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Pieces of music that digital can't get right

Ok I have a litmus test for digital when ever I have the rare option of upgrading my digital front end. Its tough on digital. Brutally tortuous and unforgiving. Digital proponents have a difficult time accepting these sonic tests. 
1. Ok here is the first one. On the opening of America's "Ventura Highway" the opening dueling guitars are ambient and bounce off each channel very pleasantly in the analog domain. In the digital domain the channels are totally separate and too clean and sterile lifeless sounding. They are  not talking to each other It was like this with ny Marantz 8005 but the SA-10 gets halfway there.
2. In the opening of "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles the electric guitar sounds alive with ambiance and decay. The Digital is clean and lifeless.
 Ok am I right with these observation?. I have a pretty good SACD player in SA-10. Its no slouch. Do the mega expensive super smart and accurate DACs get my two above mentioned  passages right? Or are we hearing colored vinyl artifacts. Well if we are I like the record better!
128x128blueranger
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
It looks like you’re comparing two completely different pressings. That introduces a variable that makes drawing any conclusion about the differences between analog and digital invalid.
This.  You aren't controlling for the differences in how the source discs came to be produced.  A digital copy of a needle drop will still be producing the unique qualities of the analog.  I don't see any way of really comparing apples with apples.  There are always differences introduced into the recording or processing chain before the medium gets to whichever player.
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

For me personally, I don’t use multi-source same system settings for doing any referencing.

This was a big issue back in the Tape Vinyl source days, and was one of the major reasons Equalizers were used. It never really worked, using preamp sections with multi-sources but we always had frequency adjusting tools to somewhat help, but it never really was a purist approach. In reality to have a true discrete system you would only have one source, or even one input, for the system. HEA tried to bend the rules on that one, but that’s not being discrete.

You know, saying systems that only have one volume control with several inputs is being discrete is a bit of a scam. Saying one volume control is discrete period, is a scam when you think about it.

MG

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,928 posts
 
Every source device may require unique tweaks to get optimal results, whether in same or different systems.
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

I would go one step further and say "every source device does require unique tweaks to get optimal results".


MG

audioengr
3,282 posts
 

"Old proverb: A man with two clocks never knows the correct time."

It turns out that in order to get all sample-rates, digital requires two different base clock frequencies, so digital uses two clocks.....

There are a number of effects that you could be hearing here:

1) pressing is different

2) your digital front-end/DAC is not up to snuff - too much internal jitter or too much distortion from the D/A in the CDP

3) your commercial disks are creating too much jitter - treat them and apply a rubberized coating to the tops to reduce jitter.  Rewrite the disk to a good quality CDROM disk like Mitsui gold audio master.


Steve N .

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