fuzztone
Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies...
The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at Hydrogenaudio.
>>>>I don’t think anyone is questioning the “theoretical superiority“ of CDs regarding Dynamic Range or Signal to Noise ratio. The problem arises when the industry overly compresses CDs. I.e., Loudness Wars, which they’ve been doing for the last 20 years. So, it’s not a level playing field. Many CDs have less Dynamic Range than the early issue of the same recording on LP. Since LPs often suffer the same aggressive compression as CDs one should probably proceed on a case by case basis. One can use the Unofficial Dynamic Range Database as a guide.
Also, as I’ve been cautioning, the CD playback system itself reduces the Dynamic Range of CDs even when the CD is not overly compressed. There are flaws in the way the CD transport reads the data that have been there since Gandhi was a Boy Scout.