Quote Originally Posted by 02audionoob
I don't know the words for this phenomenon, if it truly exists, but I've heard the brain just needs the reminder of the music for the listener to enjoy it. On inferior noisemakers not all the sounds can be clearly heard in the distinct way audio gear can deliver it, but the brain knows what the music sounds like...even if the noisemaker at hand is just a cheap clock-radio.
I'm not sure I follow this. Yes if I hear a few notes of a familiar song, I can guess it. Yes if I hear a 128kb MP3 of a song I know, I will recognize it, but, in no way does my brain fill in the missing highs and missing lows and all the missing detail and instrument timber.

This is similar to listening to a good LP side by side with a CD made by BMG of the same recording. My brain does not fill in the missing length of the cymbal crashes that are missing from the CD. My brain does not fill in all the missing feeling and emotion that an analog recording has that most digital recordings lack. The analog wave is not square and does not just drop off like a digital signal normally does.

Yes there are many digital recordings that come close to analog recordings but all in all, minus a little snap crackle pop, an LP on a good rig will always sound better than the same CD on similar gear.

Maybe I only have half a brain but I can clearly hear all the differences that I just mentioned above and although I will know the song, the words, the music, my brain does not fill in the missing data while the crappy sounding version plays. My brain usually tells me "this recording sounds like crap".