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In Reply to: RE: Here you go posted by JBen on July 11, 2017 at 09:59:00
I heard one in the day and it was stunning. It had real dynamic range that was actually used in the mastering and pressing, as opposed to CD, which might have the potential for better dynamic range but hardly ever has it, as everyone masters it to a -20db standard whereas to capture the full dynamics without compression or cutoff you need to record below -30db..
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Satie, I am going to go mostly with what Josh mentions, for I heard it and it could also get a bit ugly. However, I wish the technology had matured enough to avoid the pitfalls.
Like you, I was blown away by some of the recordings. At a time when my audio gear could not possibly take advantage of it, a colleague owned the right dbx and associated gear. All in a small room, including several well-made 18" woofers, a superbly isolated turntable and power to spare. The system could even make one deaf with its lack of distortion at high SPL.
Man oh man, I know what you mean, THAT really showed dbx's might!
I never actually heard a dbx disc.
It still galls me that recordings are compressed when there's no need for it. If they are going to compress them, there should be some kind of record of the compression so that you can undo it if you want. Also, an accurate level reference to allow playback at natural levels or meaningful loudness compensation if you want to listen quietly.
My audiophile mentor was my music teacher and he was a big dbx fan and used the expander liberally (when playing the DQ10 + sub in his tiny studio - as opposed to the Quad 57) he learned to tune the dbx parameters by ear starting with levels suggested by Decca engineers who recorded his orchestra. I probably heard more dbx encoded discs there, but I only had definite knowledge on the one. Playing non-encoded discs he was clever enough with tuning so that he could get it to the point of barely perceptible pumping while the dynamic range was greatly expanded.
I had a Phase Linear Autocorrelator. Subtler expansion so no pumping but not as dramatic an effect!
So, you could not resist some of the dark side charms either, huh? :)
I am taking a break from soldering to have a beer. I've gotta finish this test circuit config (on the PLLXO high pass) and restore the system in time for Game of Thrones. starts this evening. This, of course, is by wife decree. She likes the intro music to be as beefy as can be...me too.
Hmmm . . . I haven't heard the Game of Thrones music yet on anything bigger than my Monsoons. All should change soon but not tonight, I got a little roll-around sit/stand desk for my monitor and keyboard which means moving the computer, and my current cables are in the wrong place . . . so can't listen or watch until I get that all figured out.
The good news is that now that my HTPC has a real home I have my work table back and can get to work on the delam.
So enjoy, and whatever you do, don't tell me what happened!
That recordings can be made which sound so different from each other is where art comes into play. (Pun intended.) 'Mercury Living Presence' and 'RCA Living Stereo' made made decent sounding recordings before the persons responsible for the current technology were born.
Some of my favorite recordings were made in the 50's and early 60's. Simple mic techniques and reasonable sounding tube electronics.
Norman, I fully agree. Those folks made some terrific recordings of many great concert performances! I no longer have a serious LP system but, decades ago, some of those LP's brightened my days in special ways.
In fact, old as they are, some of their master tapes became fabulous transcriptions into SACD. In just 2 channels, some can display sonic imaging that commands and builds its own huge hall, far larger than the room, often with "visuals" included. Some also capture details and textures that more modern recordings missed.
Just this morning I ordered another SACD copy of the one linked below, for a gift. Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe" is not light music, even masterfully directed by Charles Munch. However, when played on a planar system, I've seen a teen's eyes widen in amazement, and then refocus them on some of the orchestral elements staged way outside the room boundaries. Then you hear the question you've been asked before, "Did you say 1955? My father wasn't even born then!"
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