10-Dec-2017, 10:07
(This post was last modified: 10-Dec-2017, 10:08 by Blackmorec.)
No doubt if we all listened to microphone feeds and master tapes digital would be universally recognised as superior to analog. Unfortunately we don’t. We are fed a diet of down sampled digital radio, compressed files and CDs, and quite frankly a well recorded analog LP from the 60s or 70 knocks those into a cocked hat. Worse, digitally recorded LPs sound significantly inferior to their analog counterparts. Look at the used record market. The average prices for well recorded analog is 2 or 3 times that of the digital equivalent. That’s not because the digital sounds superior, quite the opposite. The old digital sonic signature may be clean, but its also typically hard, cold and somewhat electronic, lacking analog’s naturalness, musicality and warmth.
I sold my Analog system years ago when space limitations dictated downsizing, so I replaced my Turntable and Phono amp with a CDP. To this day I still play a CD that I used to listen to on vinyl and notice that it sounds inferior.
There’s no doubt that digital has come a long way.....but adding artefacts to digital recording to try and emulate some imagined distortions in analog is IMO travelling down the wrong road. What we need to do is to find better alternatives to all the digital processing that currently robs digitally processed music of its warmth.
I sold my Analog system years ago when space limitations dictated downsizing, so I replaced my Turntable and Phono amp with a CDP. To this day I still play a CD that I used to listen to on vinyl and notice that it sounds inferior.
There’s no doubt that digital has come a long way.....but adding artefacts to digital recording to try and emulate some imagined distortions in analog is IMO travelling down the wrong road. What we need to do is to find better alternatives to all the digital processing that currently robs digitally processed music of its warmth.
