"old" music on new hifi, vs old hifi

[brunBar]

Is it just me?

Pink Floyd the wall double CD sounded great on my 80s/90s setup , while lackluster on my 2017+ hifi . It's not as "present"as on my old system

The same is on Metal Church , gods of wrath.

New productions sounds great on my current system

 

[Timcognito]

Using memory as a comparison is very problematic and unrealistic but having both systems side by side much less but still problematic because of bias sight bias.

 

[terryforsythe]

For old recordings, offtentimes I prefer to add more bass, somewhere in the range 3-6dB, and sometimes some high frequency adjustment. I typically don't feel the need to do so for modern recordings.

 

[Mart68]

Is it just me?

Maybe not. Someone gave me 'The Wall' on CD so I listened to it recently for the first time in at least 25 years.

My copy back then was a cassette copied off the vinyl played on a bottom of the range '80s Sony tape deck. I used to think it was a great production but on my 2026 system I was surprised how stitched together it sounded. And nothing like as 'meaty'.

 

[kemmler3D]

I think systems with audible levels of THD add "meat" or warmth that sounds good on some old recordings and it can sound relatively thin without it. These days you are more likely to have inaudible THD than you were 25 years ago, especially if your audio knowledge and budget have increased in the meantime...

 

[brunBar]

Using memory as a comparison is very problematic and unrealistic but having both systems side by side much less but still problematic because of bias sight bias.

You are correct yet insulting me. I think I'm on to something

 

[RexrothPigeon]

You are correct yet insulting me. I think I'm on to something

Don't be insulted. These are simple facts that apply to all of us: audio memory is extremely brief and long term memory is extremely unreliable; sighted listening comparisons are not really listening comparisons.

 

[Chrispy]

I don't think you can possibly remember accurately what you heard 30-40 years ago I can get close as I still have gear spanning that range, but I don't find the gear rather than the different music makes more difference....

 

[Sokel]

There are things we can remember and there are things that we don't.

I will never forget Walkman's hiss when playing "Making Movies" some 40 years ago for example.
But don't ask me about its tonality

 

[JSmith]

I don't think you can possibly remember accurately what you heard 30-40 years ago

Even if they could somehow... hearing would not be the same at all.


JSmith

 

[SSS]

My old LPs from 1970 up sound on my current stereo equipment better than at those old days. And new recordings puchased as flac files sound perfect.