because people want their 80 year old Ellington to sound like it was recorded yesterday? heheh.
Look, it seems they used no-noise and the sound is indeed kind of dead. On the plus side there aren't myriads of pops and crackles to distract you either. I play this stuff in the background while going about my things and for that purpose it really sounds good enough. And with good I mean that the quality does not detract from the content. If you are going to sit down and listen to whether you can hear the Duke's galoshes squeek across the floor, you will be dissappointed and will likely end up with a headache. Of course it can be done to make music like this sound wonderful, but if you are looking for an easy and cheap way to get your Ellington bases covered, this one beats many other options.
Like PeteB wrote: excellent value for money, moreso if you can pick it up for less than list price which does not seem to be too much of a challenge.
I haven't listened through all of the set, but on the parts I did play it was fairly easy to give the ole treble knob a swing and make it all a bit less muddy. Must be my system and my ears.