On 12/28/2012 03:50 PM, Chris Bannister wrote:
I am referring to the faithfulness of the reproduction, when comparing analogue to digital. On paper, an analogue signal is an exact reproduction whereas a digital signal is, by its very nature, an approximation of the original, even if it is very close.
chris, i love my vinyls, but this argument is as old and tired as it is wrong. any medium this side of the river jordan is band-limited, no matter whether it's analog or digital.
the evil little steps in a digital pcm stream are just an upper band limit, and they are _low-pass_filtered_ on playback, which makes them into a time- and value-continuous signal, i.e. analog.
if you think your lps give you some ultrasonic revelations, measure again, and again after playing them ten more times. if the magic were in the octave from 20-40khz, then every lp would be a disposable "use once" medium. the frequencies below that are reproduced _perfectly_ by a cd.
in the end, anything that hits a microphone diaphragm stops being the real thing and ends up a (hopefully good) approximation. analog is inspiring, with its clumsiness and limitations to rub against, but any halfway decent digital system is having analog for breakfast, always.
now if we talk about sonic preference, ok. but what you prefer in analog are _artefacts_, not fidelity.
nothing could be more elegant than a minimal signal chain starting with a high-end turntable, through a ten-watt tube amp into a horn speaker (anyone wants to try to outdo that in digital with the same number of signal stages?), but there is nothing metaphysical in there, and no inherent superiority, it's just elegant in its simplicity, and the constant degradation of the medium adds value to each listening session. if i have an lp on and the phone rings, i raise the needle. if it's a cd, i turn down the volume or leave it running while i leave the room, because i can always have that perfect copy. but that's a workaround for how my mind works, and says nothing about the fidelity of analog vs. digital. a true zen master would listen to digital, undegradable media just as attentively, and could do without the haptics of an album sleeve i'm sure.
Couldn't agree more. Of course, "the sweet spot" can vary from individual to individual. Also upgrading, for example say speaker cable, can improve the sound of your music collection that much more.
i'm happy for you if you believe that, but i'm more happy for your dealer, because he will have an objective benefit :) loudspeaker cables only make a difference when used with very weird interfaces (such as a minimal tube amp), and even then those that are hyped the most are electrically the weirdest (read: just wrong). with a modern amp, any old piece of copper is just fine, provided it is thick enough. if you like to "tune" your sound, get yourself an eq and approach it systematically. incidentally, there are speaker cables being sold for rates that easily buy you a manley massive passive. now that is a tool for tweaking :)
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