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General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

I dunno, man...

Tinear:

I was listening to some Chopin from AIX records at 24/96 last night. I am going to buy more from AIX records. Why? They are not about "formats" - they are about recording quality. I've never heard piano with such attack, but what is perhaps more compelling is the complexities of all of the string harmonics as they decay.

I honestly think we have the learnings now to make very very good recordings - on ANY format. But if these learnings are not used, then how would a format make any difference? Poor recording techniques are going to have the same end result, and format will not improve this.

I think the disappointment in hi-res is not because the formats themselves have "failed" (if 24/96 and 24/192 'work' as per their white papers how COULD they be worse than CD??), but because trends in recording have gotten worse instead of better from an audiophile perspective.

I have shelved or given away a considerable amount of DVD-A material simply because it sucked and was not worth the 8 extra bits!

Anyways, I think good recordings from the 70's on vinyl, good modern vinyl recordings, good CD recordings, and good hi-res recordings all have one thing in common: they're superior to a bad recording on ANY format!

Maybe we should be looking at other reasons why some recordings are better than others even on the *same* format.

Am I suggesting that audiophiles should only collect GOOD RECORDINGS?

YES!!

Wine officionados don't collect shitty wine for the sake of variety. Food critics don't eat shitty food for the sake of variety. Why should variety trump QUALITY when it comes to audio?

I also think some people who "love music" and are willing to accept ANY performance with ANY recording quality, and are too quick to criticize those who also "love music" but have some standards.

I say arm yourself with enough machines to play ANY format and just collect music you like that is recorded well.

Cheers,
Presto


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