Popular Post Blackmorec Posted July 4, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 4, 2018 Hi GUTB, With respect, there’s a very obvious answer to your ‘lies’. Your digital system is inferior to your vinyl system and inferior to current digital SOTA which in my experience can be substantially better than analog in most regards. The problem with most digital systems is noise. Unlike analog, digital noise cannot be heard but has a major deleterious impact on what is heard. Something as mundane as plugging a poorly controlled SMPS into the same mains as a digital system has the potential to rob it of most of its most musical qualities. For the past 40+ years we have been served digital via CDPs, an electro/mechanical device with major sources of electronic noise and mechanical vibration. As good as they could sound, a CDP, with all its noise and vibration will never achieve the best sound from digital. Today the best digital sources are those which play files via emi optimised circuitry with the least amount of processing, optimised power supplies and no mechanical vibration. The other aspect of digital vs. Analog that is important is that digital music files and music streams can be ‘reconditioned’, with retiming, jitter and noise removal etc. Once a digital stream has been cleaned up, it must be protected from further noise contamination. When sources, clean-up processes and signal environment are all uptimized, digital has the potential to knock vinyl into a cocked hat. Most digital systems you’ll hear today are far from optimised, the analog equivalent of playing records on the beach on a windy day. Teresa, sandyk, mourip and 1 other 1 2 1 Link to comment
Popular Post Blackmorec Posted July 5, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 5, 2018 At the introduction of CD I was running a fairly tricked out Linn LP12, which eventually evolved into a fully optimised system with all the PSs, arm, MC cartridge, phone amp with its own PS etc. Believing the hype of perfect sound forever I brought home one of the original Sony CDPs, but every time i listened to it I found I would grind my teeth and get a pain in my jaw, so it went. Then along came Meridian with their ‘like Vinyl’ CDP. Again, the same teeth grinding and jaw pain resulted. Eventually the NAIM CDS brought CD replay that I could actually listen to and I kept that unit for quite some time and built a sizeable CD collection. However I still preferred analog, which was noticably more airy, detailed and natural. I then tried a BAT VK-D5, a fully tubed CDP which for the first time replayed CDs with an analog-like warmth and musicality. Still not better than vinyl but better than most recognised CDPs like Wadia, Theta, Mark Levinson and dCS. Recently I sold my existing all-tube hifi and went dedicated digital and streaming. With fewer boxes I was able to put together both analog and digital front ends, dedicating roughly the same budget to each. With long experience in servicing and adjusting an LP12 I decided to get something with a superior engineering platform that could be set up by measurement instead of ‘look and feel’. I eventually settled on a Michell Orbe with SME Series IV and Orftofon Cadenza Black MC, set up atop a Finite Element Pagoda Master Reference stand. The complete unpacking and set-up took most of a relaxed day. The nice thing about this combination is that every single adjustment is defined and measurable so you know exactly when the system is optimally and exactly set up. Once set up I was able to play a selection of classical Decca and EMI recordings by some of the World’s foremost musicians and conductors. I have to say, the system sounded awesome. Some records where clearly contaminated and needed a wash, but overall I was really pleased with the sound. Then my digital front end arrived. I spent some weeks running in the components and optimising the network for the digital data stream. I learned a lot during this process. 1. Everything makes a difference 2. A direct wire connection is not necessarily the best 3. One poorly selected power supply can rob the whole system of its magic 4. Once working really well, there’s a ton more information in a red book format file than most people (myself included) are aware of. 5. With resolution maximised and losses minimised a highly transparent and neutral system will reveal that what we’re hearing is 100% down to the skills of the recording production team. 6. In a highly transparent and neutral system, 95% of the recordings (I listen to) sound good. In the 5% that don’t, one can clearly hear the production errors. 7. Compared to the digital system, the analog system sounded ‘old’. It was fiddly, required far more operator interaction, was subject to a lot of contamination noise, lacked the inky black silences, lacked the instant dynamic swings, lacked transparent low level detail (too much noise), lacked very low level timbre, lacked SOTA image focus and multi-layered acoustic resolution compared to the digital stream and generally sounded somewhat less accomplished. In isolation the analog system sounded great, but the digital front end simply took it to another level. In summary, I could find no justification on sonic grounds for playing music on vinyl, when a SOTA digital system is available. This conclusion was reached after playing hundreds of different tracks on both digital and on vinyl. I don’t have the shadow of a doubt that I could find the odd LP that would outperform the digital file equivalent but that would always be down to the condition of the LP and the production of LP and Digital versions. Over hundreds of tracks, my digital set-up clearly outperformed my analog front end...it delivers greater transparency, improved rhythmic drive and musical impetus and certainly greater listener involvement due to lower noise, greater dynamic contrasts, more low level timbral information and overall greater ‘believability’. Putting my money where my mouth is, I traded in the analog front end against an improved digital server, which should be arriving soon. In the meantime, anyone looking for a collection of some of the finest classical recordings of the analog era plus a few 180g re-issues? Teresa, Nordkapp and look&listen 1 1 1 Link to comment
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