How Good Can Digital Get?

Harry Pearson, former publisher of the absolute sound claims we lost a whole generation of music to digital. Digital suffers from a problem vinyl never did. You can make the best record you like and it will still be compatible. A small company like Sheffield(Doug Sax) revolutionized record production with no compatibility problem. Digital mandated a standard that was inherently inferior. Every major advance requires a new standrd. That means dragging manufacturers, artists and consumers into a new standard. Very expensive.

Actually, I think that the sound of digital gear is getting worse and worse. I think that the top of the line designs from 5 years ago sound better then the best of the best today. I heard some really awesome players from Goldmund and Metronome a few years back that sounded extremely musical and analogue like. The best of todays players are really kind of sterile sounding.

As one who is strictly analog based I can say in no uncertain terms that I have gained a great deal of respect for digital of late. The EMM Labs gear is truely breathtaking. Too bad it's so far out of my reach. In the end though, whichever medium you use, it comes down to what is on the disk and, considering that aspect, digital has come light years in the last decade.

Speed - analogue went through format changes, too. Cylindrical discs, 78, 45, 33, stereo, each requiring new players to hear the improvement, or even to play. In most cases, the new players would accomodate the old formats. The thing that I worry about is when discs are completely obsoleted, perhaps by RAM, or who knows what. While it is relatively easy to find 80 year old players that will still play cylindrical records, I doubt that anyone will be able to restore a CD player 80 years from now. It is possible to replace springs, clean and lubriocate mechanical bearings, even make new needles for old record players, but who is going to supplu the multitude of chips used in current equipmentto restorers in 80 years? And apart from the hardware loss, if all the recordings don't get rematered every time the format changes, they will be lost forever (unless they were pressed on vinyl).

newmanoc -

"Although I was supposed to be paying attention to speakers, the only thing that kept running through my mind was "This sounds good, but I can't wait to get home and listen to some vinyl." When the source was changed from the CD 12 to an LP 12 turntable (w/ Lingo power supply and Ekos tonearm), I wanted to stay were I was for the rest of the afternoon."

can you not see how this could be attributed to psychology? you "know" that vinyl sounds better, and you're listening to speakers with digital. (shock!) they can't possibly sound their best with digital! you listen the whole time thinking that this could be better, so you don't really allow yourself to listen. so when the vinyl comes on, whether or not it does sound better, that little voice nagging at you that it could be better shuts up and then you start paying attention again and truly listening.

i'm not saying definitively that this is what's happening - just offering a possible perspective.

as i've said before - we often let our prejudices get the best of us. there are some prejudices in this industry so deeply ingrained that even if CDs were able to solve world hunger, bring peace to the middle east, give the US a fair and democratic election, change the catbox for me, deliver a mean blowjob, and sound better than vinyl while doing all of that, there would still be people saying "digital will never be as good." why? because that's what they're taught. it's the same thing with solid state vs. tubes. when poorly implemented, both have disadvantages. when well implemented, both can get past those disadvantages - so much so that it's impossible to tell one from another. yet there are still those who swear only one or the other is worthwhile.

oh, and other little things. like the dac 6 - it has to sound like shit because it has op-amps in the output stage, right?

yeah.

sounds LOUSY, let me tell ya.
(/sarcasm)

people should listen to hifi with their minds OPEN - but i know that this'll never happen which is a damn shame.

it makes me really want to manufacture a music cd with authentic needle-dropping noises, surface crackles and pops and play it to a vinylphile on a high-end cd-player with them blindfolded and hear them marvel over how great it sounds.