Digital or analog? Breuninger says... and asks what says you?

Peter Breuninger · Jun 9, 2012

Myles asked a new member what party he belongs to... are you a D or an A? Again, (moderators) if this has been beat to death please pull the thread ASAP.

I am of both and of both equally. I love the organic nature of analog but I also love the exactitude of digital (pitch, bass, and quietness- PBQ). I have four turntables and one RtoR in the main studio. I own 8 RtoR decks, have a full BC collection and about 500 additional titles (several of my own recordings). Too many tables to list have come/gone/stay to mention. After all of this I still really enjoy digital. I can't escape my love of the PBQ of digital, plus the convenience factor of mass storage and instant click selection and comparisons. I've spent many a night exploring the differences in the readings of one conductor to another in quick click sessions.

Folks seem to get very personal about their beliefs here... what say you? Be nice

Johnny Vinyl · Jun 9, 2012

Actually Peter, it was I who asked, but in jest. Thought I'd pose the question as we always ask people about their preferences.

I'm primarily an anlogue fan, but I enjoy my digital music collection as well. I truly believe there is a time and place for both in my case. I have more of a "personal" relationship with my vinyl setup as I also collect records. I don't collect digital works, I buy them.

andromedaaudio · Jun 9, 2012

I am analogue fan, the music i like most, the rock of the sixties and seventies sounds the most organic that way , overall sound quality with good records is by ultimate standards better in analogue .
I see it like this: digital can be impressive and ultra high res and smooth., but analogue is musical pleasure on a daily basis

when i listen to jazz drumsoslos on the black and blue label " explosive drums " the quality can be startling in your face dynamic , manitas de plata/ flamenco music is another good example digital just cant make that
With cds i simply lose interest and dont turn the system on a lot

I agree with you on quitness , i might upgrade to a cat legend which is supposed to be more quit on phono or maybe boulder pre /phono .

Bruce B · Jun 9, 2012

I am both... They each have their place and can be enjoyed equally in the correct setup.

Mike Lavigne · Jun 9, 2012

Peter Breuninger said:
I am of both and of both equally.

me too; loving both, that is. i've always tried to have SOTA digital on hand and listen to it 30%-50% of the time. i don't look at it like i love one more than the other, although the commitment to achieve SOTA analog is much higher and the gear more involved so there is a natural tendancy to get more immersed into it.

I love the organic nature of analog but I also love the exactitude of digital (pitch, bass, and quietness- PBQ).

however, here we differ. my perceptions are that at the top of the analog food chain, both vinyl and tape better digital in pitch, bass, and quietness. particularly when you really listen into the ambience of a recording. sure; digital is cleaner, but what it cleans up is the sense of real space and micro-detail. it's a limitation of digital, not an asset. so if you said you liked the clean-ness of digital i would agree. but quiet infers that you hear more. in fact you hear less. i'll agree that analog has more varibles in pitch, but that is balanced by a much more organic density of tone and texture. analog bass might not as easily plumb the depths of under 20hz, but digital bass pales compared to what analog can do on acoustical instruments or voice.

all that said; i do enjoy the less varible aspect of digital in these areas. but a case can be made that that is like saying Coca Cola is more consistently made than a good Scotch or fine wine. and your point is.....

I have four turntables and one RtoR in the main studio. I own 8 RtoR decks, have a full BC collection and about 500 additional titles (several of my own recordings). Too many tables to list have come/gone/stay to mention. After all of this I still really enjoy digital. I can't escape my love of the PBQ of digital, plus the convenience factor of mass storage and instant click selection and comparisons. I've spent many a night exploring the differences in the readings of one conductor to another in quick click sessions.

Folks seem to get very personal about their beliefs here... what say you? Be nice

i've had similar amounts of tt's and RTR decks and so on. yet digital has it's prominent place.

one does not need to be anti-digital to love analog. it's only in the claims of digital verses analog where i see the issues.

c1ferrari · Jun 9, 2012

I would rather the analog domain provided the initial recording was analog, i.e., AAA.
I would rather the digital domain provided the initial recording was digital, particularly DSD.

Mosin · Jun 9, 2012

If YouTube counts as digital, both. If not, analog only.

LL21 · Jun 9, 2012

When i first got into this hobby seriously, i swore to myself i would concentrate my efforts on a single great source...rather than spread myself (and my music) across 2 or more sources. I still feel that way, and thus have stuck with CDs which i have been buying for 20 years. I have heard vinyl of course, and appreciated it. I also have a limited tolerance for audio techie stuff...buzzing, hum, tube replacement,...i have a tubed NOS DAC and a tube pre...that is probably enough for me! Tonearms, angles, cleaning...i know, i know...it is all about the sound!...but it is just not for me.

...so i continue on my quest for the best digital i can find (second-hand). My first foray into digital (other than a $50 DVD player which i used for 10 years) has lasted me the past 5-6 years, and might just run me another few years with a manufacturer upgrade. so i just keep buying used cd's from Amazon and building my collection of MUSIC...

vinylphilemag · Jun 9, 2012

For all serious listening, I'm analogue only. I will admit to some digital streaming as background noise every now and then--but lossless only (I *do* have standards!).

treitz3 · Jun 9, 2012

Hello Peter, I am of the camp that doesn't really care what other people's preference is. I listen to analog and love it. I listen to digital and I also love it. Whatever the medium is that offers me the best reproductive effort, resolution and playback of what it is I'm wanting to experience?

Well, that's what I listen too. I wouldn't have it any other way.

puroagave · Jun 9, 2012

when i was more of an anachronist during my formidable years i used to give the finger to digital. fremer was like my jim jones and i loved the koolaid. the way i looked at it, for every dollar spent (wasted?) on Cds or digital hardware was one less i had to buy more records.

a lot has changed and i enjoy both formats, but now its maybe 70/30 favoring digital. mainly beacuse i like new music and taste-wise im not stuck in the '50s, '60s or '70s. if i lost it all and had to start over would i re-buy my favorite Lps? probably not, but im not sure.

flez007 · Jun 9, 2012

I like more how analog sounds but I tend to hear more digital since there is so much new music out there in the later. I would say I like both equally.

DaveyF · Jun 9, 2012

Digital, so long as it sounds like analog..

NorthStar · Jun 9, 2012

-----I'm both; A & D, but also L (Live). ...So, all together I'm LAD. ...And glad to be so. :b

MrAcoustat · Jun 10, 2012

I'm 100% pro cd's only, since 1983 first cd player Sony CDP-101 ouch my ears, yes that was realy DIGITAL but come on guy's with today's CDP,s with good quality cd,s you can enjoy your music just as much as your turntable with two very important differences for ME no surface noise NEVER & no warped records NEVER just noise free music i understand audiophiles that can live with a few snack crackel & pops but in MY case it simply drove me nuts, i have bought over a thousand cd,s and i have had only one defective disc compared to my vinyl days this is a blessing, to each is own as long as your happy, let the music play.

andi · Jun 10, 2012

As a serious musiclover, you have to listen to vinyl...... I am just kidding.

Because I was grown up in the 60s and 70s, vinyl is my medium. I love it to walk over fleamarkets to find hidden treasures.As a collector , I have fun to hunt a record. It would be easier to download the track.

Many Lps / covers tell something about the history of this record.
I found one Harry Belafonte with a personal dedication of Harry to a woman. On the back you find something a guy has written on it to this woman. Of course she was his girlfriend.

Possibly they married, have children or never met again. Who knows?

Beside of vinyl I am listening to FM radio. Classical music and Jazz.

There is no time left to listen to CD or files.

Andreas

Ronm1 · Jun 10, 2012

Vinyl, acetate, mylar free listening area. Plenty of vinyl in storage though, along with the h/w that supports it.

Phelonious Ponk · Jun 10, 2012

Digital vs Analog has been done to death -- here and everywhere else. Are you digital or analog? I think that will be fine until someone states an opinion framed as a fact, and someone else challenges it, then it will become "vs." It always does. In any case, this...

tomelex said:
I am going to cheat here a little, and since I have heard outstanding digital and analog, I will say for me, its really about 90% in the recording, not the medium or the playback gear.

Tom

And with that said, I abandoned analog at least a decade ago. If it wasn't so expensive and high maintenance, I'd probably keep a turntable around for those mostly pop recordings that are so compressed in mastering that they're hard to listen to, but are available in much better-mastered vinyl versions. These are pretty few and far between, however, and all things being even relatively equal, I prefer the open, dynamic precision of digital. I know y'all are shocked.

Tim

MrAcoustat · Jun 10, 2012

Phelonious Ponk said:
Digital vs Analog has been done to death -- here and everywhere else. Are you digital or analog? I think that will be fine until someone states an opinion framed as a fact, and someone else challenges it, then it will become "vs." It always does. In any case, this...

And with that said, I abandoned analog at least a decade ago. If it wasn't so expensive and high maintenance, I'd probably keep a turntable around for those mostly pop recordings that are so compressed in mastering that they're hard to listen to, but are available in much better-mastered vinyl versions. These are pretty few and far between, however, and all things being even relatively equal, I prefer the open, dynamic precision of digital. I know y'all are shocked.

Tim

No Tim, i for one am not shocked one bit, because i agree 100%. noise free - hassle free - ease free - what more to ask for.

tony ky ma · Jun 10, 2012

tomelex said:
I am going to cheat here a little, and since I have heard outstanding digital and analog, I will say for me, its really about 90% in the recording, not the medium or the playback gear.

Tom

Tom
I agree with you but when you start to make your own master recording with tube gear and high quality mic also with pro equipment on both then you will find the difference, one with more as more live like but noise the other one only quiet but like more artificial than the real
tony ma

Digital or analog? Breuninger says... and asks what says you?

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