Vinyl and Digital: How does the sound or listening experience differ?

[Lee]

Regarding older recordings made prior to the digital era:

Analog tapes degrade over time. On that account alone, if you really want to hear how an older recording really sounded you may have to find the original LP. It could be the best transcription of the master. Decades later, an LP like that may well sound better than the master tape simply because the latter has lost energy over time. This is one reason why some digital remasters can sound less vivacious than the original.

That’s true to some extent (depending on tape type and care) but I often find better mastering chains often sound better in some or all ways. I have a handful of OG Blue Notes but give me the Kevin Gray version every day of the week.

 

[Al M.]

That’s true to some extent (depending on tape type and care) but I often find better mastering chains often sound better in some or all ways. I have a handful of OG Blue Notes but give me the Kevin Gray version every day of the week.

Yes, the recent Tone Poet all-analog reissues from Blue Note of 1960s tapes, mastered by Kevin Gray, sound excellent. Vibrant, lively, dynamic, fresh.

 

[Anton D]

Pondering this more since last time. There is something that a vinyl playback system does to the sound that isn't part of the actual music signal that seems to have a salutary effect on the playback experience.

As I've thought about this thread, I think there is an artifact with vinyl that really adds to the frison of the sound. It will seem crazy: when listening to vinyl, take a listen to silent moments - before the first song starts, between cuts, etc.... and those silent parts still produce something that is perceptible - the noise of the groove, the stylus interacting with the LP, the step up circuitry, whatever, that seems to add some low level ambiance that is pleasant. (On Kind of Blue, records seem to add an effect that enhances the feeling of space or place vs. digital experiences I have had with that music.)

Obviously, this is not really part of the musical content at all, so I am praising LP playback for a flaw, really, but it's something that seems to maybe alert the ear that something sonically cool is happening, or, who knows, maybe low level 'rumble' creates a false sensation of enhanced space (like a good woofer can do,) I dunno. It's hard to try to put my finger on it, but since we are all friends here, I thought I'd toss it out. I think vinyl artifacts maybe tend toward being a little euphonic.

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Edited to add: maybe there is a characteristic of vinyl playback that acts like 'dithering' on digital playback to make the sound more enjoyable. (Could vinyl artifact be introducing some low level random noise (like dithering) that makes us able to feel as though we hear smoother sound and add the sensation of 'preserving detail?'

 

[PeterA]

Over time my thinking has evolved to one solution: Be Switzerland.

Some recordings sound best on vinyl. Some sound best on digital. Some sound best on tape.

Tape research, mastering, pressing quality, etc. all make a difference.

Lee, I read this sentiment in many threads and over the last few years. I started this thread not because I’m looking for what people think is best or what they prefer. I started the thread to learn how people describe the differences they hear between the formats. It sounds to me as though you’re suggesting that you do not hear any differences and that they have converged at the highest level. Is that your opinion, that your preference depends on the actual recording, and that neither format at this point has a strength or weakness? Or do I not understand what you are saying?