Can Bad Recordings sound Good?

[Digi&Analog Fan]

It is actually been accepted as common knowledge on some less intelligent forums that the higher resolution your system is, the worse your lesser recordings will sound because it will reveal their flaws. A case of logic or more accurately non-logic over actual experience. The bad things that make so called bad recordings sound bad usually relate to distortion products and electronic signature. Truly great equipment might be more revealing, but it also has less distortion of many different types and less electronic signature which work hand in hand to produce stingy unpleasant unnatural sounds. The net result is a relative smoothing over of the recordings faults, not by veiling them but by the system only producing musical sounds minus the distortion and electronic signature of lesser gear. Distortion and electronic signature manifests itself as grain, edge, brightness & sting and interferes with natural harmonics, making instruments and voices sound unnatural and artificial in addition to sounding unpleasant. Get rid of as much distortion and electronic signature as possible and even though the sound of that caliber of equipment will likely be more revealing, the sound will still be much nicer and more pleasant sounding. Even the sound inner groove gross cartride mistracking makes, sounds puffy and smooth, rather than harsh on an ultra clean system. It's there but not so offensive or annoying. The "too revealing of bad recordings" crowd are often "detail chasers" whosechosen systems have peaks in the frequency response in places that its terrible to have peaks, and their systems are usually too bright and have distortion unbenounced to them and they blame it all on their recordings. They have problems and they are great.

[Digi&Analog Fan]

 I don't think I'm confusing anything, but I do agree that a recordings inherent limitation on how good it can sound, depends on the quality of what's in the groove. If we upgrade where our systems sound is adding much less distortion and electronic artifacts to the recording, it is sometimes surprising how good a recording can sound. I don't think they ever go from downright awful to great, but sometimes from near  awful to quite listenable.Some phono cartridges have trouble reproducing the harmonics of certain instruments played together like a flute and guitar where both are playing sudden and loud. There are some recordings though that are so bad that I don't think they are ever capable of sounding good. All great equip. can do is reproduce what is there. 

[Digi&Analog Fan]

 Its more like the bad sounds are still there but they have a different character, the bad sounds don't sound nearly as bad, smoother and less nasty. More trivial you might say. No ear wince anymore. Gross cartridge mistracking noise instead of being harsh sort of sounds like a burst of tape hiss, which isn't nearly as objectionable, or at least no spikes coming at your ear. Tolerable.