Analog vs. digital music: What's better, and who cares?

RogerD

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I have always said digital is like getting the presentation in "letterbox" fashion,that is if it is true digital. There are exceptions but I don't know whats different. ECM does a great job mostly. Listening to a original analog recording that has been digitaly converted tend to be close to the original and in fact there are some spectacular redbook examples. I use a tube dac and would never change as it can throw a fine image. I like digital for the convenienve and like tape no crackles and pops. Analog straight away I don't think will ever be surpassed,but good digital is no slouch either. I don't think it's the format so much as the analog equipment and the good engineers knew the process and how to pull the most out of analog. Today is far different. Sadly true analog methods and machines are dead. Even the best analog RE's have converted,the tide is just too strong. Drink that freakin kool-aid!
 

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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For me it is quite simple. If the music was originally recorded/mastered in analog, I prefer to hear it that way whether tape or vinyl. If the music is more modern and digitally recorded/mastered, I would listen to it in that that format.
 

Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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i mostly agree that vinyl or tape demand more attention, like conversing face to face with other humans, as opposed to digital where the degree of attention is optional.

i will say that dsd and 2xdsd do go some ways at bridging the difference. they pull me in more than PCM.

and then sometimes the musical content and my mind set allows PCM, even redbook, to capture me too.

so this is a matter of degrees of engagment, and nothing absolute.
 

FrantzM

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Apr 20, 2010
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Why would the degree of attention be optional with digital? Really..?? While many, including I, are cringing knowing this will fuel the foodfight, it is all about preconceived notions. If a person is an analog die-hard just knowing he/she is listening to digital medium raises all kind of biases that can even go as far as not enjoying the music regardless of it's real worth .. once the knowledge is removed however all bets are off...

And I would be with Rockitman to a point: The Mercury Living Presence CDs and SACDs are a point in case. Mastered by the nonpareil Wilma Cozart Fine, they stand on their own. Not systematically better than the LPs, merely different and to many they are in some areas their superior.
 

RogerD

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The recording industry,engineers and musicians are lazy,drunk with the convenience of digital,so they don't know how to make a good recording or don't really care. Protools is their crutch and piecing together snippets from this and that....no wonder people who can hear how the presentation differs prefer analog. Btw I always thought the 3 channel analog format was the best and multitrack was downhill from there.
 

edorr

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May 10, 2010
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It just occurred to me there is an great similarity between audiophilia and pornography. Both keep coming back to a single, highly repetitive theme, which does not stop the true aficionado's fascination with it, nor his tendency to consume as much "new" content as he can gain access to.
 

MylesBAstor

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Descending 3, 2, 1...
 

Ron Party

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Apr 30, 2010
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... Blast off.

Don't you people ever get tired of repeating (ad nauseum) the same old stuff? Do any of you think that if you post it and repeat it enough times that somehow it will become true for all and thus convince anyone who believes/feels differently? Do any of you recognize your own boundaries? Do you feel better when you rehash the same old sh!t? Are you looking for a group hug with like-minded others? Do you people have any humility? Do you not care if there is peace?

WBF has been around now for what, 4 years or so, and once again the same tired thread gets re-posted under a new name. I'm embarrassed for Steve and Amir. They deserve better.
 

Tom B.

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Jul 10, 2011
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My response could be no better than what Mike and Christian already said, however I suspect for many of us the argument is pointless; we have the equipment (capability) to play recordings in whatever format that is most suited to a particular piece of music.

Tom
 

Asamel

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Jan 22, 2012
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I hate digital because the liner notes are so small.
 

mauidan

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Aug 2, 2010
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... Blast off.

Don't you people ever get tired of repeating (ad nauseum) the same old stuff? Do any of you think that if you post it and repeat it enough times that somehow it will become true for all and thus convince anyone who believes/feels differently? Do any of you recognize your own boundaries? Do you feel better when you rehash the same old sh!t? Are you looking for a group hug with like-minded others? Do you people have any humility? Do you not care if there is peace?

WBF has been around now for what, 4 years or so, and once again the same tired thread gets re-posted under a new name. I'm embarrassed for Steve and Amir. They deserve better.

All I did was share a CNET article that was posted today with the members of WBF.

You and everyone else could clearly see the title of the thread/article and didn't have to read it.
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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All I did was share a CNET article that was posted today with the members of WBF.
I also don't understand what Steve G. means when he says (paraphrasing) it's hard to keep his mind from wandering when listening to a digital source?
 

Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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I also don't understand what Steve G. means when he says (paraphrasing) it's hard to keep his mind from wandering when listening to a digital source?

try this thought;

in general.....

how engaging is listening to live music at a concert?

how engaging is elevator music in the background of another activity?

and what are the various steps of musical engagment (degree of attention to the musical message) in between those 2 extremes?
 

Atmasphere

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May 4, 2010
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Sadly true analog methods and machines are dead. Even the best analog RE's have converted,the tide is just too strong. Drink that freakin kool-aid!

Actually true analog methods are alive and well. In the US nearly every mastering house has a 6 month backlog. Some projects are on digital files and some are analog tape. We have been seeing about 50/50 at our mastering operation.
 

Kal Rubinson

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May 4, 2010
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Indeed, who cares? I listen to digital exclusively these days because (1) I prefer multichannel recordings and (2) there hasn't been a new classical analog recording in decades. It has nothing to do with "better" (except for the multichannel).
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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Indeed, who cares? I listen to digital exclusively these days because (1) I prefer multichannel recordings and (2) there hasn't been a new classical analog recording in decades. It has nothing to do with "better" (except for the multichannel).

What about Yarlung Records Kal? If you haven't, you should check out their recordings. Available on CD, LP, high Rez download and tape. I was listening to one of their tapes this PM (Dialoghi) featuring works by Lutoslawski, Bach, Stucky, and deFalla and it was so good that I fell out of my chair. And great, non-warhorse pieces. FYI they record in parallel, eg. High Rez and tape. I've never heard a better recording of a cello in my life and the piano ain't too shabby either.

Also decades? What about RR? And there are a few others too. But yes the majority are in digital.
 

microstrip

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Indeed, who cares? I listen to digital exclusively these days because (1) I prefer multichannel recordings and (2) there hasn't been a new classical analog recording in decades. It has nothing to do with "better" (except for the multichannel).

I envy you - for my preferences the multichannel catalog of good recordings is too reduced. Otherwise I would consider it seriously. And most of the recordings I love exist in LP - but I listen more to digital than analog because of convenience and because I like new and fresh performances.

I hope that some day the big jump in sound reproduction will be using DSP to recreate great multichannel from stereo using the psychoacoustic clues encoded in the recording that currently are only decoded by our brain with the help of the best stereo systems.
 

microstrip

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For me it is quite simple. If the music was originally recorded/mastered in analog, I prefer to hear it that way whether tape or vinyl. If the music is more modern and digitally recorded/mastered, I would listen to it in that that format.

Wise words.
+1!
 

thedudeabides

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Jan 16, 2011
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... Blast off.

Don't you people ever get tired of repeating (ad nauseum) the same old stuff? Do any of you think that if you post it and repeat it enough times that somehow it will become true for all and thus convince anyone who believes/feels differently? Do any of you recognize your own boundaries? Do you feel better when you rehash the same old sh!t? Are you looking for a group hug with like-minded others? Do you people have any humility? Do you not care if there is peace?

WBF has been around now for what, 4 years or so, and once again the same tired thread gets re-posted under a new name. I'm embarrassed for Steve and Amir. They deserve better.

Thank you Ron.

I really don't understand the "Ground Hog Day" syndrome either.

IMHO, something is definitively wrong with this picture.
 

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