Are most Audiophiles hard of hearing?
- Thread starter Rexp
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Maybe that is a good thing!
Also to consider: "The audio is recorded on a Zoom H6 with the standard Stereo Capsule Microphone, approximately 3 meters from each speaker, which is the ideal reference spot for any serious listening"
P.S. I guessed correctly
Also to consider: "The audio is recorded on a Zoom H6 with the standard Stereo Capsule Microphone, approximately 3 meters from each speaker, which is the ideal reference spot for any serious listening"
P.S. I guessed correctly
Last edited:
It's quite simple, if someone can't spot which is vinyl and which is digital playback (it's quite obvious on this particular track) then is their hearing not so good or are there other factors?
In theory there should be no difference in sound for a given recording. But I find oftentimes the older vinyl albums sound better than the digital remastered version, which isn’t about format.
Or should I say, I prefer the sound of the older vinyl versus a new remastered version?
Or should I say, I prefer the sound of the older vinyl versus a new remastered version?
This only proves that audiophiles are correct in identifying the source. They were right because both recordings were digital and made with a Zoom recorder, in addition to being recorded from a distance of 3 meters.
More importantly, we don’t know which pressing the vinyl was, which makes a huge difference. The proper way to compare would be to record the direct output of both the phono stage and the CD player/DAC using the same album cut from the same master. I can do that.
More importantly, we don’t know which pressing the vinyl was, which makes a huge difference. The proper way to compare would be to record the direct output of both the phono stage and the CD player/DAC using the same album cut from the same master. I can do that.
Wait a minute. I just watched the first part of this video. So you guys are listening to a YouTube recording and saying people can’t hear the difference between vinyl and digital? Are you kidding me? You do realize that both recordings are digital because you are listening to them through a computer.
C’mon man. Get out of your mom’s basement and go listen to the music for yourself at a store or at Axpona. Or find a friend with a hifi.
So would you watch a YouTube video to compare the pictures of two TV’s? Oh yes, the picture of that TV on the right looks much better on my iPad. Really?
How about arguing which area on Mars would be the best place to live. I think the schools will be better near the poles. And what’s wrong living near the poles? You certainly won’t be sun bathing on the equator on Mars. What about that spot where the Mars Rover landed? Looks like a sketchy neighborhood already.
I’m being facetious because posts like these are nonsense.
C’mon man. Get out of your mom’s basement and go listen to the music for yourself at a store or at Axpona. Or find a friend with a hifi.
So would you watch a YouTube video to compare the pictures of two TV’s? Oh yes, the picture of that TV on the right looks much better on my iPad. Really?
How about arguing which area on Mars would be the best place to live. I think the schools will be better near the poles. And what’s wrong living near the poles? You certainly won’t be sun bathing on the equator on Mars. What about that spot where the Mars Rover landed? Looks like a sketchy neighborhood already.
I’m being facetious because posts like these are nonsense.
I don't think it adds any value to state the obvious that both recordings are digital youtube recordings. I do think the system playback was sufficiently well captured in order to make a comparison.
Agree the master can determine which version sounds best (this is not a digital v analog thread).
If you prefer to listen to the lossless wav files, they are linked in the video description.
No it was not sufficiently captured. A significant part of the sound is the room, the soundstage and imaging. You think those microphones are capturing the bass as it really is? Doubtful How about the various playback systems- an iPhone perhaps? You may as well compare a live concert over YouTube to the recorded playback. And I doubt you will hear a difference. Then compare being at the concert to the recording.
115 years ago Thomas Edison would rent theaters and hire a professional singer. He would put the singer and his new phonograph behind a curtain onstage and play their recorded voice and also have them sing live. He then asked the audience to call which was live and which was his phonograph. He sold a lot of phonographs. My question is how much influence did the curtain have on the sound?
The question posed was which sample was the vinyl and which was the digital playback, I found it quite easy, what about you?
"Are audiophiles hard of hearing?" No, but they are hard headed.
It doesn't matter, because both are digital, as has been pointed out.
In fact, both are poor digital, given that they run through the AAC compression algorithm of YouTube.
For example: I bought the gold CD of, For Duke in the 90s. I finally snagged a new vinyl version of this Direct to Disc recording that is on the top 100 albums of the 20th Century lists by many music critics. This album is a Best of the Best. It beats the gold CD for sound but I will qualify that I have not played the CD in years. I don’t want to since I have the vinyl. I will say that the Best of the Best digital is equal to the Best of the Best vinyl. I also find more BoB digital now than vinyl; but face it, digital has been around a while and everything progresses.
That was not the case for me until I got my latest DAC and music server. I finally discovered what was lacking in digital- PRaT. My new DAC paired with my CD Transport, and suddenly the music flowed. And that caused me to upgrade my music server. The PRaT between my vinyl and my digital is very close now.
And I doubt very much that YouTube playback will have any level of PRaT- or be detectable between formats through a YouTube recording.
From the late 80s through 2004, I’d say, I chased after PRaT. I would hear some turntables that just made me want to tap my toes and some that sounded great but were uninspiring. Finally, in the mid 90s a hifi buddy explained what PRaT was to me. (Yes, he was a big Linn fanboy.) So I worked a long time to sort that out. And digital could sound great but never really flowed like vinyl until late 2023 for me.
That was not the case for me until I got my latest DAC and music server. I finally discovered what was lacking in digital- PRaT. My new DAC paired with my CD Transport, and suddenly the music flowed. And that caused me to upgrade my music server. The PRaT between my vinyl and my digital is very close now.
And I doubt very much that YouTube playback will have any level of PRaT- or be detectable between formats through a YouTube recording.
From the late 80s through 2004, I’d say, I chased after PRaT. I would hear some turntables that just made me want to tap my toes and some that sounded great but were uninspiring. Finally, in the mid 90s a hifi buddy explained what PRaT was to me. (Yes, he was a big Linn fanboy.) So I worked a long time to sort that out. And digital could sound great but never really flowed like vinyl until late 2023 for me.
Exactly, the metaphorical curtain Edison used in his demonstrations.
As many have said, you're listening to audio over a mic (s) on whatever home speakers / headphones. Those variables greatly dilute any semblance of assessing hearing.
That said, many of us are getting up in age, and our hearing may not be as good as folks <=40.
I personally take listening fairly seriously and have taken the Harmon tests / training along with the Klippel test. Happy to say I scored well. I would recommend using both vehicles to help you discern sound better especially when evaluating equipment.
Also, glad that for my age I can still hear up to 14KHz (pretty good). In my youth I could hear up to 20KHz. ;-)
If I were to run across this video on Youtube I wouldn't even watch it. To me it would be nothing more than clickbait, followed by my email being flooded by spam emails for hearing aids. The biggest improvement you will ever make to your system (and probably the cheapest) would be to get your ears professionally cleaned....IMHO
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