I have one little bit of experience that is possibly relevant.
A [long] while back I was lucky enough to hear an ORIGINAL Charley Patton 78rpm (I didn't own it of course) and the sound of that pretty beat-up bit of shellac (through a modest system) was singularly spectacular, seriously good. It was much more immediate than any vinyl or CD version I have heard since.
The deck playing this wonderful disc was a modified Garrard (I think) with a Decca (I think), Technics amp - forgot speakers.
I doubt my current [quite fancy, Lyra Etna-lead] set-up could match the sheer presence of the Great Man played on the original.
It was like he was right there in the room.
Maybe this was just an outlier, specific to pre-war Delta blues? But I know others who have had the same experience (John Peel R.I.P. had an original Skip James 78 and played this with the LP version afterwards, even on the radio the difference was stark ... the 78 blew away the LP, and Peel could not stop stating this either on air).
Why would this would be? This is the only time I would submit that another medium was superior to vinyl, but in this case it was. Weird.
A [long] while back I was lucky enough to hear an ORIGINAL Charley Patton 78rpm (I didn't own it of course) and the sound of that pretty beat-up bit of shellac (through a modest system) was singularly spectacular, seriously good. It was much more immediate than any vinyl or CD version I have heard since.
The deck playing this wonderful disc was a modified Garrard (I think) with a Decca (I think), Technics amp - forgot speakers.
I doubt my current [quite fancy, Lyra Etna-lead] set-up could match the sheer presence of the Great Man played on the original.
It was like he was right there in the room.
Maybe this was just an outlier, specific to pre-war Delta blues? But I know others who have had the same experience (John Peel R.I.P. had an original Skip James 78 and played this with the LP version afterwards, even on the radio the difference was stark ... the 78 blew away the LP, and Peel could not stop stating this either on air).
Why would this would be? This is the only time I would submit that another medium was superior to vinyl, but in this case it was. Weird.