Orpheus10, I agree that digital is evolving nicely and some of the HD formats are capable of excellent sound reproduction. My point is, for now anyway, there are always other factors involved that effect sound reproduction, such as: experience, skill or personal preferences of the person who makes the recording, person who does the mix down, variations in quality of source, whether its a copy of something pre-recorded or a live event, quality of equipment, microphones, proper mic placement, venue acoustics, etc., and these things are audible in the final product. Digital, in general to me, can be very good at detail but even the high def formats still seem to lack some qualities that analog seems to be better at. I think the different formats just sound different, however subtly, and have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Under the right circumstances, with a good recording and associated equpiment, they are all capable of excellent music reproduction. Put simply, I have never heard any format digital recording that sounds 100% like analog, because its not. Not necessarily a bad thing to me.
HD Down Load compared to Analog.
Lately, I've been comparing HD Down loads to "analog". The obvious first advantage is no pops and ticks, but that's just for old records. Another advantage for me personally is that I don't have class "A" analog, I have class "B", which is very good. I still use Stereophile magazine's ratings of equipment as a way of conveying how good a piece of equipment is. While folks here put that method of conveying how good a piece of equipment is, they still concur with it, and they don't even know it.
Class "A" analog is the best, and it's always very expensive. You have to have 100% class "A" in the chain to yield class "A" sound, which is why I have Class "B".
In my comparison evaluation, I used Santana "Abraxas" as the test LP. Since I've worn out 5 copies of this album, to say I'm familiar with it is an understatement. "Singing Winds And Crying Beasts" is the first cut, it has "tinkly" sounding chimes that test definition on all equipment. After listening to a new LP, I gave it an "A" rating. This meant the HD Download would have to be some kind of fantastic to top the LP.
As soon as the music began, it became apparent the HD Download was superior; there was a "jet black" background. This is something I had never heard before. I'm fully aware of the fact that's an "oxymoron". "How can you hear what you don't hear, and you have never heard before". Only an audiophile can understand that, consequently, I won't try to explain it. After only two cuts, I gave the HD Download an "A+" rating.
While I have Class "B" analog, if you have Class "A" analog, it might be better than the Download, I don't know. These are the results from my comparison, I would like to hear yours.
- ...
- 63 posts total
- 63 posts total