to my ears digital audio does not sound natural? something is wrong!

To borrow one of Frank's observations: "A lot of recordings are drenched in reverb."  There's a hall-like ambience created for the listener.  Not real, but part of the art of production. 

mahler123,

'With vinyl, with its decreased dynamic range, it can sound as if the music is more naturally frame.  With digital, it can sound as if there is wasted space.  Think of the way DVD players can crop the images on large flat screen TVs, particularly on older content.  Like hey, I paid for a 65 inch screen, why is the image being shown at less than 50?  Listening to pop music on vinyl is more like watching an old movie on a cathode Ray TV.  Even though the the music and the reproduction have limits, the limitations are complimentary, so they seem to work together to some people.'


Interesting post, you've obviously given it some thought.

You know there is a school of thought in audio that suggests that some systems with increased resolution can unkindly expose recording faults and limitations at the expense of the music whilst less resolving systems might be more benevolent.

Sometimes a gentle dip at certain frequencies is also mentioned.

Could it also be that albums such as Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman originally cut for vinyl might get exposed unless transferred with great care to digital? 

I used to feel that those early Cat Stevens solo albums were recorded a little raw, verging on tape saturation. There  also seemed to be plenty of tape hiss audible on the LPs, though I thought it was worth it for the enhanced intimacy it brought to the vocals.

Another problem here is that it's difficult to compare like with like as the LP and CD mastering transfers can themselves sound different. 

I would totally agree with your views regarding Classical. Very few turntables in my experience have managed to give a good account of themselves with all the various demands of classical music, especially those difficult vocal works. 

I think I could sense my turntable having palpitations as I turned up the volume on my Maria Callas LP. The cartridge wasn't too pleased either. 

@cd318 
I Really do think that Classical shouldn’t be judged, in audio terms, for the reasons that both of us cite, in the same manner as other genres, excepting jazz and other acoustic instrument favoring genres such as World Music.
  I find that most of the pop music I grew up with sounds worse on a high end system.  Take a typical Phil Spector produced girl group song.  These were recorded and mixed with the expectation that the typical listener would be enjoying this on an AM radio, in a car or elsewhere.  Even played on a KMart Special as a 45 single back in the day I remember feeling they didn’t move as much as on a $5 Japanese transistor radio.  Replayed back on a 5 figure system they just sound silly to me, the aural equivalent of watching kids wear their parent’s clothing.  I prefer them on a $39 Bluetooth speaker.
  Now, in the early sixties the head of Columbia Records got the bright idea to mix their Classical as if everyone would be listening on those same AM radios.  See if you can an original lp of Bernstein/NYP Mahler 7 to illustrate this, and compare with any CD remix.  The original lp sounds like the Orchestra has been crammed into a telephone booth

Here's my experience with digital. CD transport to a good dac sounds better than the streamer. It's not that the streamer sounds bad it's just that the vinyl sounds the most natural and detailed even with the pops and dust. My system started as digital and now I've acquired vinyl as well. Streaming with roon to an innuos steamer is still very good. Not the same league as vinyl. Not yet. That's my take.

I have a TOTL modern CD player and I'm always going back to my vinyl rig after a while. Like some people prefer tubes to solid state. Less accurate but easier on the ear.