 18789 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
You can only get out what you put in. Anything else is an alteration of the input signal. A good system is designed to reproduce the input signal faithfully, not to distort, alter or enhance it in any way.
Having a system that sounds better on some material than others can be an indication of some sort of defect. Could be in the playback system, or could be in the recording.
As an example, some radio stations intentionally enhance bass and treble and compress the dynamic range. This sounds good on little portable devices that lack dynamic range and response at both ends of the spectrum. But when you play this on a good system, it sounds bad - it sounds like what it is - compressed, spitty and bass heavy.
So but that leads to one problem with a good system. Play bad stuff through it and it sounds bad. Play a record that had been overdubbed too many times in the recording studio and you'll hear the tape hiss. Play a CD that had been compressed too much during production for top-forty airplay and it sounds like an AM radio turned up too loud. These things are in the material, so they'll expose themselves like a rotten fish when played back on a good system.