I'm with Ralph. Direct-to-Disc LP's sound more like a "live feed" (THE ultimate test, with the sound directly from the mics in the recording room compared to the resulting recording, listened to through the studio's monitors, A/B'ed in real time) than any tape I've ever heard, including first generation masters in the studio (I have a friend with a good one, outfitted with Neuman and other professional mics and a Manley tube mic pre-amp, and a 3M 2" recorder), and tapes I have made myself (with a pair of condenser mics and a Revox A-77). I've heard first generation mixes done on a 2-track 1/2" Ampex, still not as alive as a D-D LP played on a good record player. Sorry! As for 96/24 digital recordings, that I can't speak to.
No cartridge is good enough.
It appears that even the very best can't extract everything from the groove. Yes, along with table/arm.
Is there any way, theoretically speaking, to take cartridge design and execution to a much higher level?
What about laser instead of cartridge/arm? I know there was/is one company that tried. It didn't sound better and required cleaning records before each play. But laser could be improved. This approach didn't take off, it would seem.
Is there any way, theoretically speaking, to take cartridge design and execution to a much higher level?
What about laser instead of cartridge/arm? I know there was/is one company that tried. It didn't sound better and required cleaning records before each play. But laser could be improved. This approach didn't take off, it would seem.
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inna " ... Vinyl was never supposed to be an audiophile medium but tape was ..." Atmasphere was correct on calling this claim as erroneous. The innovation of the LP was absolutely driven by the goal of high fidelity. Tape, at the time that Goldmark and CBS introduced the LP, was not a practical consumer format. Prior to the LP, consumers relied on its phonograph predecessor and had fidelity not been the goal, the LP would never have been brought to market. When it was introduced, the long-playing record was hailed as the huge advance in high fidelity playback that it was. It was much higher fidelity than commercially available pre-recorded tapes, which were duplicated at high speeds. That's why they had such limited HF content. |
To the original OP's question, I don't have direct experience on this matter, but I suspect that a Soundsmith strain gauge cartridge (http://www.sound-smith.com/cartridges/strain-gauge-systems/strain-gauge-systems) mounted on an air-driven linear tracking tonearm on a 6-figure turntable would get you about as close as you can get. |
- 56 posts total