Vinyl vs. top-notch digital

there are a few labels that disclose a choice of 1/2". and those sometimes disclose the source tape’s details. so you have to dig a little to find this information. the cost of 1/2" is typically 66% to 100% more. it’s not just more expensive tape stock, it’s also setting up the 1/2" machine.

with grey market tapes this is a ’grey’ subject. how do you know the exact source tape? was it 1/2" or 30 ips? again; hard to know.

i have maybe a dozen 1/2" albums i know are 1/2" sourced, then another 10 i don’t really know. a 1/2" dub of a 1/4" tape will sound better than a 1/4" dub.

read Lp jacket covers and many times you will see a 1/2" tape source.

how many legit 1/2" tapes are out there to buy? can’t say, but would guess a few dozen. a separate question would be how great is the music?

@mikelavigne 
Wow. That’ sounds  like an impressive sounding  vinyl setup you have now. I heard tape at your place many years ago and was very impressed. That was my only real experience with hearing tape. I always thought 1/4” tape was regarded as superior to vinyl. Very cool. I stand corrected.
Steve.
Vancouver, B.C.

mikelavigne

... if digital people think it can compete with 1/2" tape, i have to laugh, that is just ignorant ...

It’s not clear what you’re saying here. Are you claiming that the best analog tape is technically superior to even first-class digital recorders?

the phrase ’technically superior’ is a misnomer relative to our listening to music. on paper digital recorders do all sorts of magic tricks as far as dynamic range and bandwidth. and data on analog recorders misses the fact that analog recorders record data into the noise floor, whereas digital recorders have hard limits that cannot be really approached.

i claim that no digital recordings i’ve heard capture music like 1/2" tape and if you throw 30ips into it the delta is even greater.

here is a link to an interview with a well known recording engineer that talks to this issue and it’s real world consequences. scroll down toward the bottom;

https://www.stereophile.com/content/hdcd-keith-johnson-pflash-pflaumer-michael-ritter

this subject has been beat to death, stomped on and kicked dozens of times.

i have the highest level digital playback gear and daily compare the highest rez digital to vinyl and tape. the results are easily heard.

Absolutely Mike, it is the music that counts. Quality is secondary but it always helps. When it gets down to brass tacks it is the quality of the final end user material that counts and one magic thing about digital is that it does not deteriorate over time and generations unlike analog. So, although under the best circumstance analog sounds better this may not be true with the program sources we get. A great example of this is the telephone. Anybody remember what analog cell phones sounded like? Yuk, what a mess. There is no comparison to modern digital phones.