Lies about vinyl vs digital

[audiobomber]

IME, most of the people who complain loudly about noise in vinyl playback have or had crappy gear, which exaggerates noise due to tonearm and turntable mechanical resonances, peaky moving magnet frequency response, incorrect cartridge loading,  and/or poor stylus quality.  

 

I can sometimes hear noise between tracks, but rarely once the music starts. A few of my albums from the 1970's are damaged, courtesy of a springy AR suspension, bouncy floors and improper isolation. Second-hand records I purchased are much more likely to have surface noise and damaged grooves, but I'm still glad I bought them.

 

I'm enjoying noisy records a LOT more now that I have transitioned to computer audio. I'm currently ripping my vinyl at 96/24 on a Korg DS-DAC-10R using VinylStudio. The click and pop reduction is an awesome feature for cleaning up a noisy record. Once I finish ripping, I will sell the turntable system, because the rips are close enough, and because I'd rather buy hi-rez recordings than vinyl going forward. 

 

CD is quite acceptable to me, too. A well recorded 44/16 CD is better than a mediocre hi-rez recording, but the main thing is the music. A technically great recording of music I don't care for, doesn't float my boat. 

[audiobomber]

3 hours ago, The_K-Man said:

 

In order of importance, with (1) in my estimation being the most crucial:

 

1. Mastering

2. Artistic composition

3. Recording technique

4. Mixing

5. Acoustic treatment of room.

6. Studio interconnects.

7. ADC converters in studio and DAC in consumer playback.

 

Digital, or specifically the CD,  will just reproduce everything, from overprocessed Sh?t  to well produced music, better than will an analog source.  Catch my drift?  Production choices, as well as how well a song is written and composed, are more critical than the specific delivery format, as well as more important than USD$500 boutique interconnects.

Mastering ahead of composition? There's no mastering technique that will make music that I hate, appeal. 

[audiobomber]

10 hours ago, MetalNuts said:

My Avatar shows that I am happy and content only.

Actually your bunny looks manic.

[audiobomber]

15 hours ago, The_K-Man said:

 

But I have experienced the opposite: mastering that has sucked the joy of a song I might have enjoyed even more if they had not compressed or brickwall limited the sh- out of it.

Sure, but putting mastering #1, ahead of composition? I cannot agree with that.

 

Mastering is far down the list of what I need to enjoy my favourite music. As a kid, I listened to music on AM, through a cheap transistor radio, and loved it. I don't need fidelity to enjoy music. Hi-fi is great, but it's a frill.