Does analogue ultimately beat digital?

[miktec]

Floor-plan of a not untypical Recording Studio - maybe you can get first dibs of which isolation room you prefer to sit in to experience the 'reality' of a typical take

http://soundtekstudios.com

BTW - shock horror, instruments/vocals you hear on a finished track may not have been recorded at the same time as each other - or even on the same day!

(I know - crazy thought isn't it )

 

[canyelles]

I love it that the isolation rooms are so isolated you can't even get in or out of them!

 

[Rockmeister]

I love it that the isolation rooms are so isolated you can't even get in or out of them!

Nor into the loo or indeed, the entire building! You just can't get good architects these days

 

[herb]

It seems that Beefheart sometimes sang in the next room to good effect

 

[Octavian]

Probably, but why then do some of my albums on vinyl sound more realistic, clean, and detailed in every way over the digital file?

Why would your subjective impressions need an explanation? They do not challenge our understanding in any way.

 

[spxy]

observations can be objective, if I hear a detail in track A and not track B that is objective,

 

[Anh]

I can only comment on the albums I have on vinyl vs the digital downloads or CD rips I have, the most significant difference is how they were mastered. And IMO, many of the re-issues on pop-rock vinyl sound dull, significant HF roll off compared to say a 80's or early 90's CD.

Also I tend to notice positioning of singer(s) & instruments often different to the digital versions when flicking between sources via my amp & headphones.

 

[tuga]

Probably, but why then do some of my albums on vinyl sound more realistic, clean, and detailed in every way over the digital file? BTW the vinyl is being converted back to digital in my active speakers so its not down to digital in itself.

Two things could be at play there: mastering and preference for euphonic distortion or enhanced presentation.
Digital is potentially always better but in practice the mastering may make it worse-sounding.

 

[Darren L]

Floor-plan of a not untypical Recording Studio - maybe you can get first dibs of which isolation room you prefer to sit in to experience the 'reality' of a typical take

http://soundtekstudios.com

BTW - shock horror, instruments/vocals you hear on a finished track may not have been recorded at the same time as each other - or even on the same day!

(I know - crazy thought isn't it )

Or even in the same studio, country or continent !

 

[tuga]

observations can be objective, if I hear a detail in track A and not track B that is objective,

Indeed, but scientifically-valid observation requires strict methodology.

 

[Octavian]

observations can be objective, if I hear a detail in track A and not track B that is objective,

Your observation per se may be an objective fact. But that is not the issue.

 

[foxwelljsly]

Really ****ing loud beats both.

 

[miktec]

Or even in the same studio, country or continent !

yep

 

[Ayya Khema]

Two things could be at play there: mastering and preference for euphonic distortion or enhanced presentation.
Digital is potentially always better but in practice the mastering may make it worse-sounding.

You wish
you mean analog is always potentially better?

How can people think the original tapes is worst then the digital versions?

 

[tuga]

You wish
you mean analog is always potentially better?

How can people think the original tapes is worst then the digital versions?

I don't know. Do people think that?

 

[tuga]

You wish
you mean analog is always potentially better?

How can people think the original tapes is worst then the digital versions?

Actually, it is possible to digitally restore poorly preserved tapes and improve the sound of the recording.
But more importantly digital can produce an identical copy of the analogue tapes, unlike vinyl or cassette tape. In other words, a digital copy will sound identical to the master tape, a vinyl copy will have all the flaws of vinyl imprinted onto it.

 

[zeon]

I LOVE VINYL... but I like CD as well

 

[nostromo]

Digital has really caught up in recent years...as it needed to... It might have overtaken now.... As far as new releases, it definitely has.

 

[tpetsch]

Now if they can only get the musicians on digitally streamed tracks to play together as well as they do on the same analog LP tracks variants they'd really be onto something..

 

[cooky1257]

I like analogue but vinyl has its own set of euphonic compromises-inescapable facts defined by the medium, it's amazing it sounds so good and cost are high if you want to get the best from it.
A purer source for analogue would be tape but again it's not without its limitations- many are sonically rather fortunate in that even the compromises sound good....
I strongly recommend the Glynn Johns 'sound man' book https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0147516579/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
I thought I'd lost track of this site but found it again, have a look at these frequency response plots of some serious high end tape machines: http://www.endino.com/graphs/
Mastering is everything regardless of format but digital has won, either get over it or return all you MOFI albums....