Sacrifices at the Altar of Transparency (1 Viewer)

[Anthony F.]

I've reached the point with my system where the good CDs sound really good, and the bad ones can sound really bad. Unfortunately, I have a lot of favorites in the "bad" sounding pile. When you reach this point do you start weeding out your collection? Relegating some for car use only? Suddenly "discover" that jazz and classical are the only genres worth listening to (because that's what Telarc and Chesky produce)? Invest in a crap-load of remasters? Just curious how you handle the double edged sword of good audio reproduction....

 

[JohnWalk]

I hear you. I recently put together a very nice 2-channel stereo system. I'm systematically listening to every CD I own (about 800), and rating each one (a 5-point scale) for music quality, and for sonics. I'm also taking notes about which CDs utilize my subwoofer, and which feature "holographic" 3D imaging.
So far, I've evaluated about 150 CDs. It's been a fun exercise. I've rediscovered some CDs that I haven't played in years. But I've also discovered that some of my favorites sound pretty bad in a critical listening situation.
I don't intend to get rid of any of them. But I probably won't listen to the poor sounding CDs, except in the car or as background music when I'm doing something else.
Maybe I'm not as discriminating as you, but I've found lots of superb sounding CDs in genres other than jazz and classical, and on labels other than Chesky and Telarc.