HD Down Load compared to Analog.

I grew up with Santana and Sabbath and I loved their music, well not Sabbath, but you get the idea. I'm sure many of you will disagree, but I just don't think that using these records to prove the superiority of a particular medium is really valid. Most of those older rock records had the sh*t compressed out of them and were generally produced as cheaply as possible. I'm absolutely not defending vinyl here - I play more CDs than records myself and they can be excellent. I just think that before a pronouncement is made, a wider cross section should be used. Try James Taylor JT, which was exquisitely recorded, even back in the early 70s, or god forbid, some acoustic music like a Mozart string quartet. Again, please - I am not criticizing anyone's taste in music. If anything, IMO, the music of the late 60's and early 70's was the absolute pinnacle of rock, much as the 68-70 American muscle cars were the high point of American auto making. The 70 GTO was stunning! Enjoy what you like.

No doubt, if you have the right equipment, analog can be better than digital, but at what price? That's something you can't get around, and no amount of mixing and matching is going to change that.

When such places as high end emporiums were available, I went to these places like someone who was on a mission, my mission was to verify, or nullify Stereophile's rating system. For me, I verified Stereophile's rating system.

I'm going to give you examples of Stereophile ratings that are old and recognizable analog audio: Class "A" turntable VPI TNT MK V $6000., and that was one of the cheaper TT's.

Tonearms Class "A": Tri-Planar Mk VI $3250.; Rega RB 900, $995.

Cartridges: Class "A" Lyra Helikon $1995.; van den Hul Colibri $6000.

These different classes are not just some arbitrary designations given by reviewers, but different levels of sonic quality. It's the sound of Class "A" as compared to the sound of Class "B". Of course we all know a cartridge does not generate a sound alone, it's the improvement of the sound of the music after installation of that cartridge in your system. As audiophiles, we are required to learn system compatibility, but that will not replace component quality, and you can not get class "A" sound with Class "B" components, although you can consider whatever sound you're listening to Class "A".

A class "C" Rega TT can be upgraded to yield Class "B" sound with modifications, and there are other components that can be modified to yield a higher sonic quality, but to get into the vaunted realm of Class "A" sonics will require a trip to the bottom of one's pockets, especially since every single solitary component in the chain must be at that same sonic level.

I believe these HD Downloads are generating the equivalent of Class "A" analog. If one already has a Class "A" analog rig, there is certainly no reason to get excited about HD Downloads, but on the other hand, I believe they're economical for those of us who don't.

Enjoy the music.

Dear Orpheus10: ++++ " If one already has a Class "A" analog rig, there is certainly no reason to get excited about HD Downloads,.... " ++++++

I have not experiences with HD Downloads in my system ( I will try to have it asip. ) but if is similar to the quality performance level of a well recorded DVDA played in a decent today DAC ( 32/192. ) then IMHO I can tell you that even those A system persons could be existed when they understand what they are hearing through digital and what is happening through analog, not before.

Regrads and enjoy the music,
R.

There is no doubt that High Rez digital can sound very good. And there is no denying the convenience and noise floor are superior to very good analog. I would say that if one is starting out and has a very small music library, than an argument can certainly be made for skipping analog and going with High Rez files for both sonic and price reasons.

However, if one is older and has a large collection of records that are not available on a high rez digital format, then the argument can shift in favor or analog. There is also how the medium tends to be used. I put on a record and listen to it for 20 minutes. I've seen people with an iPad listen to high rez who only play one song while they are searching the screen for the next cut. It can be a very different experience.

I think most will agree that both can sound good.

Regarding Stereophile ratings: The best systems I have heard tend to be ones that have very well matched components and are very well set up in good rooms. They have little to do with Class A ratings and everything to do with the people who put the systems together.