Worth pursuing analog sound from digital?

uberwaltz

I have never really understood this whole argument or concept of trying to get one to sound like the other, they do not and never will.

That depends on what the goal is. If the goal is accuracy, the best analog and digital can sound remarkably similar. If you want to test that claim, use a first-class reel-to-reel deck and the digital recording equipment of your choosing and connect them simultaneously to the same live mike feed. On playback, A/B the results. You might be surprised.

There are some listeners who prefer the warm distortion that some analog recorders impart, and that’s a fine preference. But that doesn’t mean both analog and digital can’t achieve a high level of accuracy and when they do, they can sound quite alike.

I embrace multiple analog and digital sources and accept each one for what it is and what it brings to the table, warts and all.

Me too! It needn’t be an either/or thing.

flatblackround

I only say that vinyl are superfluous for ME... And i say that against those who promote vinyl as a theological miracle in sound...By the way i dont recommend to ALL people to place rocks under cable etc etc... I only partake my discovery about the noise level and simple means to improve it with the use of crystals on certain location... Each one of us have his own agenda to battle against noise...But noise is THE problem.....I listen to Mompou with these rocks now, and trust me a geological course does not teach all that is to know about rocks and sound... I wish you the best...


P.S. There is and will always be a difference between vinyl and digital, not so much in musicality "per se" because the technology is so advanced now that there is only a little margin of audible difference... But for example the effect on health by the sound is improved with analog and not so by digital, this important fact speak about analogous against digital...

These things being said i prefer digital because of the convenience and the impossibility to transform my 10,000 files of music in 10,000 vinyls...And a turntable when I own one was a pain in the ass for me...I dont even mention the price of my low cost miraculous dac versus the cost of the same quality turntable for my system...

I am very pleased to learn that analog music is better for one’s health. Old fart audiophiles should be pretty healthy and look forward to a lot more listening. I know I get a good workout moving this stuff around.   

Incorporating my mineral and rock collection is way down the list of possible system improvements and tweaks that circulate in my brain.  Actually it is not on the list.  Just can’t go that far. Great that it has worked for you.

Back to the topic.   Yes, by all means  push digital as far as you can and want to.  It sounds like music to me.

Sorry, not buyin’ it. Digital is a pale facsimile of what it should be. I don’t even have to compare it to analog. Unless you’re extremely motivated and pugnacious you simply can’t extract all of the data on the CD. No way, Jose! And if you don’t do anything at all the best you can expect is about 50% of what’s actually on the CD. And that’s if you’re lucky. Heck, the humble cassette on a Sony Walkman has more life, sweetness and air than a CD ever thought of having. So give me a break! Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “but my CDs sound fabulous!”

A turntable is mechanically very vulnerable to vibrations of his own makings and constant fluctuations of the courant from the wall for his continuous rotations, not speaking about the needle deficiencies and limitations and other things that are problematic... Sorry nothing is perfect not a dac neither a turntable... Pick your problem but dont speak about a panacea...No grudge against you Master Geoffkait … : )


A walkman is not like speakers, and most headphones are not speakerslike at all...I dont know what you listen to but me I want more than clarity and air, I want 3-d musical holography and more than that naturalness of timbre in music...You owns a very good walkman indeed... A very good headphone too it seems...


By the way I own some vinyl of Moondog 45 years ago that I listen to with my turntable and if I listen to it now in files format it is like night and days for the perceived details... It is too easy to say that 50 % of the sound is not perceived with a cd... This is only caricatural sayings about a much complex issues indeed implicating more factors than only the opposition turntable versus dac...

I concede tough that for the human nervous system anolog sound is better for health than digital.... Nothing is simple and nothing is so simplistic to be on the same side of the equation...


Dont take it personal Geoff I like you very much....:)