tbewick said:
I'm sure everyone accepts your point that analogue systems can sound very good. I think the disagreement is where most of us think that the best digital systems are more transparent than the best analog systems. I take it to be your view to be that the reverse is true?
Transparency is surely the goal of all aspects of the audio chain, from the microphone in the recording studio to the loudspeakers in your own home. I entirely agree that vinyl records can sound better than CD's, but I would attribute this difference to the lower fidelity of the vinyl record, i.e. the vinyl record alters the sound from the artist's original intentions, as presented on the original studio master tape.
I thought that you might be interested in this short description of analogue tape systems from the Britannica:
'At the high-frequency end of the spectrum the weakest link is still the cassette. While many decks can claim a frequency response (+/- 3 dB) to 18000 Hz and a few go to 20000 Hz or slightly beyond, the response measurement in this case is made at a low (-20 dB) signal level. At a 0-dB recording level even premium-quality ferric and chromium dioxide-type cassettes begin to reach tape saturation at about 7 000 Hz; with metal-particle cassettes this high-frequency saturation point is extended nearly an octave higher (14 000 Hz).'
'Studio master tapes can be made with the professional Dolby-A noise-reduction system to approach 80 dB [dynamic range], and the consumer Dolby-C system can raise the measured signal-to-noise figures for cassettes to about 70 or 72 dB. (A different noise-reduction system, dbx, can achieve a dynamic range of nearly 100 dB, but its incompatibility with the widely available Dolby-B and Dolby-C systems has tended to limit its availablity.)'
Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition (1989), Volume 27, 'Sound', page 625.
This compares to a possible TPDF-dithered 93 dB dynamic range of 16 bit digital, and with light noise shaping, the subjective dynamic range can be extended by a further 18 dB. High-quality digital audio recorders typically have a very flat frequency response extending all the way to 20 kHz, and many have a response extending far beyond this. Linear and non-linear errors introduced by analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue conversions can be evaluated by constructing theoretical models of the converter and by conducting experimental tests on the converter itself.
Well, I never wanted to put myself in the position of arguing that analog is superior to digital. That's for each listener to decide. A more accurate way to say it would be that
I think analog is by its nature the reference point. What we're all seeking is accurate reproduction by whatever means possible. As far as specs and theory go, that approach definitely has its uses, yet I view them as adjuncts to my ears. "Fidelity" is an interesting concept. To me, it's not the sum of separation and resolution. When it comes to sound, the only god I bow to is the god of music.
I've never preferred the digital version to the analog version. At times,
I have found the digital version indistinguishable from analog, i.e., just as good. That is happening more often as digital improves.
To me, any advantages from digital come in the storage and handling of data, i.e., convenience, and those advantages are considerable.
I'm not against digital. Other way around. As it improves, I am finding digital more acceptable. In fact, when once I get past this issue I have about my forum registration being confirmed you'll see from the questions that I'll be asking that I'm anything
but an "analog snob." I'm interested in the whole music server concept and have a bunch of questions related to them. If I thought digital was terrible I wouldn't be interested in music servers.
But
I still love analog best. So, even as I'm inquiring about digital music servers I might also start a separate quest backwards toward reel-to-reel tape decks to play copies of analog masters. It's not something I've ever explored; I know nothing about it, and therefore maybe it's impractical. I realize how contradictory all of this is, but if there's one thing that'll never change it is my inconsistency. It makes me a sitting duck in any religious war, sort of like the Bahais in Iran. It's a little unnerving at times.
