Why does Vinyl sourced from Digital Masters sound so SUBLIME and GROOVY :) ? Algorithm exist?

Ron Resnick · Apr 12, 2017

ddk said:
. . . I don't hear an advantage listening to vinyl when the master is digital vs the CD of the same master, in fact I actually tend to like the CD over the vinyl and . . . I won't even buy the vinyl if I know that it's from a digital recording and stick with the CD.

david

+1

Steve Williams · Apr 12, 2017

ddk said:
You're right Micro, I was reading the first part of the OP and missed the last section when I replied.

I don't hear an advantage listening to vinyl when the master is digital vs the CD of the same master, in fact I actually tend to like the CD over the vinyl and my DAC is no longer SOTA while my analog is. I won't even buy the vinyl if I know that it's from a digital recording and stick with the CD.

david

Ron Resnick said:
+1

and this post from cjfrbw

Stereophile had an article a few years ago about some digital recording engineers who published their final masters on vinyl because they believed that hi rez digital is best represented by vinyl prints better than digital prints going through any number of different digital playback media. They also believed the frequency range and tonal character of vinyl better served the hi rez digital.

My simple take on it is that from my limited experience there are some really good records from digital master. Had I never heard the original master I am eternally satisfied to have at least a copy of that record rather than no copy because I can't find an original and/or the cost is so prohibitive

Bottom line for me is a half loaf of bread is better than no loaf at all or as one of my profs used to say "50% of something is better than 100% of nothing"

cjfrbw · Apr 12, 2017

If you don't have a turntable or are vested in your all digital setup, I can see how it would be really irksome to hear turntable guys stating that digital masters can sound better on vinyl records. However, if you own a turntable already, like me, I don't really care as long as the mastering of the vinyl record is good and the ultimate playback sounds good and is enjoyable to hear.

BruceD · Apr 12, 2017

Fiddle Faddle said:
Well of course with the Telarc vinyl versus the CDs, they had the ability to cut from the 16/50 master, whereas they had to downsample that for CD - and that was in the days when downsampling to 44.1 was fraught with great difficulties, even nothwithstanding the notion (admittedly not shared by all audiophiles) that 44.1 is compromised to begin with. Nothing much back then sounded good when remastering for CD - in my opinion it wasn't until dCS made a hardware converter (dCS 972) that results we'd (or at least I) consider acceptable today were possible.

I think we could ad Mike Moffat's "Gain System" into the Mix as another example "acceptable" of Vinyl Master transfer to CD Format

BruceD

BruceD · Apr 12, 2017

Ken Newton said:
I didn't intend to suggest that digital vinyl sounded great, but that it sounded significantly better than the CD versions later released. The most obvious difference I heard was a relative lack of fatigue with digital vinyl, while the CD format versions were the very definition of listening fatigue and annoyance.

Agree I have some so called "SOTA Audiophile" 24-192Khz Remastered CDs from LPs that are fit for Landfill only!!

BruceD

RogerD · Apr 12, 2017

Ken Newton said:
I didn't intend to suggest that digital vinyl sounded great, but that it sounded significantly better than the CD versions later released. The most obvious difference I heard was a relative lack of fatigue with digital vinyl, while the CD format versions were the very definition of listening fatigue and annoyance.

I guess some digital systems are better than others. I get none of the fatigue that commonly associated with digital playback. As far as analog music masters recreated digitally,not much is lost in the conversion. I listen to a lot of living stereo,mercury,and rca red seal recordings and the clarity,dynamics,musicality can be stunning. I continue to believe digital opponents are barking up the wrong tree.

rockitman · Apr 12, 2017

The best digital to vinyl experience I have had is Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. Have a few Telarc digital classical selections. They sound sterile and lifeless to me.

Ken Newton · Apr 13, 2017

RogerD said:
...I continue to believe digital opponents are barking up the wrong tree.

Just to be clear, I'm not a digital opponent. I have designed and built multiple DACs, both for experimentation and for my own listening enjoyment. I hear many subjective sonic advantages for digital over vinyl. However, one significant disadvantage I still hear from CD digital - although, it's certainly much less of a problem than it once was - is greater relative listening fatigue. These days, I don't perceive digital fatigue so much as an feeling of overtly tiring replay as much as an feeling of growing bordom with that replay. What was initially interesting sounding music still too often soon becomes boring or disinteresting sounding music (an unforgivable sin), despite the initially very impressive sound.

RogerD · Apr 13, 2017

Ken Newton said:
Just to be clear, I'm not a digital opponent. I have designed and built multiple DACs, both for experimentation and for my own listening enjoyment. I hear many subjective sonic advantages for digital over vinyl. However, one significant disadvantage I still hear from CD digital - although, it's certainly much less of a problem than it once was - is greater relative listening fatigue. These days, I don't perceive digital fatigue so much as an feeling of overtly tiring replay as much as an feeling of growing bordom with that replay. What was initially interesting sounding music still too often soon becomes boring or disinteresting sounding music (an unforgivable sin), despite the initially very impressive sound.

I think those who use external grounding schemes will have substantially better digital playback. I have no listener fatigue and stellar dynamics,clarity,saturation,sound stage ect,ect,ect This is what I mean by barking up the wrong tree. I think digital suffers greatly from internal magnetic interference. Do originally recorded analog recordings sound different from digitally mastered recordings...yes...but not to say that the digital is less in anyway. The clarity of the digital medium is what draws me in,when I can hear orchestra players move in their seats and the chairs "creak" I don't know how it can not reproduce the music less faithfully...but that's in my system and my opinion.

Search

Search

Why does Vinyl sourced from Digital Masters sound so SUBLIME and GROOVY :) ? Algorithm exist?

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member

BruceD

VIP/Donor

BruceD

VIP/Donor

RogerD

VIP/Donor

rockitman

Member Sponsor

Ken Newton

Well-Known Member

RogerD

VIP/Donor

Similar threads

Members online