How Science Got Sound Wrong


I don't believe I've posted this before or if it has been posted before but I found it quite interesting despite its technical aspect. I didn't post this for a digital vs analog discussion. We've beat that horse to death several times. I play 90% vinyl. But I still can enjoy my CD's.  

https://www.fairobserver.com/more/science/neil-young-vinyl-lp-records-digital-audio-science-news-wil...
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I’m afraid that article is the same old song and dance. What is much more interesting are the ideas of Peter Belt and his whole free wheeling approach to sound and how the local environment affects our perception of sound. These ideas help explain why cell phones 📱  in the room degrade the sound, why books in the room degrade the sound, why unused cables and electronics in the room degrade the sound. Even why our hearing is degraded by having clocks  ⏰ or watches in the room. Things of that nature. Mind-Matter Interaction. Mind over matter. Much of the standard bologna of the theory of perception of sound has become trite.
I found it interesting.

I find Analog LP's (lots of old analog record cutter produced ones) and Reel to Reel, (analog mic to analog tape) more INVOLVING than Digital.

I have simplified the difference as "Analog gets Overtones Right". 

I wish the preserved timing advantages of analog, and the resultant timing of overtones was discussed.
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I agree about precise positioning of speakers.

Happily I have an old wood floor, like grid paper on the floor, which allows me to move them into a few 'situational' positions without a ruler, including matched toe-in. I squished a speck of paper into the grid for the 2 front speaker corners.

They are very heavy, on 3 wheels, (3 will always settle with no wobble, and their weight prevents any vibration, no spikes needed for these). 

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I also believe in time alignment of various frequencies, so I tilted my speakers base a bit back (also changes reflections off both floor and ceiling, and resultant back wall).
And I use the floor's wood grid as an assist for listening chair(s) positioning, as those chairs are moved 'situationally' also, turning around to be part of home theater, back around for music system, centered for 1, off center for two. I also have a vase on the window sill perfectly centered, which helps center my head when sitting this way or that, and gives the brain a center before/during listening.

This setup is how I found that very slight balance adjustments can make a big difference on certain tracks. Remote balance from listening position allows refinement, track to track. I wish my integrated amp had remote balance. I use my Chase Remote Line Controller now.
Thank you David. I will have to think about that.

As for the Nyquist-Shannon theorem, yes, I am familiar with it, and am not convinced that it says what some engineers think it does. For one thing, it involves a limit in terms of an infinite series (or integration over infinite time), and infinite time is available for relatively few signals.

My reference, A Handbook of Fourier Theorems by Champeney (Cambridge University Press), is a little too dense for casual reading, but I’ll persevere for a time.

Thanks again for the discussion, and also for re-igniting an interest in that branch of mathematics.