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Forgive me Computeraudiophiles, for I have sinned


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Joel, have you tried any tape transfers that you know were made with the Plangent Process(es)?  https://www.plangentprocesses.com/

 

Interested in whether these still retain the "magic" for you.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Just now, joelha said:

 

Thanks Jud.

 

I do have more research to do.

 

I'd love to isolate what it is about reel to reel playback that I (and others) love so much.

 

If I can, there'll be one very enthusiastic post everyone will be reading from me.

 

Joel

 

I hope more than one. ?

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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1 hour ago, tmtomh said:

we cannot equate high fidelity with high enjoyment/musicality.

 

To the extent that musicians are trying to be musical, perhaps we can.  ?

 

Of course there are a thousand things that intervene.  Is the production going for a natural ambiance or a loud mess?  To us, at least in the short term, louder is better, so we might not recognize what's most true, at least initially.  But hey, I do love a well played acoustic guitar, piano, cello, whatever, and maybe over the longer term a more faithful rendition of those sounds is where I tend to go.  Maybe not, there's no way to be sure.

 

To some extent contradicting what I just said ? , I like the way Mark Knopfler records his albums, but from what I've read, he likes to bounce his recordings back and forth between analog and digital consoles to get a particular sound or "feel."  So I'm not enjoying the sounds of the instruments and vocals on his albums, but those sounds as run through a few items of studio recording equipment.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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23 minutes ago, tmtomh said:

 

I don't disagree with anything you've said here, except for your first sentence.

 

I have zero problem with anyone setting up their listening environment, equipment, or media choice to get a sound they like - the whole point is to enjoy the sound.

 

And I have zero problem with musicians, producers and engineers doing all sorts of things in the quest of the desired sound for artistic reasons.

 

But if Knopfler is going to do D-A or A-D bounces to get a sound he likes, then the one thing you can't defend doing is seeking to replay that sound in an intentionally colored way, in the name of achieving more accurate sound or sound that's true to what Knopfler heard in studio or intended you to hear.

 

That's why I feel we have to have some objective standard of fidelity - not a standard musicians and producers have to use, and not a standard we listeners have to use. But rather a standard for what comes in between: the physical or digital medium should aspire to bring us Knoplfer's sound exactly as it was - or as close as possible to what it was - when it was created in the studio. That's all I'm saying.

 

I agree.  And my first sentence wasn't meant to disagree.  I was just saying (to be a little more detailed) that if the musician has tried to make a musical and enjoyable recording, then if the producer has succeeded in capturing that, an accurate system may provide us with musicality and enjoyment from that recording.  But I agree with you that our own enjoyment, especially in the short term, doesn't necessarily indicate accuracy.  Especially in the case of a studio production, we won't necessarily know what the reproduction is supposed to be faithful *to*.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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1 hour ago, firedog said:

Am listening to Tracker on Tidal. Yes, does seem like a pretty good recording and yes, it does have a bit of an "analog" sound to it, even over Tidal. 

Does sound like they volume compressed it a tiny bit (not headache inducing, by any means) in order to give it a "modern" sound. But it sounds good. 

 

If they did, "tiny" would be the correct term: 

 

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=&album=Tracker

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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17 minutes ago, semente said:

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think that you can get conclusive information from the DR Database website unless you can compare different masterings of the same album or recording because, if I understand correctly, the DR value depends also on the musical programme's characteristics, meaning that if a song has a relatively constant steady state background line this will reduce the DR value.

 

I say this because some of the classical music tracks which I know to have a very wide dynamic range only get 10 or 12 in the TT analysis.

 

That's true.  I have the album, and there aren't any symphony orchestras on it. ? The DR is quite good for the reasonably simple music, instrumentation, and production.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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25 minutes ago, firedog said:

Yes, I saw that, but the bass, especially, seems like it's been pumped up. 

 

Is this an MQA or "straight" Tidal version?  Full/hi res or lossy? 

 

The reason I ask is because I have 16/44.1 and 24/192 versions and neither sounds to me as if it has overemphasized bass, though of course our tastes or systems may simply differ on this.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Interesting. I like River Towns (third song), as does my wife.  There's a fair amount I like in the last group of songs, though I find Beryl, which was the featured track leading up to the album's release, to be rather a minor thing.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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