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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: That would be an interesting project - to try to find the exact Telarc recording. . . posted by Chris from Lafayette on March 25, 2021 at 12:36:40:
I guess someone might be diligent enough to find out when Telarc got rid of the "three mic" recording technique or switched to 44.1 kHz mastered LPs..... Mind you, at the time, nobody really questioned the lower sample rate..... (I just noticed that the later vinyl releases just lost resolution.... I wasn't even aware of the change initially.) It took about five to ten years to realize it may have not quite passed "audiophile" muster, while consumers were becoming aware of the digital format's shortcomings."As for the sample rate, I know you've posted before about your preference for the Soundstream 50 kHz sample rate vs. the CD sample rate of 44.1 kHz. But at the same time, you've expressed skepticism about higher sample rates, such as 24/96 and above. (Do I have that right?)"
Exactly.... The 50 kHz rate I've only heard on vinyl.... There was no active digital processing going on, so no RFI was being generated..... The same would hold true listening to vinyl mastered at 24/96 and above.....
My disdain for 24/96 and higher rates lies purely with *active* digital audio playback, where the processor is crunching data in real time..... This generates RFI that's several times greater than CD playback.... I've found that taming the RFI-induced sonic artifacts with CD playback, while extremely difficult, is still possible..... I cannot say the same for playing high-resolution digital formats.
"If that's true, then where is the dividing line for you as far as the optimum sample rate on a PCM digital recording is concerned?"
I think had CDs used the same rate as the old 50 kHz Soundstream format, digital audio may have taken a totally different course, and may not have even gone to higher resolution options...... I thought the only refinement needed would have been better filtering, and that's it......
On the flip side, had the CD used the 50 kHz sample rate, vinyl may have gone the way of the 8-track tape........ The 44.1 kHz rate created a "resolution" conundrum that ended up sparing vinyl as a viable consumer and audiophile music playback format. There weren't enough really satisfying CD playback systems to sway the loyal vinyl enthusiasts to the CD format... Getting the top octave right with the 44.1 kHz rate has been sort of a black art in itself, too many CD players just weren't listenable enough to make audiophiles abandon vinyl. (I almost gave up on CD personally.) The higher resolution formats were supposed to solve the "top octave" problem, but they turned out to be even less listenable than CD. (If high-rez digital formats were listenable, that's all we would be talking about now.)
And conversely, I think MP3 became popular simply because it was more listenable than CD and higher resolution formats, due to less RFI generated.... The loss of resolution notwithstanding. (I ran a test here a while back on AA, most people preferred a 320kbps MP3 converted track over the native 44.1 kHz track with the same musical passage.)
"As for me, I'm plenty happy with 24/96, but OTOH, some of the best recordings I know of (such as the Jansons Mahler 7 with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, or Gatti's recording of the Bruckner 9 with the same orchestra) are in my library in their 24/352.8 (DXD) download incarnations - the exact resolution of the master, and they're among the absolute best recordings I've ever heard. (Of course, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw venue itself helps in this regard!)"
I've not heard one bad comment about the Concertgebouw.... Back when I attended Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall during the early 1980s, I would often talk to the musicians as they were warming up..... They all raved about the Concertgebouw, not only being great acoustically for the patrons, but for the musicians as well.
As for the resolution and sample rates, I do hear loss of resolution in CD relative to vinyl, and it probably exists relative to 24/96 or higher..... If I were to come across a playback system that doesn't make my ears bleed while listening to active high-resolution digital formats, I'd trumpet its praises all over Audio Asylum.
Edits: 03/25/21 03/25/21
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Follow Ups
- Good Questions!!!! ......... - Todd Krieger 22:35:04 03/25/21 (1)
- Todd - thanks for the very detailed response - Chris from Lafayette 02:16:55 03/26/21 (0)
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