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vinyl versus digital redux

Has anyone compared the sound of vinyl with the sound of digital converted from a vinyl intermediary ?

I am referring to 'rips' of vinyl made with high end, high quality vinyl playback systems, with
conversion to high resolution digital.
I find it nearly impossible to distinguish the two results.
The digital rip of a vinyl record sounds identical...or very nearly so...to direct playback of the vinyl.

If one has 'experienced' the foregoing, one might question why digital made without the intermediary of vinyl sounds so different from vinyl.   A detective story ?

We are talking about vinyl made by ADC (analog to digital conversion) of an amplified microphone signal and re-conversion to analog for output to the record cutting lathe, or from analog tape recording of an amplified microphone signal, and then....as above...via ADCl and back to analog for output to the cutting lathe.

Of course vinyl can be and is 'cut' (pressings made from 'stamper' copies the 'master' cut in lacquer) without digital intermediary.  Such practice is apparently uncommon, and ?? identified as such by the 'label' (production)

Has anyone compared vinyl and high resolution digital (downloads) albums offered by the same 'label' of the same performance ?  Granted, digital versus vinyl difference should diminish with higher digital resolution.   Sound waves are sine waves....air waves do not 'travel' in digital bits.    A digital signal cannot be more than an approximation of a sine wave, but a closer approximation as potential digital resolution (equating to bit depth times sampling frequency) increases.

If vinyl and digital well made from vinyl intermediary sound almost identical, and If vinyl and digital not made via vinyl intermediary sound quite different, what is the source of this difference ? 

Could it reside....I'll skip the sound processing stages (including RIAA equalization)...in the electro-mechanical process imparting the signal to the vinyl groove ?

Is there analogy with speaker cone material and the need for a degree of self-damping ?
Were self-damping not to some extent desirable, would not all speaker cones, from tweeter to sub-woofer, be made of materials where stiffness to weight ratio was of sole importance ?

Thanks for any comments.
seventies
seventies OP
67 posts
 
rossb
Your statement "digital recordings played back as lp's still sound digital"
is a great point for discussion.
Remember records marketed as 'digital' recordings ?  I still have a few.
I should retrieve and play them.
Meanwhile, what proportion of newly produced lp's are made without intervention of digital....from tape I presume ?
All answers appreciated.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,638 posts
 
rossb,  I hate to tell you this, but vinyl sounds artificial too.  Anyone can tell the difference between a vinyl record playing in the room and people performing in the room.

You like vinyl and that's great, but it's just a substitute for the real thing.  When we get to the point where you can't tell the difference between a live performance and a reproduction someday, it will be digital or some not yet developed form of information storage and playback.
geof3
1,129 posts
 
To the above, that is correct, any form of recorded music is, recorded. It is not live, and has whatever coloration the recording may add. However, if a live show was recorded flat, no EQ, or any other fix, effect etc... IMO that recording would sound better on vinyl vs. digital. Perhaps it is a personal preference, but I too think vinyl has the edge on SQ over digital. 
Post removed 
pindac's avatar
pindac
3,154 posts
 
Just recently on another Forum I visit but am not a Member.
There has been Needle Drops carried out to present a Vinyl System with a Particular Device added.

There was a suggestion made on how to listen to the needle drops using a Digital Set Up, and a few who followed the information were quite impressed with what they were perceiving.

To get this correct does seems to make sense as a Cartridge today is quite a expensive consumable and if a Digital Recording of any Vinyl Album can satisfy a owner/user, and be used as a Substitute for the Vinyl, then the Cartridge might get used a little less and lengthen it usable life.

Removing the TT Set Up from the equation and a DAC,
what is the projected outlay to acquire the Devices required to produce a Recording of a Analogue to Digital Conversion.

   
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