Very True Fred.
Also, for the post above it. Playing with tone controls can definitely improve the sound of a 'poor recording' by masking some of the flaws. I have pretty much resigned myself to leaving them all turned off though. Just too much work to keep adjusting them as I normally listen to my entire collection on random mode and I refuse to tweak on a song by song basis. I never tend to like any of the "presets" that you speak of. They change the sound way too radically, but that's just me.
It's rare anything sounds so poorly recorded that I'm actually tempted to adjust or not listen. It's all relative. Good is SOOO good on Axioms that calling some stuff 'poor' is probably a bit unfair.
By "first two Scorpions albums", are you going all the way back to thier first release in 1972, "Lonesome Crow" or are you talking the first one to have big commercial success in North America, "Love at First Sting"? I have some CD version of "Love at First Sting." it certainly won't win any engineering rewards but it will still Rock You Like a Hurricane on my M60s. I get a little nostalgic shiver down my spine every time that opening guitar riff comes up.
