When is it not necessary?Sure, but is the ukelele really necessary?
It's cute!
When is it not necessary?Sure, but is the ukelele really necessary?
Over on another thread members have downloaded software developed by a member to measure TT / Cart FR and distortion using a test record. The scales are different so they look much better but tell a similar story in more detail. From this perspective a TT has "good enough" FR and distortion for human beings to enjoy listening to the music. I wish my digital music sounded "orders of magnitude" better than my LP's like it measures but it doesn't. To me the real scientific take away is that people don't hear as well as they think they do. See bellow results for an AT33PTG-2 on an old technics SL-1310.Thanks for posting the link to this. I also looked at some other cartridges they reviewed. The distortion graphs are more similar between cartridges than different. Twelve to fifteen percent distortion is "high" no matter how you wish to describe it. Even differing technologies showed similar distortion curves - optical and strain gauges cartridges that were tested. This raises the question - how much distortion in the results is "baked" into the test record? Another question is - what is the distribution of the harmonics? I tried to locate more information regarding their methodology without success. An interesting observation - the distortion graph is linear scale with the frequency response being log scale. The linear scale makes the distortion components look - while bad - worse from a visual perspective. If you have been focused on "ruler straight" digital test results, these must look truly "horrible".
Pretty amazing vinyl can sound as good as it does.
I used to wonder the same, until I heard Jake Shimabukuro. Now I know the answer: yes.Sure, but is the ukelele really necessary?
This raises the question - how much distortion in the results is "baked" into the test record?
3. Content above 10 KHz is relatively low in level and related to specific details, not a fundamental part of the timbre of musical instruments. If I were to brickwall content at 10KHz, I'll lose some ambience and maybe a bit of the characteristic sibilance of metallic percussion instruments like cymbals and bells. It would not have the same effect as removing any of the other octaves above maybe 40 Hz. (The 20-40 Hz octave is arguably more important, and yet we by my observation spend less energy defending its importance.)
One can have an impression of deep bass in spite of distortion. However, it's more to the point that phono cartridges are lucky to get as low as 1% midband and many phono cartridges exceed that level of distortion across the board. I've noticed headphones with lower levels of distortion midband, a few speakers as well.Actually, psycho-acoustic curves show that we are relatively insensitive in hearing frequencies below 50 Hz, too.
I'd point out that the splash page is not even a picture of Andrew and no ukulele is played in the video!
…and which is immediately countered with statements like, “vinyl is the only intelligent way to collect music”. So, no. Unless you call that balance.
That’s the power of confirmation bias for you. Not amazing at all.
Heartly agree. And 1% is at least 100x worse than an average DAC. But 1% distortion is not necessarily a dissatisfier in actual listening which is why vinyl can provide a competitive experience to digital, even if it is technically inferior.One can have an impression of deep bass in spite of distortion. However, it's more to the point that phono cartridges are lucky to get as low as 1% midband and many phono cartridges exceed that level of distortion across the board. I've noticed headphones with lower levels of distortion midband, a few speakers as well.
JP - thanks for posting this. Can you provide some more info on the graph? I can understand the harmonics traces versus the fundamental. If you could elaborate on the details - test record used, cartridge arm table used, phono preamp used, and anything else used to generate the graph. Just want to fully understand this.Granted, this is a -30dB sweep.
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Yes, but not to the harmonics of those tones that result from harmonic distortion.Actually, psycho-acoustic curves show that we are relatively insensitive in hearing frequencies below 50 Hz, too.
JP - thanks for posting this. Can you provide some more info on the graph? I can understand the harmonics traces versus the fundamental. If you could elaborate on the details - test record used, cartridge arm table used, phono preamp used, and anything else used to generate the graph. Just want to fully understand this.
Ah, so not as much distortion baked in as compared to what HiFi news is measuring. Thanks.That's feedback from a channel on a Neumann SX-74 cutter.
Ah, so not as much distortion baked in as compared to what HiFi news is measuring. Thanks.
Interesting data. Have you run across any data showing real world data supporting any of the "non-standard" cutting processes? Sheffield Labs direct to disc or MFSL Half-Speed masters for example having any better performance in this context.Maybe. There's still a bit of hardware between the feedback coil and the lacquer. Playback of the lacquer with an AT440MLa put 2H at around -20dB at 20kHz (extrapolated as the sweep was to 15kHz), which is right in the ballpark of typical. I can't say how much contribution from either process.
Yes, in this or other current ASR thread. So…..maybe drop the nit-picking BS. It was YOU who was making sweeping statements about ASR-wide. Now suddenly you switch focus to this thread only, and say that you not seeing the comment in this thread is evidence of MY lack of balance. Moving the goalposts, cheap debating trick. …right back at you.Did someone say that in this thread? It doesn't seem so. I just did a search of the thread and didn't find it, except from your post.
You actually started the nit picking.Yes, in this or other current ASR thread. So…..maybe drop the nit-picking BS. It was YOU who was making sweeping statements about ASR-wide.
Now suddenly you switch focus to this thread only, and say that you not seeing the comment in this thread is evidence of MY lack of balance. Moving the goalposts, cheap debating trick. …right back at you.
Rinse, repeatThat’s the power of confirmation bias for you. Not amazing at all.
To boot, Stereophile IIRC rate those particular carts right at the top of their A list. The worse, the better, you know.
I've not seen any actual data on either.Interesting data. Have you run across any data showing real world data supporting any of the "non-standard" cutting processes? Sheffield Labs direct to disc or MFSL Half-Speed masters for example having any better performance in this context.