|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
100.2.192.64
In Reply to: RE: Analog vs. digital in Bach's B-minor Mass posted by TGR on July 24, 2016 at 15:47:31
I do not see how any two-channel (analog or digital) can render an encompassing audio presentation of this.
Follow Ups:
First of all, I have yet to hear a recording that measures anything close to the impact of a piece when you are sitting in a good seat in a good hall - not multichannel, and not two channel. So NONE of these technologies comes close to reproduction of the real thing.
I have been a tremendous supporter of multichannel sound/SACD in the past - I have a large collection of multichannel SACS, and there is no doubt of the superiority of SACD over CD, and of multichannel over stereo given everything else being equal - I still remember well the demo that Sony did back in about the year 2000 at the Stereophile show, playing "Come Away with Me" first in stereo and then moving to multichannel - the sense of additional space and presence was palpable.
But, I have also learned that setting up an adequate multichannel system is not that easy, it is expensive, and each year there seems to be fewer manufacturers that are making high end multichannel audio equipment, and not that many SACD releases. I have also found that a good SACD gets you much of the way, but not all of the way, to the equivalent of LP playback.
I have also found that analog -sourced sound typically trumps anything digital....not always, but quite often. Just more open, more life there.
I prefer my LPs of Harnoncourt's Christmas Oratorio to the beautifully produced recording on Channel, with the Netherlands Bach Society.
What's interesting is the growth in analog playback, both in terms of equipment and media, over the past several years. This is more than nostalgia, I think. What would be great is a return to analog recording (which could support multichannel, of course).
No - it really IS just geezer nostalgia. ;-)
So analogue playback is growing by leaps and bounds? From half a percent of the market to one and a half percent? As Fremer would say, "Wow! A 200% increase!" As I've said before, a large portion of the analogue listening audience is stuck in time - acting as if nothing has happened in music (or engineering!) since, say, 1985.
I would also point out that SACD is by no means the only way to access multi-channel music, with an ever increasing number of multi-channel PCM downloads now available which dispense with the additional conversion step from PCM (the format of the master for companies such as BIS, Chandos, etc.) to DSD (with its additional noise in the ultra high frequencies) which a release on SACD necessitates. I'm particularly excited about the availability of multi-channel BIS recordings via PCM downloads now, and I'll be posting a follow-up on this topic very soon. For me, hi-rez PCM gives me access to a level of definition, realism and clarity that analogue just doesn't approach.
Nevertheless, I'd still be interested in what analogue recordings you think trump (sorry for the political reference!) anything on digital. jdaniel has provided a couple of examples, and it might be fun, even enlightening for the rest of us to hear a few examples from you too.
I think "better" is subjective and ambiguous. My claim is that my lifetime accumulation of LPs provides a level of listening pleasure that suffices for me, and those with whom I share them.
I am open to listening to digital, and am not seeking things to criticize about digital media.
Enjoy the music.
I listen to vinyl for it's vividness, not it's "warmth".
Ya got to elaborate on that one....
And I don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it. It's about sound quality. I wish it weren't true. 4,000 LPs take up a lot of real estate. And make no mistake about it, I am a record collector too. But then a again I am also a CD collector. I don't confuse collectability with sound quality.
Maybe I should make a list of my best sounding all analog vinyl LPs. But it is important to keep in mind that I am speaking of *my* preferences as heard on *my* system. Not everyone has 35,000 dollars worth of vinyl playback gear. Not that quality is directly dependent on price. I have heard much more expensive gear that did not sound as good as what I have.
I'm glad you said this. (I'm thinking of possibly changing my speakers to some smaller, less costly units, because I like the idea of speakers "without the coffin".) I heard the ones below at a show a couple of years ago and I thought they sounded great.
.
My RF and LF speakers are of the coffin persuasion. And of course I've heard Vandersteen coffins at various shows over the years. I don't have anything against coffin-type speakers, but the Spatial open baffle types I heard (again, at a show) just seemed to free up the speakers from their exact location in space, if that makes any sense. Other speaker types (such as the various electrostatics or the MBL Radialstrahler types - all of which I've heard and liked) would of course be another possibility for me in this respect, but, no matter what speaker you choose, I think you're always trading one set of competencies for another.
I have a small room, so I use guinea pig-sized coffin speakers. :)
they tend to be weak/thin in the two octaves below middle C--trombones, horns, etc.
The 6" speaker varieties I've heard, even with subs, don't have enough mid-bass muscle. Not good for a snarling Bruckner brass chorale.
androgenous, but perhaps that's mere bigotry.
Jeremy
.
Seriously though, I'd still like to see your list of your best analogue recordings - I'll bet some of them are available as hi-rez downloads now!
BTW, aren't the vast majority of Yuja's recordings available only in some kind of digital format?
Much to the chagrin of most of my fellow analog/vinyl/tube enthusiasts, I know that none of these technologies are actually more "accurate" than their digital/solid state counterparts. I know what I am getting. Euphonic colorations. But I don't care a bit about accuracy for the sake of accuracy. I care about aesthetic values.
Be sung to a slow and ponderous or light and fruity tempo?
Jeremy
"What would be great is a return to analog recording (which could support multichannel, of course)."
I hear you and totally agree.
"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok
The front to back imaging is so 3D that I was laughing to myself over memories of once sitting at the center of 5 speakers.
Just before I read your post!
But certainly FOUR as I think it's directly from the 'Quadraphonic' tapes.
Could be wrong?
The lore:
RQR LOGO on the back of the CD.
Yep, I ordered it.
Even without having a multi-channel system. Perhaps the SACD sounds better than the original Phillips CD?
nt
I have that album and agree. I also have a Marriner-conducted 1978 b-minor Mass on Phlips that I find most enjoyable.
I don't think I was ever more than curious about five channels. A lifetime collection of LPs offers more pleasure than I can find time for.
.
Not under the radar to me. It was in my college music library, and a listening staple for me. I've mentioned it here before.
Love the arrangements, especially the last 20 min or so. Very moving.
Yes, he left a large and impressive recorded legacy. It's hard to think of him as underrated, but perhaps it's unfashionable to talk about him now precisely because he was so popular and prolific.
And no one is denigrating the older analogue recordings, which we all of course listen to on occasion for particular insights or approaches. But your use of the word "encompassing" is the key here.EDIT:
Edits: 07/24/16
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: