HRx versus the Tape Project comparison

[audiozorro]

Is this the time for an updated poll?

 

Yes –

If we, with our household equipment, record digitally from vinyl -and let's for now say we do that with 24/176.4- the result is totally indistinguishable from the source. [End Quote]

 

No -

Does the sound get degraded from the original source when you record?

No it doesn’t. Believe it or not, it will actually sound BETTER. I know it doesn’t seem possible but hearing is believing and once you hear the beautiful sound of that tape you will choose the sound of the tape over the original source every time. It is hard to believe but true. [End Quote]

 

 

Maybe -

Digital can surpass analog tape..... sometimes. It just depends on the recording methods, genre and the engineers behind the dials. Tape at it's best.. can win. Sometimes it doesn't. [End Quote]

 

I happen to agree with Bruce and the results from Acousence Records.

 

http://www.acousence.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=7&Itemid=60&lang=en

 

What’s next the next audio topic of debate that never seems to die – low rez better than high-rez?

 

 

 

[roccoriley]

Anyone who is interested in experiencing the most accurate level of audio reproduction (or perhaps the most pleasing level) should make an effort to listen to the Tape Project tapes or some second generation tape masters reproduced on a decent tape recorder using a really good audio system. It is not difficult to do this; there are nearly two hundred subscribers to the Tape Project and these tapes are often played at the audio conventions so there are reasonably good opportunities to hear them.

 

I subscribe to the Tape Project and I also have some Safety Masters which I play on a restored and updated ATR 102 Studio Mastering Recorder. The material on some of my masters has also been commercially released in high resolution digital formats including John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" which many people consider to be an excellent example of successful digital conversion as well as one of the top two or three jazz records of all time. My digital copy of A Love Supreme is 238 Megs and it sounds great, but when I compare the digital copy to the 30ips 1/2" safety master the tape is markedly more detailed and much more enjoyable than the digital release. I should underline the word "Enjoyable" because there are an number of qualities that I hesitate to attempt to translate in to "Audiophile Talk". I suspect that the digital copy was made from a second generation production master rather than an original first generation master so that makes the digital file a third generation file vs my second generation file but that would not account for the significant difference in listening experience. Listening to an example like this shows that there is still a long way to go in improving digital music reproduction.

 

The better the speakers, preamp, amp and cables are the greater the difference you will hear when you compare high quality analog to high quality digital. If you have the opportunity to listen to a Tape Project or other high quality 15ips second or third generation tape on a really good audiophile system you will find that there is a significant level of realism and detail that the tape provides that is simply not present in the digital version and interestingly, you can have access to this level of quality by purchasing an excellent tape deck for a small fraction of the cost of an excellent DAC. When I have the time to sit down and listen to music I find that I will always listen to a tape, never the server, which is now used for background music even though it contains only high resolution rips and downloads.

 

[Vade_Forrester]

Let's stipulate that the analog tape sounds better than the HRx files. In the Tape Project's catalog I count 21 tapes, which sell for $300 each, with a subscription of 10 tapes required, plus a tape machine to play them on. Among Series Two subscription's selections, I count three tapes that interest me, so I'd be paying $1000/tape to subscribe. I'm sorry, but paying $1000 for a recording of anything, no matter how good it sounds, isn't going to appeal to a lot of people, and subscribing to 10 tapes, many of which you may not like, is just goofy. This is the ultimate niche market--makes SACDs look like bargains. I'm sorry, folks, but it really doesn't matter to me if tapes sound better. No way am I going to be interested, except perhaps academically, in tape playback at these prices. I'm glad folks are having fun with tape, but do you really think it will ever become a viable medium for consumers?

 

Vade Forrester

 

[hifitubes]

....and a speaker or amp change is likely to result in more of a difference than tape vs. digital.

 

enjoy the music

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

" but do you really think it will ever become a viable medium for consumers?"

 

It is a viable medium for consumers. A select group of consumers who appreciate tape and the music released on tape, and can afford it. If I could afford it I would be a subscriber in a minute. Value is very relative.

 

Plus the group of guys behind the Tape Project are first class all the way. Great skills and great guys.

 

[hifitubes]

I think he meant "consumers" Chris. At some point you really do have to factor in usability, there is simply no way around it.

 

If getting the ultimate in reproduction dictates we hussle up the mountain, sacrifice all the goats, descend on one leg backwards through a snowstorm....for a 3 minute indulgence in sonic revelation.....I'll pass. Hyperbole? Yes, of course.

 

I love vinyl. Everything about the medium excites me. I like tape too. I enjoy meticulously setting up my table, handling and taking in a gatefold LP, etc., but I don't know if I could justify spending this much money on each Tape Project album. A good 45rpm re-issue is what $30-$50???

 

I also do enjoy the convenience, but more importantly the incredible flexibility of my PC-source from an archival perspective; I can A/B 30 different versions/pressings of a track with incredible ease...but I digress.

 

[Vade_Forrester]

> It is a viable medium for consumers. A select group of consumers who appreciate tape and the music released on tape, and can afford it. If I could afford it I would be a subscriber in a minute. Value is very relative.

 

Value is in the ear of the beholder, but I'm still skeptical how many tapes will be sold at $300 each. If the Tape Project can't make enough money to sustain itself, how long can/will its creators operate at a loss? Hey, I'm not hoping the project will fail--I'm glad it inspires such passion. I'm just dubious it will become economically viable as a self-sustaining long-term enterprise. I would love to be wrong.

 

> Plus the group of guys behind the Tape Project are first class all the way. Great skills and great guys.

 

I know some of those guys and completely agree. But this was never in question.

 

Vade Forrester