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Re: Turntable Hype

198.144.162.37

Posted by Phil Sieg on September 14, 1999 at 07:22:56

In Reply to: Re: Turntable Hype posted by Pat D on September 13, 1999 at 16:52:21:

Pat,

I'm not sure why you think there is no "method" in Dan's comparison or mine. We can do no more that you can, save play the original LP and it;s CD reissue. In every case, the LP sounds much more like real music being played in a real space. The CD sounds artificial (which it is, a point I'll return to). We could carry this even further to different pressings of the same LP. Does a Shaded Dog 1S/1S sound superior or different to a Shaded Dog 15S/15S? Probably. I can't see that it matters (as I said before)that different masters might be used. Since every LP I own sounds more like real music than its CD reissue, the only conclusion I think is possible is that the current digital medium is the reason. Why?

Digital recording is discrete sample of a continuum. The intervals between the samples are approximated by numerical approximation algoritms that converge on a solution. Converge in this sense means "get in the neighborhood of". The algoritms are incapable of deriving an analytical solution, therefore some error terms 9truncation, round-off0 are always part of the solution, i.e part of the recording you are listening to on your CDP. This is what i mean by artificial. The interpolations between samples "fill in" the missing data using linear (straight line) apporximations, yet a sine wave is composed of millions of little straight lines connected together.

The result in these approximations is retention of the fundamental, but increasing diminuition of overtones. The spatial cues that we subliminally respond to when listening to an analog recording haver gone missing; there is no sense of real music in a real space. This is not a matter of preference, it is how the process works. If you return to the AES journals of the early eighties, you will find a large number of published papers that point out the shortcomings of the recently established industry standard of 16/44.

Now you may prefer CD because of it ease of use or its relative lack of surface noise and tape hiss, but as a reproducer of real music in real space, it's severely flawed. I have heard 78s that, for certain instrument, sound more real than any CD (or LP for that matter).

The Accuphase DP-75, if not the best, is certainly one of the best CDPs out there. It uses eight DACs per channel, and is the best CD sound I've heard to date. But a good LP on my Linn beats it every time. And every non-audiophile I've had over and done the comparison for left speechless with the lower jaw on their chest. Make of it what you will.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Herbie's Audio Lab

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