Again, how do you know?
DACs vs Turntables
- Thread starter hermit
- Start date
Again, how do you know?
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
compare both to the original recording which since the early 80’s will be a digital file.
Keith
Keith
But the replay process on both formats are totally different, so they will both sound different when played back through your Hi-Fi system.
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
The ‘digital’ is effectively the microphone feed the vinyl something else, with its own additions.
Keith
Keith
For the umpteenth time, how do you do that?
How do you compare either CD or vinyl with what the recording engineer heard in the studio?
Darren L
Egalitarian
You can't, well unless you're in possession of the original tapes / files and you're listening in the studio or mastering suite through the studios equipment , desk, monitors, etc
I guess the objectivist / digital side of the argument is that the recording measures bit perfect from ADC in the studio to DAC in the listeners equipment.
Now you are trying to move the goalposts. That's bad form.
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
You can never know what the engineer heard, you/we only have the recording which you can choose to reproduce as accurately as possible or not.
Keith
Amber Audio
This is the Day
If you don’t know what it sounded like when it was recorded how do you know you are replaying it as accurately as possible or not at home?
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
By choosing to use low distortion ( in-audible) reproduction equipment.
Keith
Keith
Beobloke
pfm Member
Surely if your reproduction equipment is inaudible, then you won’t hear anything?
Then again, I suppose that will make everything sound the same...
Not recording, mastering engineer. You use the same equipment to replay the recording as the mastering engineer. They have already massaged the recording to create the effect they want, and they've done this evaluation using a DAC (because 99.9% of masters are digital). If DACs all are basically identical (which you can demonstrate) then it doesn't matter if which DAC they used, you'll get basically the same sound out from the digital input as they did. If you really think DACs sound different, then buy the same DAC as the mastering engineer used on the recording you like.
BTW, this works even if DACs aren't transparent, if they introduce some terrible +6db hump at 2Khz for example, the mastering engineer will EQ this flat by pulling -6db at 2Khz, but no matter, if your DAC introduces the same distortion back in as their did, you hear what they heard.
We do not have to know that. We only have to know on general level that vinyl changes the sound audibly both in manufacturing and reproduction while cd does not.
I am? You said the CD sounds more like the original. A statement of fact. I asked, how can you know that is true? I've asked multiple times and no one has answered.
It's a simple question. How do you know what the recording engineer heard and how do you know that what you are listening to at home is more or less like it than what someone else is listening to in their home?
Amber Audio
This is the Day
How do you know vinyl changes the sound, are you in the recording/disk manufacturing industry?
I have several nice TTs and Digital sources, both formats sound very good to me, if I had to choose just 1 high end source it would be a TT because subjectively it sounds more pleasing/natural.
Yep. In the same way I can be said to know that certain events (e.g. WWII) took place before I was born or that I know the speed of light is appr. 300 000 km per second even if there is no way for me to personally measure it.
I covered that. Basically yes, if you care, you buy the exact same equipment. You may have noticed people buying ATC monitors, and Benchmark/Prism DACs, and that's what those peeps are doing. I personally don't bother with that, mainly because it's not what I care about, and I believe DACs are all pretty much identical, but if you *do* feel strongly about it, that's what you should do. You'll discover though that it doesn't matter when you are a bit older and wiser, and that enjoying music is what it's all about (that's my experience at any rate!).
Cav
pfm Member
Look at the variables in turntables: plinth, platter, bearing, motor, speed control, arm, cartridge, vta, head pressure and that is just the little I know of vinyl replay. All of that between the grooves in the disc and the output.
Now no one could possibly argue that the opportunity for added colouration is not vast. How often do you here the phrase "all TTs sound the same"?
Now no one could possibly argue that the opportunity for added colouration is not vast. How often do you here the phrase "all TTs sound the same"?
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
I think some are mixing up what's in the file sent to be cut to vinyl or stamped to disc with what the engineer heard. What he heard is that file plus playback, just like we hear that file plus our playback, plus the final production losses distortion, which for cd are negligible, but for vinyl are significant.
Sure, loudness wars are more prominent on cd, but other than that risk, easily avoided by not buying shit music, cd wins in accuracy.
Enjoyment, pffft, choose whatever you like...
Sure, loudness wars are more prominent on cd, but other than that risk, easily avoided by not buying shit music, cd wins in accuracy.
Enjoyment, pffft, choose whatever you like...