[Phlogiston]

Well, the message I was hoping to pass along wasn't a matter of taste, rather the damage done by recording companies to what would otherwise be art. I like most kinds of music, even new ones, except jazz. Jazz makes me nervous just waiting for a recognizable melody - but that is just me.

The reason that I posted this in the HiFi section - the reason that Sue even mentioned it to me was related to the performance of my equipment. No matter how I adjust, tune, trim or change components, I can't make some recordings sound good. Take for instance Sheryl Crow's album Detours, specifically the song Out of Our Heads. It is a catchy song with a good message. It sounds OK on a relatively good car stereo but really sounds thin and lifeless on my best home systems (no surround sound, just stereo with a sub). There is no way that the band sounded this bad. So I have to blame the engineer.

The industry is making changes aimed at the lowest common denominator, portable players and ear-buds. This , again, is a matter of taste, which changes with age along with our ability to hear. Ever notice how "old dudes" crank up the treble? It isn't only the loss of high frequency hearing - they have begun to appreciate the timbre of the music which is in the upper freq spectrum. If the adjustment was entirely based on age/hearing then you would be at a loss to explain the bass-boost so loved by the younger listeners (are their ears insensitive to freq below 100cps? - - no)

Really, it probably depends on the audience that is buying, not the audience that is listening.