beagleman
Major Contributor
I have heard some claim that, and yeah it makes sense, but have to add.....That's certainly a valid take from Amir. But of course "better" can be seen as subjective. I've compared vinyl with digital versions, which came from the same original masters, and I could hear differences that one person may find "better" for the digital where another may deem the vinyl "better."
I keep having to go back to, subsequently "Ripping" the vinyl version to Digital, results in a perfect replica OF that vinyl sound, hinting that even though we assume or are told it is the same master, that possibly signal manipulation, both intentional and as a result of how records are "Made" alter the actual product on final playback.
So the differences are Still bound to be in the mastering "Stages" or more possibly in how vinyl itself alters the sound on all recordings to some degree.
I still put a lot of faith in the idea that when vinyl is made, the noise of whatever amount is present, is not JUST present, but it is effectively out of phase and "heard" by the listener, maybe even subconsciously heard, not as a Mono component, but as a wide out of phase stereo "Noise signal".
Combine that and bass summing and rumble being out of phase, it creates a huge false ambiance, that maybe not extremely audible, but is still heard or mixed with the actual music creating a sound stage that we perceive but was never on the original music.
When one "Mono's"out a record, the (pseudo)ambiance falls flat in a much different way than a CD copy. With headphones, it is far more obvious.