Vinyl Asylum

RE: Why are CDs digitized from master tapes?

216.197.217.144


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Vinyl Asylum ]

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

One of the most significant differences between CD (or FM, or streaming, or ...) and LP playback is the cartridge generates the AC signal used as the source of the performance directly.

Everything else uses a power supply which is then modulated to form the source of the performance. Thus, everything except a phono cartridge (or many types of microphone) is dependent on the power supply for it's sonic qualities, and there are not many people who would argue that power supply quality isn't relevant. Nor is it cheap, so it's often a target of compromises.

If you are cutting a CD master from magnetic tape (which is the old way, although some producers and engineers still use it today) alongside a concurrent master for vinyl, you have no choice but to experience the high 3rd Harmonic Distortion that is inherent in the magnetic tape format. So it's not a matter of lower distortion on the CD. 3HD will be in whole percentage points, rising from the low distortion floor at -20Vu.


Edits: 03/27/17   03/27/17   03/27/17   03/27/17   03/27/17

Follow Ups: