Can digital get to vinyl sound and at what price?

[Al M.]

Let the rest of the choir babble on about what they need to tell themselves

Look in the mirror.

This statement can be turned right back to you and your like-minded peers.

I love vinyl, but these claims of superiority are just ridiculous.

 

[Audiohertz2]

Its all subjective so any and all claims are opinion.
Superior Opinion wins thou ...!

 

[Al M.]

Its all subjective so any and all claims are opinion.
Superior Opinion wins thou ...!

Or as someone said: "Opinions are like a..holes. Everybody has one."

 

[jespera]

Look in the mirror.

This statement can be turned right back to you and your like-minded peers.

I love vinyl, but these claims of superiority are just ridiculous.

Good idea:

Listen to mj’s “man in the mirror”

… and compare it to earlier j5 things and then ask your girlfriend or cat what they think sounds most natural ..

 

[hopkins]

Exactly. Spot on.

Let the rest of the choir babble on about what they need to tell themselves

It's true for a lot of recordings from the LP era, but recent digital re-issues are much better than what has been available previously.

 

[jespera]

Good idea:

Listen to mj’s “man in the mirror”

… and compare it to earlier j5 things and then ask your girlfriend or cat what they think sounds most natural ..

Ok lets raise the stakes a bit:

I can go to any digi fan in london and demo what 1k analog can do. If his gf or cat thinks its rubbish then i’ll f off amd never be seen on thiS forum again. Ok?

 

[tima]

Tim, i agree that it's hard to separate ownership of the whole vinyl process from the full intake of the musical side of vinyl. you can choose to keep set-up at arms length, but that will then be a constant brake on your vinyl flow. how can it not be? hearing the differences during set-up and understanding cause and effect of changes made is an underpinning of optimization over time. being exact and perfect is secondary to having a feel for things. which comes from doing.

and curating your vinyl collection is another part of the 'vinyl process' equation. which includes organization and a cleaning regimen. it does not need to be exhaustive, but it needs to be yours. Sunday i cleaned, and yesterday listened to, 15 Debussy pressings, read the back covers, listened to at least half a side on each. right now i'm in the middle of listening to 10 'Lute' pressings, the composer mostly Dowland, the artist mostly O'Dette, which i cleaned yesterday. talk about getting close to the music. i'm living it. with Debussy i'm in late 19th and early 20th century Paris, with Dowland i'm in 16th and 17th century London. the music and history is intertwined. i'm sure i'm just a piker compared to some experts here. but for me personally this is seeing the world, and connecting history and music's place, through the music. the vinyl process is delivering an experience. it slows you down to smell the flowers.

yesterday and today i'm cleaning 40 Dvorak pressings, won't get to listening to those until tomorrow.

as i say in my epigram on another forum: 'Living la Vida Vinyl'

 

[jespera]

Ok lets raise the stakes a bit:

I can go to any digi fan in london and demo what 1k analog can do. If his gf or cat thinks its rubbish then i’ll f off amd never be seen on thiS forum again. Ok?

No takers ?

 

[Audiohertz2]

 

[Lagonda]

Exactly. Spot on.

Let the rest of the choir babble on about what they need to tell themselves

I thought you were in love with your Eastern European dac Jesper !

 

[jespera]

Come on now

 

[Lagonda]

Ok lets raise the stakes a bit:

I can go to any digi fan in london and demo what 1k analog can do. If his gf or cat thinks its rubbish then i’ll f off amd never be seen on thiS forum again. Ok?

Carlos, have you highjacked Jespers profile !

 

[wil]

No, my hearing is just fine, thank you. I am following NIOSH recommendations,

Noise and Hearing Loss

Loud noise at work can damage your hearing. Learn about industries at risk and prevention methods.

www.cdc.gov

and I am safely at, or mostly under, their daily exposure limits (measured in dBA (note 1), which I also use my calibrated Reed SPL meter for; I check levels frequently). When I watch TV upstairs, I have the volume set rather low (very low in fact), and I can hear it just as easily as many years ago.

When I go to the Boston Symphony or Jordan Hall of New England Conservatory, orchestral peak levels are about 95 - 100 dBC, at some points even reaching 110 dBC, depending on the size of the orchestra and seating position.

Of course, if your sound is distorted, which can happen easily even just under suboptimal conditions when it comes to room acoustics (people just don't realize how much rooms themselves distort the sound!!), then sound levels can become painful much earlier (note 2).

______________________

1) usually the readouts in dBA are much lower than in dBC, also because bass frequencies (which are much less damaging to the ear than high frequencies) fall away in the dBA scale

2) people blame distortion on amplifier clipping even when it's just that darn room

Intuitively, it seems high frequencies are more dangerous to the ears, but I was surprised to learn that low frequencies cause more hearing damage. — Something about the longer wave lengths causing the eardrums to move more.

I think I’m probably more like Rex in that I do not like loud sound. It doesn’t matter what the source of the sound is or whether it’s distorted or not. I’ve recently had my hearing professionally checked out and it’s normal for any age. I don’t have a problem if some music peaks in the high 90s or 100 because it’s just an intermittent experience. But when I hear of people claiming they listen at an average spl in the 90s I have to assume either their hearing is already damaged or for some reason they get a rush from excessive volume.

I do agree that every recording has an ideal range for volume, and that distortion either from the recording, the system or the room can be an impediment to hearing it at higher volumes.

 

[jespera]

Awfully quiet

 

[jespera]

I thought you were in love with your Eastern European dac Jesper !

I am. Still.

Its very simple:

The best digital: abbas.

The best turntable :garrard 301 grease

 

[Al M.]

Awfully quiet

Well, how many people here are in London and can take you up on your offer? I for one am not.

It would be fun, even though I don't think it would give you the outcome you expect.

 

[hopkins]

Ok lets raise the stakes a bit:

I can go to any digi fan in london and demo what 1k analog can do. If his gf or cat thinks its rubbish then i’ll f off amd never be seen on thiS forum again. Ok?

Now I wish someone would take him up on his challenge

 

[jespera]

Now I wish someone would take him up on his challenge

Me too

 

[Lagonda]

Me too

Thought you where in Frederiksberg, not London !

 

[jespera]

Thought you where in Frederiksberg, not London !

I was in hellerup.

I had _extremely_ good sound