Over the years there has been a fundamental misconception regarding the quality of digital recordings over analog recordings.
The first thing to do is actually compare a vinyl pressing of the same recording present on a CD - naturally, on a high quality playback system.
Based on my experience, an original digital recording (DDD) tends to sound much better on a CD (lower distortion, better dynamics, no background noise, etc.); on the other hand, original analog recordings (ADD and AAD) can often sound better when played off an LP; but there is a reason behind these sonic differences.
When transferring an analog recording to the digital domain, the audio engineer is often tempted to try to filter out some of the background hiss inherent to the original tape, thus modifying the frequency response of the recording, limiting both the high frequencies and the original dynamics of the recording. The result is a cleaner recording, but with a dull sound.
When the analog tape is transferred to the digital domain without trying to filter out the background hiss, the recording sounds great and, actually, the CD allows you to take full advantage of the superior dynamic range of the system compared to the LP.
A couple of examples.
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos, Murray Perahia soloist, Sir Neville Marriner cond. The LP sounds great, with crisp high frequencies. When it was reissued on CD, I was surprised by the lack of high frequencies. This is an old Columbia Masterworks recording.
Schumann: Konzertstuck for four horns, Klaus Tennstedt, Berliner Philharmoniker, EMI. The LP sounds great, with crisp high frequencies and a very dynamic and transparent sound. When it was reissued on CD, I was truly irritated by the lack of high frequencies, because this is a beautiful performance and it deserves the best sound possible.
Please consider the fact that 90% of the LPs published in the early 1980s where produced from a digital master, so they cannot sound any better than a CD.
Of course, there is another thing to consider. The RIAA curve of most phono inputs tends to be a little “euphonic”, in other words, the RIAA equalization isn’t very accurate and is often tuned to produce a slightly enhanced treble – for obvious reasons. This leads people into thinking that LPs sound better than CDs.
All this is valid for 16 bit recordings, sampled at 44,1 kHz, with the levels set correctly. But this is old technology. The newer multibit systems with much higher sampling frequencies have opened the doors to the world of high resolution recordings. These are not going to make a difference if you transfer an old recording in Hi-Res; but if you decide to record a live performance in Hi-Res, the improvement over analog or 16/44.1 digital is absolutely breathtaking.
I still listen to my old 78s. Not for their sound quality, but because of the intrinsic artistic value of the performances recorded on them.
