New Absolute Sound guest editorial by Jonathan Valin

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

Posted by ecl876 (A) on March 10, 2017 at 19:12:05

"DIGITAL IS TO ANALOG AS A BUTTERFLY PRESSED UNDER GLASS IS TO A BUTTERFLY IN AN OPEN FIELD"

This isn't my analogy but Valin's and I'm pretty sure it's not him at his most elegant. His article in the new TAS entitled THE EMPEROR'S NEW SERVER is essentially his perspective on the digital vs. analog debate, after "taking the computer audio plunge ....the last 24 months...auditioning hi-res files over a variety of pretty good DACS." To be fair, he does list all the real or perceived advantages of digital audio (convenience, pitch stability, consistency, lack of surface noise, price, no warpage, availability of contemporary music) but still concludes "I positively dare you to listen to any well recorded piece of music turned into a digital file and played back from a computer via USB DAC and then listen to the exact same recording played back via a really good turntable, tonearm, cartridge and phonostage and tell me, with a straight face, that the digital recording sounds more like the real thing than the analog one."

It's a fair and well written piece but honestly, after naming all the advantages of digital playback, he seems to have run out of steam. His main argument in favor of analog is an old one: " What is wrong with digital audio, be it computerized or not, has been wrong from the go. No matter what the bit rate, no matter what the digital delivery system, you simply cannot "sample" the continuous-time sound of instruments or vocalists, turn it into discrete -time numbers, and then turn those back into instruments or vocalists without losing some of the very continuousness of presentation--the dense, constantly renewing, uninterrupted flow of articulation, dynamics and timbres--that is the very breath of musical life."

He repeats his dare about listening to a really good analog setup vs. a digital one but concludes with "All in all, it's probably best to look at this editorial diatribe as a minority report from an Old Fogey."

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Topic - New Absolute Sound guest editorial by Jonathan Valin - ecl876 19:12:05 03/10/17 (24)

Valin Is Another Sad Example of the Ravages of Aged Metal Decline - Newey 20:15:32 03/16/17 (0)

RE: New Absolute Sound guest editorial by Jonathan Valin - fantja 05:34:26 03/14/17 (0)

Digital is the parabolic curve that - Ross 17:46:12 03/12/17 (1)

RE: Digital is the parabolic curve that - Analog Scott 22:15:49 03/13/17 (0)

RE: New Absolute Sound guest editorial by Jonathan Valin - Old Listener 10:08:32 03/12/17 (0)

This is not a new concept, but like... - MWE 09:23:43 03/12/17 (0)

Sounds like Fremer in Stereophile...yawn...(nt) - mkuller 09:31:26 03/11/17 (0)

RE: New Absolute Sound guest editorial by Jonathan Valin - Analog Scott 08:12:24 03/11/17 (1)

Yes - a statement like the one you quoted ("losing the very continuousness. . ."). . . - Chris from Lafayette 09:01:47 03/11/17 (0)

Yes - I'm sure he's made all the Luddites very happy! ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 00:58:39 03/11/17 (13)

RE: Yes - I'm sure he's made all the Luddites very happy! ;-) - learsfool 21:51:01 03/11/17 (11)

huh? - Analog Scott 22:12:31 03/11/17 (10)

Excellent response, Scott - Chris from Lafayette 22:27:26 03/11/17 (9)

I think the digital v. analog( vinyl) issue is actually a kind of complex one - Analog Scott 22:48:11 03/11/17 (8)

"All recordings have their own individual sonic issues and virtues." - rbolaw 08:08:23 03/12/17 (6)

RE: "All recordings have their own individual sonic issues and virtues." - learsfool 22:31:20 03/14/17 (1)

RE: "All recordings have their own individual sonic issues and virtues." - Analog Scott 09:55:38 03/16/17 (0)

oh and about "smeantics" - Analog Scott 23:38:35 03/13/17 (0)

RE: "All recordings have their own individual sonic issues and virtues." - Analog Scott 22:11:17 03/13/17 (2)

"...every bit of the audible signal." Good one, Scott! - rbolaw 19:03:14 03/16/17 (1)

"perfectly reproducing a recording is not the same as perfectly capturing a live music performance" - Analog Scott 10:50:22 03/17/17 (0)

Yup, pretty much agree with all that [nt] - Chris from Lafayette 23:34:12 03/11/17 (0)

Not all of us luddites are happy with his nonsense about digital audio. - Analog Scott 08:14:29 03/11/17 (0)

RE: New Absolute Sound guest editorial by Jonathan Valin - ahendler 20:19:01 03/10/17 (0)

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