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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
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
The best way to avoid the two-clock jitter problem is to go pleisiochronous. Problem solved.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Digital cannot get Heifetz’ Guarneri violin to sound right at all. It makes it sound like a respectable Chinese violin. Even the extinct audio cassette does much better.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 
Really good cymbals---Paiste 602's, old Zildjian's made in Turkey (played the best Jazz drummers in the 1950's and 60's), and modern Turkish-made Bosphorus---all of which I own and play---can sound too "splashy" after sub-par digitization.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
I would go even one step further and say "every source device does require unique tweaks to get optimal-for-your-taste results".

As far as original post goes, you are comparing different products (CD vs. LP, I assume) that were processed differently and should hardly expect them to act in the same way. Even if everything after the disc itself is perfectly aligned in the universe (which it probably is not). For that reason, both Michael Green’s and cleeds’ inputs may be correct in their own ways. If it is about listening to music,you may need to tune/tweak each set-up to achieve the sound you prefer on both or, if academically trying to compare analog vs. digital, you may need to digitize the record first.

I guess, in theory, you could also press a record of your CD and see where that leads you. Who was it that said that inconvenience is not that important in this sport? It was on another thread.

captaintripps's avatar
captaintripps
1 posts
 
America's "Ventura Highway"  on my SACD  is superb and I play via Marantz 8802a through a  L.K.S dac 

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