I have a first gen copy from the master tape of Talking Heads "True Stories" album. Honest, it is the genuine article. I also have the vinyl lp, the CD and a HIGH Def 96/24 download. With my system I can play all 4 versions at the same time. I can select from the preamp which version I would be listening to at that particular moment. Without a doubt the tape version blows away all others. I mean it is not even close. I have performed this test many times with friends and never has anyone selected anything else but the tape as the best sounding version of the music. It really is that obvious. My question is, how can the worst technically as far as distortion, bandwidth and background noise sound so much better than the far superior vinyl and digital formats?
The issue here is confusing the media with individual situations. If you recall, I had to refute the idea that there is no degradation with analog copies. There most definitely is! The first thing you have to sort out is the source of the LP. While LP is a higher performance medium, it does have its own issues. One of them is the stamper; since its Talking Heads the stamper was probably made though a 3-step process. But how many stampers were made? The first stampers made are the best sounding; like anything analog successive generations degrade; if you are on the 50th stamper its just not going to be as lively as the 1st.
Then we have to sort out the provenience of the tape that was the master for the LP mastering. The reason you have a 2nd gen copy is likely because several were made so that the LP could be mastered and pressed in several plants in the US (and overseas as well). Which plant did your LP come from? If not the country of origin, its likely not to sound as good- in the country of origin there is a feedback process where a test pressing is sent to the artist and producer to sign off on. If your LP came from somewhere else this may not have happened.
If the label was pressed for time or if they were about their usual affairs, the last thing they want to do is pay $400/hour to the mastering engineer to sort out how to make the best lacquer of the recording possible without processing. Its much cheaper to throw a compressor and mono bass processor in the signal chain (both of which will degrade the sound as they are adding distortion and reducing bandwidth); that way they minimize the LP mastering cost; they’ll get something acceptable and it won’t be the ’best’.
Of course there is the issue of your LP playback which has a lot of variables as opposed to a pro audio tape machine which arguably has less.
I can go on but I think I’ve made my point several times over. And this is why I am a fan of tape, because it does offer the opportunity to get closer to the master, and while its performance is measurably and audibly inferior to the LP, the fact is that most of the time getting closer to the master recording makes it the medium of choice.
BTW my Revox is down the road to its new owner. Thanks to all that contacted me.
I don't have "tape hiss"; evidently you were not doing proper maintenance, or bought cheap tape.
Tape hiss is inherent with all analog tape and all analog tape machines. It is caused by the random magnetic states of tape particles as they move past the playback head. If you can't hear it that's a different thing but its there nonetheless.
