I would say that its Howards age thats the problem... its his Ignorance, which is timeless.
Way back when I was 17, I bought a laserdisc player, a Pioneer surround sound receiver, and some
fairly awesome used speakers that had treble adjustments, real hardwood boxes, and incredible sound
quality. (12" three ways)
I purchased many CDs of many different types of music. One day, I bought a new Van Halen cd, and the
sound quality was absolute crap. Muddy and distorted, compared to all the other CDs I own.. as well as
compared to any other music they had produced.
I started looking for an answer... comparing CDs. My 'Pebbles' cd, had "AAD" on it... but the VH cd had "DDD".
A = Analog. D = Digital. IE: Analog recorded, analog mastered, digitally transfered. Something like that. I dont have time to look it up.
Anyways, the difference in quality was Very noticeable... and ticked me off. It wasnt much longer, that every CD and
remaster CD, was the same or worse. That was the start of the Loudness wars.
One thing that people should know.. is that its not just the Volume that compression effects... but it actually distorts the musical clarity. The higher frequency things are squashed, and lose their sparkle. It turns a Rainbow of clear sound, into a brown patch of crap.
And the problem isnt just the compression. Its also in the digital recording.
Because of the nature of Digital recording... they are often doing things like editing the drums. Tweaking their timeings so that they are mathematically perfect. Which ends up making them sound artificial, sterile, robotic, non-emotional nor expressive. Just really drab and boring.
In many remasters... they throw in digital recordings into analog material... but the sounds dont match. So it sounds out of place. Often, it sounds worse. Sometimes even out of pitch.
And finally, its all compressed to hell. The highest highs... and the lowest lows.. are turned into distorted middle blahs.
Records, are pretty much a direct copy of the master audio track. There is no sample times. Its all live, all the time. While its not a lasting media.. its still superior in output to a cd, and the cd industry. I dont even own one, but I can tell you that its truth without Egotistical prejudice... due to mere FACTS.
Now, heres the kicker... you pick up a DVD, and the sound quality on movie tracks.. are FAR more dynamic than CDs.
Digital can sound Really good. But its really up to the sample quality (more samples per sec = greater file size), as well as the equipment you are playing it thru.
I can verify me Sennheiser HD590 headphones, can reproduce sounds than the standard big name brands that are in department stores can NOT. Not only that.. but when I tried to play some music on them with, using PCs with modern 'onboard' sound chipsets... I got horrible results. Yet my well older soundblaster audigy, plays every detail crystal clear.
As for Speakers... my Techniques 3ways are decent. However, Ive come to realize that they, like most Modern made stuff.. is far inferior to many speakers made in the past.
For example.. I found a pair of old EPI bookshelf speakers, that have inverted tweeters. The sound is Incredible. Its almost holographically 3d. Most speakers have a 'sweet spot'. A spot where you sit, and it sounds best. But these EPIs sound good almost anywhere you stand. The high range is all over the room, to the point where you cant even discern where the speakers are, if you didnt already know. Equally impressive, was the 8" woofer. It was laying down punchy, responsive, and undistorted sound. The bass was heavy and low... even lower at times, than my 12" technique woofers... and FAR more accurate. Very noticeable. Very Luscious to the ears.
One reason for this.. is that most modern speakers use Bass - Ports. A bass port produces a very artificial bass sound.. via a "tuned" tube. When the speaker runs out of air volume, things get even worse for this type of design. But the EPIs are 100% airtight & sealed. This means far truer and accurate sounds are reproduced. No phoney tuned ports. No running out of compressible air.
Another reason, is the enclosure. These things are HEAVY. They weigh about 2x the mass of my much larger techs. They use real thick wood.. and not cheap thin particle board. The density and strength of the material, means no distortions and no leaks.
And then there is Crossover quality. In many older speakers.. they used very advanced and adjustable crossovers. The cheaper and lower quality crossovers often cause issues with sound quality.
Theres more.. but heres the main points:
Todays speakers are made to be light, cheap, and small.. to maximize profits.
Todays 'good' speakers will cost thosands of dollars - because cost of labor & materials is much high than when compared to times spanning from the 60s to the 80s.
Todays electronics are usually made cheaply on purpose, so that they fail in like 5yrs or less. This is so you have to go and buy new stuff often. Where as older electronics, could last over 30yrs, without a hiccup.