Your old records rescued. Brand new records made
- Thread starter IanW
- Start date
I do love listening to Feynman though, (to whom the quote is attributed) in the end it all becomes a glorious jumble of poetry snatches understood then fleetingly list then new things grasped them lost, I am left a bit aphasiac by the experience and have to real desire to learn because I have no pretensions to be a physicist, but its a joy to listen to anyway.
A brilliant, mischievous and wonderful mind. These people make me feel good about our future because its possible to look deeper than we can imagine.
A brilliant, mischievous and wonderful mind. These people make me feel good about our future because its possible to look deeper than we can imagine.
Julf
Facts are our friends
Yes, I agree, if you don't believer it, your credibility is gone, no matter how you turn it around.
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
formbypc
pfm Member
Who's this 'everybody' that you claim to know all their opinions ... .
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
maxflinn
pfm Member
It allows for a more accurate reproduction of a recording due to less distortion.
But loads and loads of people prefer vinyl.
So, what's the issue? If you prefer vinyl so be it. If you prefer digital so be it. Some people love both.
What's wrong with accepting vinyls technical inferiority whilst enjoying the superior sound that you find it gives?
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
maxflinn
pfm Member
Indeed.
Be careful with those grenades, they can be very annoying, Andrew
Now, I'm out of this one
.
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
Indeed.
Be careful with those grenades, they can be very annoying, Andrew
Now, I'm out of this one
Ok, enjoy your music.
Actually it is not technically better.
No matter how many times you sample an "analogue" waveform it will never equal the original analogue waveform.
There is not enough information in the "digital words" to describe what is accurately happening.
Julf
Facts are our friends
No matter how many times you record a waveform using an analog format, it will never equal the original waveform.
In one case you reproduce (inexactly) the sound pressure variations as an approximate electric, magnetic or mechanic reproduction, and in the other as a continuous waveform that is being represented as digital numbers.
How long before somebody will mention "staircase" or "steps"?
Julf
Facts are our friends
Actually, it is.
Let's see...
Linearity/distortion - vinyl, 0.5 % THD on a good day, digital - 0.001 %
Dynamic range / SNR - vinyl, 70 dB on a really good day, digital > 100 dB
Wow and flutter - shall we even go there?
Any more parameters you would like to compare?
Actually, it is.
Let's see...
Linearity/distortion - vinyl, 0.5 % THD on a good day, digital - 0.001 %
Dynamic range / SNR - vinyl, 70 dB on a really good day, digital > 100 dB
Wow and flutter - shall we even go there?
Any more parameters you would like to compare?
I am talking about reproduction of music not technical specification.
Listen to "Chasing the Dragon" (CD or LP) where recording engineer Mike Valentine records a number of acoustic recordings using Nagra's top digital recorder and then a couple of tracks using a 25 year old Studer analogue tape machine. The recordings using the Studer are clearly and audibly better...
Julf
Facts are our friends
Ah, forgive me for thinking
actually meant technically better.
Let me fix that for you:
So, you prefer the sound of the Studer machine to the Nagra. That still doesn't really say anything about whether analog is better or worse than digital in a general.
Julf
Facts are our friends
The problem is that extraterrestrial life might not have fingers or toes, so they might not have digital. Now, is tentacular better than analog or not?
darrenyeats
pfm Member
A lot of music recorded in days gone by with analogue tape is the best sounding stuff in my collection. However, I am listening via a DAC when making this assessment.
Also, I've heard reel-to-reel sound clearly superior to a DAC. Afterward I found out the reel-to-reel was a recording of the digital files.
It may be there is something with our current model of flapping-membrane-in-mic-capsule-into-amp-into-flapping-membrane-in-speaker-in-room which is just not right psychoacoustically, and a bit of analogue adjustment in the middle corrects what is wrong, making it sound more like the real thing. (Or it could be related to limitations of present replay equipment in absolute terms - listening to digital on a good pair of headphones might be an education to some.)
That's not the same as saying analogue preserves something mysterious in an electrical signal, that digital never can. I don't believe that. It became even less believable once I understood the true principles of digital audio ... it's far more analogue in nature than I thought. The main key is understanding the samples are intended to be infinitely small points in time on a perfect curve. In that sense digital audio deals with - i.e. assumes as input, represents internally and tries to output - waveforms that are infinitely smooth, ironically in principle smoother than any physical waveform in a magnetic tape or vinyl groove!
However, I've not heard every TT out there. I've tried many times to hear the superiority of records but so far I've not had the epiphany. All this is my present personal take on the matter and I'm happy to be proved wrong.
Also, I've heard reel-to-reel sound clearly superior to a DAC. Afterward I found out the reel-to-reel was a recording of the digital files.
It may be there is something with our current model of flapping-membrane-in-mic-capsule-into-amp-into-flapping-membrane-in-speaker-in-room which is just not right psychoacoustically, and a bit of analogue adjustment in the middle corrects what is wrong, making it sound more like the real thing. (Or it could be related to limitations of present replay equipment in absolute terms - listening to digital on a good pair of headphones might be an education to some.)
That's not the same as saying analogue preserves something mysterious in an electrical signal, that digital never can. I don't believe that. It became even less believable once I understood the true principles of digital audio ... it's far more analogue in nature than I thought. The main key is understanding the samples are intended to be infinitely small points in time on a perfect curve. In that sense digital audio deals with - i.e. assumes as input, represents internally and tries to output - waveforms that are infinitely smooth, ironically in principle smoother than any physical waveform in a magnetic tape or vinyl groove!
However, I've not heard every TT out there. I've tried many times to hear the superiority of records but so far I've not had the epiphany. All this is my present personal take on the matter and I'm happy to be proved wrong.