Width of Stage

Generally there is information missing on CD playback. It not very obvious because you get used to the medium and you don’t know what you’re missing until you compare mediums. There are a number of reasons why stock out-of-the-box CD playback cannot match the tonality, dynamics or the resolution of LP playback, or even cassette playback for that matter! Those reasons include, as I oft counsel, the interference of scattered laser light getting into the photodetector, the interference of external vibration induced by the transport mechanism and transformer, the fluttering of the CD during play and seismic-type low frequency vibration coming up from the floor.

There are other reasons, too, but time doesn’t permit. Those are the main ones. Sorry to be a bear 🐻 of bad gnus. 🐃 🐃

The good gnus 🐃 is that CD playback can sound dynamic, analog and tonality correct when those main problems are rectified. Otherwise, I guess you’ll have to live with sound that is compressed, rolled off, bass shy, two dimensional, boring, congealed, generic, like elevator music.

The interesting thing about channel cross talk in LP playback is that it is in reverse polarity, which potentially mimics the effect of stereo widening methods such as Polk SDA and Carver Sonic Holography, except it lacks the time delay and any HRTF effects. There also can be significant pre-echo in LP playback. I don't know that either of those cause a perceptible effect in stereo width, but it makes me wonder. There's a lot going on there that doesn't happen when listening to a live acoustic instrument. 

There was an article written years ago about a visit to a Telarc orchestral recording session. I searched google but can't seem to find it. Anyway, the guy, who I recall had complained about the sound of CDs in other articles, was shocked to be listening to the orchestra playing right in front of his eyes yet producing sound that was like CD playback! He concluded that the extreme push for quiet background noise by using tight fitting clothing, squeak free chairs, no music pages turning or audience coughs, had led to an unnatural sound. 

I've been to live orchestral performances in recent years that sounded very uninspiring to me due to overly dead playback venues. I'll take a well recorded CD played through my speakers and a run-of-the-mill consumer CD player or even MP3 player over that sound any day. 

All pressings / recordings are not created equal.  Even CD's vary from release to release. Engineers juice the recording each time based on expected audience and their own mastering equipment.

BINGO! ... though I am not sure the level of crosstalk is sufficient to cancel enough of the sound from the opposite channel such that the signal from each speaker is isolated to each ear, at least at some level.  Look up ambiophonics, a modern take.

asctim6 posts05-14-2020 2:41pmThe interesting thing about channel cross talk in LP playback is that it is in reverse polarity, which potentially mimics the effect of stereo widening methods such as Polk SDA and Carver Sonic Holography, except it lacks the time delay and any HRTF effects.