Dave, Your ears may be on to something. The link below is to an article by Christina Tham that attempts to explore this issue objectively using spectral analysis and an attempt to compare apples to apples LP to CD. I have seen some people fault her methodology and assumptions, but it's still an interesting attempt to quantify a very subjective subject. In fact, some of the discussions (arguments) about vinyl vs CD make the argument over forums vs e-mail lists for SB look downright tame.
Her conclusion, for what it's worth: "It appears that the vinylphile claims are not as outrageous as they seem: LPs do have a usable dynamic range far greater than the measured dynamic range would suggest, and LPs consistently have higher relative dynamics over digital formats. But it is also true that LPs have higher distortion levels which translate to ultrasonic frequency harmonics. The question is: is the higher relative dynamics of LPs an indication of higher accuracy, or are LPs exaggerating transients and dynamics? I'm not sure, and I would welcome comments. If LPs have higher distortion and are exaggerating dynamics, it may explain why the apparent "benefits" of LPs translate even into LP recordings, and potentially explain why LPs of digital recordings sound better than their CD equivalents." The full article is here: http://users.bigpond.net.au/christie/comparo/part4.html and it's an interesting hypothesis. Mike ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Owen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Slim Devices Discussion" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 3:25 PM Subject: RE: [slim] audiophile cred (tangent) >> The true Audiophiles are in the >> main still on vinyl because CD's "don't have the same warm feel". > Rubbish. Sorry, that's too polite: bollocks. Early digital technology > was not well understood and did indeed sound poor. Current technology is > far better and sounds comparable to "quality" vinyl. Here's an interesting story: After more than fifteen years without a record player, I just obtained a nice old Technics SL-D20 record player. I mosey'd down to the store, bought a new (cheap) needle, and hooked it up. I then threw an old (but good condition) Elton John record onto the platter and started listening. It sounded WONDERFUL. Vibrant. Really, really good. Crisp. Real. I was actually expecting it to sound lousy by comparison to the latest technology, and I was surprised. We're not talking about a really good stereo system, either (although it's not a bad one). Just for snicks and grins, I played the same album as a CD on the same stereo, and it sounded -cleaner- (no pops or hiss) but not nearly as vibrant and crisp. Without telling my wife of my experience, I let her know the player was hooked up and dropped the needle on the album (it's one of her favorites). Within two minutes she asked me why it sounded so much better than the CD. I'm not an audiophile, but I do think there's something to the "analog sounds better" theory, even now. After all, movies don't look as good as real life, even though you can't see that they flicker -- so perhaps perfect reproduction of a subset of frequencies just don't sound as good (although they do sound great) as less-than-perfect reproductions of all frequencies. But that's just me. :) _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
