|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
169.237.211.83
In Reply to: Re: What makes a Rega Planet "Analog-like"? posted by saltyflies on February 23, 2007 at 07:19:30:
This brings up a topic I have always wondered about. What the hell is PRAT? I mean, I know what it stands for, but isn't it up to the band to get the pacing, rhythm and timing right? I mean, if there was a player that would slop up drum parts and slow down the bass licks so that all my music sounded like mariachi, I think it would be pretty incredible! But what is a CD player working with but two tracks of audio, one for each channel, correct?Please, help me understand this idea!
Thanks,
Follow Ups:
I’m not good with technical rationale, at best can only describe what I hear. I’m not sure that PRAT resides exclusively within any one component, but the cdp (like everything) has some effect. I’m all over the place in terms of music genre, so it’s important to me that things can swing as well as seduce.Using the same variety of cd’s can detect variation in the delivery of attack & decay. When there’s too much attack and not enough decay, it sounds too fast; reminds me of a child playing a piano solo, , for the first time in the school recidal…each note is played as quickly as possible (to get it over with) without allowing the previous note to decay. - Basie seems hurried, Krall sounds less syrupy and Norah sounds happy. Conversely, with too much decay and not enough attack, it sounds too slow; reminds me of same kid learning to play a song, read the notes, and find the keys at the same time or an accomplished musician who’s bored from playing the same night afer night.– Basie sounds boring, Krall too syrupy and Norah sounds morbid. Just right lets - Basie bops, Krall sounds S’wonderful and Norah sounds meloncholy (which is normal).
The existence or not of PRAT is a periodic matter of discussion here. People who use the term say that some systems simply get their toes tapping more than others -- some are just better at conveying the feel of rhythm. I dunno. Your comments are right, but it's not unimaginable that there are other qualities of audio gear that make the experience of rhythm somehow stronger.Re Rega, it's got a lush, distinctive sound that's very nice. My own experience, FWIW, was that the Rega tended to be slightly less detailed and perhaps because of that it would bring the featured instrument or vocalist a little more forward and push the backing vocals/instruments more to the back. My own favorite for hearing what a source component does is a capella gospel music, both because differences in timbre stand out and because of the interplay between soloist and chorus. If you have a dealer who will let you line up several CD players and compare, the differences should stand out. Chamber music with strings is great; if you're a musician pick a great recording with your instrument.
I am happy to read comments about lushness and etcetera, those are qualities I definitely look for in both the music I listen to as well as the sound I am hearing. I would say that so far it has been a good experience with the player except for the fact that it really has issues playing CD's that aren't totally pristine. That is annoying, especially when the CD is just basically brand new but for one teeeeny scratch.As far as auditioning, heh, maybe someday, for now I am on dad's flow of gear being nudged out, so the Planet is a pleasant by-product of my dad's upgrade to the Jupiter. No complaints there, I know it is a player I couldn't afford on my, hmmmm, say...college student fixed income :)
You did well in your choice of Dads and you can't go wrong with Rega. The other thing to look at as far as sources is the PC, which has a nice forum here and is definitely the wave of the future. No more worries about CD scratches.You can sometimes use Exact Audio Copy to make a playable version of a scratched CD.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: