Can digital get to vinyl sound and at what price?

[hopkins]

I hoped late 1980s type digital "glare" had been vanquished long ago? I think you may be focused on the more obvious sonic indicators of a digital recording? I am focusing on the perhaps subtle one I have always judged by.

I am talking about a subtle "dryness" which for me has always been the telltale of a digital recording of vocals versus an analog recording of vocals. Not all digital recordings have this dryness.

I'm just listening to it now on my speakers. It's not bad. The sound is a little dull, not very dynamic - soft and easy to listen to. Maybe that's what they were striving for?

 

[Lagonda]

I'm just listening to it now on my speakers. It's not bad. The sound is a little dull, not very dynamic - soft and easy to listen to. Maybe that's what they were striving for?

Give "Church" on the same album a listen, that song has good placing of voices and always makes me chuckle.

 

[Ron Resnick]

And you can almost always hear when a recording has a digital link

I think so, too. (Mainly because I am very sensitive to that "dryness" on female vocals.)

they can still sound great.

I agree. Anette Aavik's Liberty sounds good to me.

 

[Ron Resnick]

The sound is a little dull, not very dynamic - soft and easy to listen to.

I think most "girl with guitar" vocals sound like this. These particular sonic attributes are not what I'm talking about. These sonic attributes to me are not indicators of digital recording.

The main indicator of digital recording of vocals to me is the dryness sensation.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Give "Church" on the same album a listen, that song has good placing of voices and always makes me chuckle.

Thank you. I didn't care for "Church." "North Dakota" is the only thing on the album I like.

 

[hopkins]

I think most "girl with guitar" vocals sound like this. These particular sonic attributes are not what I'm talking about. These sonic attributes to me are not indicators of digital recording.

The main indicator of digital recording of vocals to me is the dryness sensation.

What do you mean by dryness?

 

[Lagonda]

I think most "girl with guitar" vocals sound like this. These particular sonic attributes are not what I'm talking about. These sonic attributes to me are not indicators of digital recording.

The main indicator of digital recording of vocals to me is the dryness sensation.

In my system i can always hear the difference on drums, analog recorded drums mostly have a "rightness" to them, most digital recorded drums have a little drum machine sound to them.

 

[hopkins]

I just listened to "Church". Ok, maybe the vocals could appeal to some, but I just found the whole thing a little bland and repetitive. Just my opinion of course.

 

[Lagonda]

Thank you. I didn't care for "Church." "North Dakota" is the only thing on the album I like.

I was giving the suggestion to hopkins, he streams and has most likely not heard the whole album, you have the vinyl version and probably have.

 

[Ron Resnick]

What do you mean by dryness?

I really don't know how to describe it except by that word. Listen to Amanda McBroom's voice on Growing up in Hollywood Town for an example of not dry.

"Dryness" is less natural, less "breath of life," less like a live human singing to me in my room, and more like listening to a human voice processed by electronics which strips out from the sound of the voice some of the naturalness and organic-ness.

To my ears Boulder amplifiers sound "dry" and Jadis amplifiers do not sound "dry."

 

[Ron Resnick]

I was giving the suggestion to hopkins, he streams and has most likely not heard the whole album, you have the vinyl version and probably have.

I typically play records like CDs. Which track am I looking for?

 

[Lagonda]

I typically play records like CDs. Which track am I looking for?

Sometimes the real pearls are hidden on the tracks you listen to to get to the hits. Not that Lovett ever had real hits, it's his mastery of so many types of music that intrigue me.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Sometimes the real pearls are hidden on the tracks you listen to to get to the hits.

I understand.

 

[hopkins]

I really don't know how to describe it except by that word. Listen to Amanda McBroom's voice on Growing up in Hollywood Town for an example of not dry.

I just listened to that track on Qobuz, and I can't say that I am terribly impressed with the recording of her voice. It is certainly recorded differently, and her voice is sweet, but I can think of many albums which have better recorded vocals. Check out Nat King Cole at the Sands, or Jimmy Witherspoon's Roots for two examples that come to mind...

To me it's all about the recording here.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I just listened to that track on Qobuz, and I can't say that I am terribly impressed with the recording of her voice. It is certainly recorded differently, and her voice is sweet, but I can think of many albums which have better recorded vocals. Check out Nat King Cole at the Sands, for an example that comes to mind...

I do not know the sonic attributes you are going by which get baked into "better recorded vocals." I explicitly offered that album to you only as an example of not "dry."

 

[Lagonda]

I do not know the sonic attributes you are going by which get baked into "better recorded vocals." I offered that album to you only as an example of not "dry."

Let's not forget that he is only hearing one side of the analog/digital compare, he has not heard any vinyl versions of any of these songs.

 

[hopkins]

More presence.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Let's not forget that he is only hearing one side of the analog/digital compare, he has not heard any vinyl versions of any of these songs.

Oh, this is an excellent point! Thank you.

Of course I am recalling the in-the-room, non-dry sound of Amanda's voice on that album on a 100% analog playback system.

 

[hopkins]

Oh, this is an excellent point! Thank you.

Of course I am recalling the in-the-room, non-dry sound of Amanda's voice on that album on a 100% analog playback system.

If the vinyl played back on your system transforms the experience of that recording, more power to you

Here's another nice one. There are so many...

Listening to this version, on digital, it sounds great.

 

[morricab]

I love country and bluegrass, i love the "fiddle" not so much the violin.

As someone who comes from a part of the US where such music is popular...I can honestly say I can leave nearly all of it for you .