Vivaldi – The Four Seasons – Review – Is mastering more important than the medium? (One Step vinyl record Audionautes vs SACD vs CD vs Streaming)

[Jean.Francois]

Hello,

The different versions of this Four Seasons album by Vivaldi are particularly interesting. In fact, we find three distinct sound renderings across the CD, SACD, and the One Step vinyl editions.

All versions offer the same dynamic range.

The real surprise comes from the One Step vinyl record by Audionautes Recording. As shown in the spectral comparison below between Ed. 3 One Step vinyl record – 2024 (white) and Ed. 1 SACD – 2006 (blue), the two curves are very similar between 100 Hz and 15 kHz. Beyond 15 kHz (yellow area), there is a pronounced rise in the high frequencies on the vinyl record, exceeding +10 dB at 22 kHz.

However, the mastering choices, particularly the correction applied in the low frequencies, affect the behavior of the loudspeakers. The +20 dB boost at 30 Hz can cause significant excursion of the bass driver, as observed on the system playing this record at the Hi-Fi Show (see the Haute Fidélité Paris 2025 video starting at 7 minutes and 24 seconds). When listening, this vinyl record offers deeper bass, giving more substance to the sound reproduction. The tonal balance is more faithful to the instruments than on the SACD version, but with an excessive emphasis on the extremely high frequencies, which makes the micro-details in the sound stand out a bit too much.

The SACD stands out thanks to its natural tonal balance, while Tidal and CD versions focus on a brighter clarity, sometimes at the expense of realism. The One Step edition, with its extremely low distortion, deeper bass, and more accurate instrumental rendering, emerges as the most expressive version, with overemphasized high frequencies. Comparing the different formats of the same album clearly shows that mastering plays a major role and can have an even greater impact on sound quality than the medium itself.

I invite you to listen to the different excerpts, especially comparing the SACD and the vinyl record, to hear how the mastering differs across media. Link to the excerpts and full set of measurements: (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

 

[beagleman]

Hello,

The different versions of this Four Seasons album by Vivaldi are particularly interesting. In fact, we find three distinct sound renderings across the CD, SACD, and the One Step vinyl editions.

View attachment 492382

All versions offer the same dynamic range.

The real surprise comes from the One Step vinyl record by Audionautes Recording. As shown in the spectral comparison below between Ed. 3 One Step vinyl record – 2024 (white) and Ed. 1 SACD – 2006 (blue), the two curves are very similar between 100 Hz and 15 kHz. Beyond 15 kHz (yellow area), there is a pronounced rise in the high frequencies on the vinyl record, exceeding +10 dB at 22 kHz.
View attachment 492383


However, the mastering choices, particularly the correction applied in the low frequencies, affect the behavior of the loudspeakers. The +20 dB boost at 30 Hz can cause significant excursion of the bass driver, as observed on the system playing this record at the Hi-Fi Show (see the Haute Fidélité Paris 2025 video starting at 7 minutes and 24 seconds). When listening, this vinyl record offers deeper bass, giving more substance to the sound reproduction. The tonal balance is more faithful to the instruments than on the SACD version, but with an excessive emphasis on the extremely high frequencies, which makes the micro-details in the sound stand out a bit too much.

The SACD stands out thanks to its natural tonal balance, while Tidal and CD versions focus on a brighter clarity, sometimes at the expense of realism. The One Step edition, with its extremely low distortion, deeper bass, and more accurate instrumental rendering, emerges as the most expressive version, with overemphasized high frequencies. Comparing the different formats of the same album clearly shows that mastering plays a major role and can have an even greater impact on sound quality than the medium itself.

I invite you to listen to the different excerpts, especially comparing the SACD and the vinyl record, to hear how the mastering differs across media. Link to the excerpts and full set of measurements: (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

I have not heard any of these, but have to wonder, if that "Deep bass" and that huge bump at 22khz, are maybe artifacts of some type of record playback etc?

 

[Jean.Francois]

I have not heard any of these, but have to wonder, if that "Deep bass" and that huge bump at 22khz, are maybe artifacts of some type of record playback etc?

I can confirm that this is not a playback issue: I always use the same playback procedure along with a test disc to verify the settings. The elements in question are indeed present both in the low end and in the high frequencies. As for the low end, I included a link in the article to a YouTube video where, starting at 7 minutes and 24 seconds, this album is played. The movement of the woofer can clearly be observed there, caused by this disc on a system other than my own.

 

[rDin]

Is the 22kHz hump the cartridge/phonostage setup rather than perhaps the vinyl itself? Do you have a test record with pink noise on it - record and compare to digital pink noise? My phono stage (PH1000) can be "abused" to cause such humps in the high frequencies and some cartridges lift up high frequencies.

 

[Jean.Francois]

Is the 22kHz hump the cartridge/phonostage setup rather than perhaps the vinyl itself? Do you have a test record with pink noise on it - record and compare to digital pink noise? My phono stage (PH1000) can be "abused" to cause such humps in the high frequencies and some cartridges lift up high frequencies.

Indeed, neither cartridges nor preamps are perfectly linear for vinyl playback. I use an AT33TPG2 paired with a XONO preamp (DIY with DC servo, detailed on the HTMV blog) and have worked extensively on achieving linearity. I use test records to verify this linearity. For example, the vinyl pressing of JAFF’s album, compared to its master, shows an almost perfect overlap of the curves with no boost beyond 15 kHz, while background noise appears above 20 kHz (yellow arrow), which is normal.

 

[beagleman]

I can confirm that this is not a playback issue: I always use the same playback procedure along with a test disc to verify the settings. The elements in question are indeed present both in the low end and in the high frequencies. As for the low end, I included a link in the article to a YouTube video where, starting at 7 minutes and 24 seconds, this album is played. The movement of the woofer can clearly be observed there, caused by this disc on a system other than my own.

I watched the video, and now have NO idea what you are talking about.

The woofer movement seems to be vinyl related, not mastering related, or part of the music at all. It appears to be more issues with a warped record, after playing it back on my system. There is no musical instrument making deep bass on that part of the music, so its either noise from the studio or noise from the vinyl pressing/playback chain or something.

I believe you are confusing "Noise" with deep bass from a musical instrument. The vinyl version you mention, basically seems flawed in some way, although not sure how or why. There should be no deep bass in that section of that piece. It appears more as rumble or mechanical noise, not YOUR system specifically, but a flaw of the record being played.

 

[Jean.Francois]

I watched the video, and now have NO idea what you are talking about.

The woofer movement seems to be vinyl related, not mastering related, or part of the music at all. It appears to be more issues with a warped record, after playing it back on my system. There is no musical instrument making deep bass on that part of the music, so its either noise from the studio or noise from the vinyl pressing/playback chain or something.

I believe you are confusing "Noise" with deep bass from a musical instrument. The vinyl version you mention, basically seems flawed in some way, although not sure how or why. There should be no deep bass in that section of that piece. It appears more as rumble or mechanical noise, not YOUR system specifically, but a flaw of the record being played.

During the show, we listened to several records, and this was the only one that caused a noticeable movement of the woofer, due to the presence of a very low-frequency signal. On the vinyl record, this signal can be found below 45 Hz and is artificially boosted (+12 dB at 40 Hz) compared to the CD or SACD versions (green area on the graphic).
However, the recording itself does not contain such a high level of low-frequency content, as evidenced by the digital editions. I do not know whether the Audionautes CD edition exhibits the same phenomenon at the mastering stage.
This behavior can be explained by spectral analysis and is most likely the result of a mastering process that strongly emphasized the low frequencies. It could also be low-frequency noise, but it clearly follows the variations of the signal present on the SACD, with additional amplification.
This phenomenon is not present on other Audionautes releases. In any case, it does not represent the expected normal records.

 

[Cbdb2]

During the show, we listened to several records, and this was the only one that caused a noticeable movement of the woofer, due to the presence of a very low-frequency signal. On the vinyl record, this signal can be found below 45 Hz and is artificially boosted (+12 dB at 40 Hz) compared to the CD or SACD versions (green area on the graphic).
However, the recording itself does not contain such a high level of low-frequency content, as evidenced by the digital editions. I do not know whether the Audionautes CD edition exhibits the same phenomenon at the mastering stage.
This behavior can be explained by spectral analysis and is most likely the result of a mastering process that strongly emphasized the low frequencies. It could also be low-frequency noise, but it clearly follows the variations of the signal present on the SACD, with additional amplification.
This phenomenon is not present on other Audionautes releases. In any case, it does not represent the expected normal records.

Im with the noise camp. Do the woofers move with the low freqs in the music or just move all the time? Low freq cutoff is standard mastering for vinyl. Cutting discs with that much below 40 hz means turning the level down (unless you have 10 min sides). This decreases dynamic range, increaseing the noise.

 

[beagleman]

During the show, we listened to several records, and this was the only one that caused a noticeable movement of the woofer, due to the presence of a very low-frequency signal. On the vinyl record, this signal can be found below 45 Hz and is artificially boosted (+12 dB at 40 Hz) compared to the CD or SACD versions (green area on the graphic).
However, the recording itself does not contain such a high level of low-frequency content, as evidenced by the digital editions. I do not know whether the Audionautes CD edition exhibits the same phenomenon at the mastering stage.
This behavior can be explained by spectral analysis and is most likely the result of a mastering process that strongly emphasized the low frequencies. It could also be low-frequency noise, but it clearly follows the variations of the signal present on the SACD, with additional amplification.
This phenomenon is not present on other Audionautes releases. In any case, it does not represent the expected normal records.

Odd, at 28 Hz, there is approximately 23 db more energy on the vinyl record, according to your measurements.

That is an extremely large difference and no mastering engineer would ever boost the lows that much for different masterings.
I mean typically the low end is rolled off a bit with vinyl, rather than boosted at all in many instances.

I would almost for certain believe the SACD/CD would be what they wanted in reality, but NO idea where all this low end noise/energy is coming from. Very strange.

 

[skankhobag]

A few facts to consider:

• A properly constructed digital recording/playback system can offer a perceptibly perfect result. Any noise and distortion will be drastically lower than the threshold of audibility.

• The vinyl recording/playback chain is so compromised with noise, distortion and phase anomalies that any vinyl recording can’t be considered master quality because of the medium’s limitations as well as the RIAA equalization used in production and playback.

RIAA equalization - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

• RIAA equalization was developed as a standard to increase the playback length of LP’s as well as decrease the noise where human hearing is most sensitive to it. During vinyl mastering, RIAA processing decreases the bass content so that the grooves on the album can be more closely spaced. This gives you the possibility for longer playback (LP stands for Long Play). Also, high frequencies are boosted to reduce vinyl’s high frequency noise.

• On playback, the phono preamp conversely boosts the bass and decreases the treble.This process, in theory and intent, restores the frequency response to flat, but has some serious side effects.

The only two upsides to this is less noise above 1kHz and longer playback time. The downside effects are numerous.

• The low end playback EQ boosts not only the bass content in the recording, but also inherent low end distortion and noise of vinyl as well as every airborne & physical vibration and resonance of the cartridge, tonearm, turntable, its base and the environment it inhabits. This low end pollution requires the use of a steep, rumble filter (below 30Hz) to prevent a ton of wasted amplifier power as well as distortion in general and damage to ported speakers & subs. This takes the poor phase response of vinyl and makes it even worse.”

• The phase response of the vinyl mastering/playback chain is very poor in general

• Any physical imperfection (warpage, etc) of the vinyl recording is exacerbated on playback

• Just like analog tape and loudspeakers, the hotter you master a vinyl album, the more distortion imparted by the physical medium. So long as you don’t go above 0dB, this is not even a consideration with hi-res digital.

• At best, vinyl has a usable dynamic of 40 to 50dB. Even being charitable and giving it 60dB, that’s still 60dB shy of the 120+dB of human hearing.

Given all of these problems which don’t exist in high resolution digital, vinyl can’t be considered when judging the quality of a recording.

So, for your question about the mastering being more important than the medium… when the dynamic range of the medium is 96dB or greater and the distortion & noise of the player is an order of magnitude below that window, it’s 100% the engineering of the recording and the master.

That raised treble response could be the mastering or it could be the phono pre. Have you tried doing this with other albums?

Given the nature of acoustic instruments, there is no reason for that increase in treble energy in the top octave in the vinyl recording.

As to the low bass increase on the vinyl release, that could be a byproduct of the RIAA EQ and/or your phono preamp and turntable/cartridge. Orchestral instruments don’t have any substantial content below 40Hz other than, maybe, kettle drums.

There would be no reason for the engineers to boost the treble and roll off the first octave on the digital releases.

My guess is that the digital version is closest to the original studio master recording.

No one says you can’t EQ the digital version to make it sound more pleasing if having more energy in the first two octaves is your preference.

 

[Jean.Francois]

A few facts to consider:

• A properly constructed digital recording/playback system can offer a perceptibly perfect result. Any noise and distortion will be drastically lower than the threshold of audibility.

• The vinyl recording/playback chain is so compromised with noise, distortion and phase anomalies that any vinyl recording can’t be considered master quality because of the medium’s limitations as well as the RIAA equalization used in production and playback.

RIAA equalization - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

• RIAA equalization was developed as a standard to increase the playback length of LP’s as well as decrease the noise where human hearing is most sensitive to it. During vinyl mastering, RIAA processing decreases the bass content so that the grooves on the album can be more closely spaced. This gives you the possibility for longer playback (LP stands for Long Play). Also, high frequencies are boosted to reduce vinyl’s high frequency noise.

• On playback, the phono preamp conversely boosts the bass and decreases the treble.This process, in theory and intent, restores the frequency response to flat, but has some serious side effects.

The only two upsides to this is less noise above 1kHz and longer playback time. The downside effects are numerous.

• The low end playback EQ boosts not only the bass content in the recording, but also inherent low end distortion and noise of vinyl as well as every airborne & physical vibration and resonance of the cartridge, tonearm, turntable, its base and the environment it inhabits. This low end pollution requires the use of a steep, rumble filter (below 30Hz) to prevent a ton of wasted amplifier power as well as distortion in general and damage to ported speakers & subs. This takes the poor phase response of vinyl and makes it even worse.”

• The phase response of the vinyl mastering/playback chain is very poor in general

• Any physical imperfection (warpage, etc) of the vinyl recording is exacerbated on playback

• Just like analog tape and loudspeakers, the hotter you master a vinyl album, the more distortion imparted by the physical medium. So long as you don’t go above 0dB, this is not even a consideration with hi-res digital.

• At best, vinyl has a usable dynamic of 40 to 50dB. Even being charitable and giving it 60dB, that’s still 60dB shy of the 120+dB of human hearing.

Given all of these problems which don’t exist in high resolution digital, vinyl can’t be considered when judging the quality of a recording.

So, for your question about the mastering being more important than the medium… when the dynamic range of the medium is 96dB or greater and the distortion & noise of the player is an order of magnitude below that window, it’s 100% the engineering of the recording and the master.

That raised treble response could be the mastering or it could be the phono pre. Have you tried doing this with other albums?

Given the nature of acoustic instruments, there is no reason for that increase in treble energy in the top octave in the vinyl recording.

As to the low bass increase on the vinyl release, that could be a byproduct of the RIAA EQ and/or your phono preamp and turntable/cartridge. Orchestral instruments don’t have any substantial content below 40Hz other than, maybe, kettle drums.

There would be no reason for the engineers to boost the treble and roll off the first octave on the digital releases.

My guess is that the digital version is closest to the original studio master recording.

No one says you can’t EQ the digital version to make it sound more pleasing if having more energy in the first two octaves is your preference.

Thank you for your comments. I have indeed taken all of these points into account. I have already tested and measured several hundred vinyl records, more than 230 of which are presented on the website, and I have never encountered such a result, not even with test records.

This is therefore not a playback issue: the video clearly shows movement of the loudspeakers in the very low frequencies on this record when played on other equipment.

A good cut is supposed to faithfully reproduce the master, but this is not always the case, as illustrated by Bernie Grundman’s cut, which exhibits major flaws starting at 14 kHz (cf.: Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here 50th Anniversary).

For this particular record, there is indeed a stronger equalization in the high frequencies, and as far as the low frequencies are concerned, it is either an EQ choice or a problem during the lacquer cutting process. In any case, the issue is clearly present.

The duration of one side is limited to a maximum of 10 minutes and 30 seconds, which is consistent with what is being observed. One should not idealize the world of vinyl record production: overall quality is declining, and well-made, technically sound records are unfortunately becoming increasingly rare.

 

[skankhobag]

Thank you for your comments. I have indeed taken all of these points into account. I have already tested and measured several hundred vinyl records, more than 230 of which are presented on the website, and I have never encountered such a result, not even with test records.

This is therefore not a playback issue: the video clearly shows movement of the loudspeakers in the very low frequencies on this record when played on other equipment.

A good cut is supposed to faithfully reproduce the master, but this is not always the case, as illustrated by Bernie Grundman’s cut, which exhibits major flaws starting at 14 kHz (cf.: Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here 50th Anniversary).

For this particular record, there is indeed a stronger equalization in the high frequencies, and as far as the low frequencies are concerned, it is either an EQ choice or a problem during the lacquer cutting process. In any case, the issue is clearly present.

The duration of one side is limited to a maximum of 10 minutes and 30 seconds, which is consistent with what is being observed. One should not idealize the world of vinyl record production: overall quality is declining, and well-made, technically sound records are unfortunately becoming increasingly rare.

If you really love music and fidelity is important to you (seems you do), I’m wondering why you even buy vinyl.

As a musician, composer and audio engineer, I hate vinyl for all the reasons I listed. This fetishistic love of the vinyl album is tantamount to preferring VHS video tape to Blu-rays.

Then there’s the very real fact the vinyl chloride and other chemicals used to produce albums are toxic and carcinogenic.

The only good things about the vinyl album is the cover art and that the packaging is recyclable. Other than that, vinyl albums truly do suck.

 

[Jean.Francois]

If you really love music and fidelity is important to you (seems you do), I’m wondering why you even buy vinyl.

As a musician, composer and audio engineer, I hate vinyl for all the reasons I listed. This fetishistic love of the vinyl album is tantamount to preferring VHS video tape to Blu-rays.

Then there’s the very real fact the vinyl chloride and other chemicals used to produce albums are toxic and carcinogenic.

The only good things about the vinyl album is the cover art and that the packaging is recyclable. Other than that, vinyl albums truly do suck.

Indeed, from a strictly technical performance standpoint, vinyl is inferior to magnetic tape, which itself is inferior to a digital recording in DXD. The concept of fidelity with respect to the original recording means getting as close as possible to what was actually captured during the recording session.

However, a recording depends on many parameters: the recording process itself, the microphones used and their placement, the preamplifier, and the mixing stage when the recording is not made directly in stereo. On top of that, the mastering stage also significantly alters the final sound.

In the case of this album, the CD and SACD masterings are different. The CD version has a different tonal balance, with more pronounced high frequencies, resulting in a less realistic rendering compared to the SACD. This shows that even in the digital domain, noticeable differences can exist.

My goal is not to promote vinyl, but to compare it objectively with other formats. For this album in particular, the instrumental balance of the vinyl version is closer to that of the SACD, and therefore more natural than the CD. As a result, even though vinyl is technically less precise than SACD, it provides a more balanced listening experience than the CD in this case.
Mastering plays a crucial role, regardless of the medium.

 

[Jim T]

Hello,

The different versions of this Four Seasons album by Vivaldi are particularly interesting. In fact, we find three distinct sound renderings across the CD, SACD, and the One Step vinyl editions.

View attachment 492382

All versions offer the same dynamic range.

The real surprise comes from the One Step vinyl record by Audionautes Recording. As shown in the spectral comparison below between Ed. 3 One Step vinyl record – 2024 (white) and Ed. 1 SACD – 2006 (blue), the two curves are very similar between 100 Hz and 15 kHz. Beyond 15 kHz (yellow area), there is a pronounced rise in the high frequencies on the vinyl record, exceeding +10 dB at 22 kHz.
View attachment 492383


However, the mastering choices, particularly the correction applied in the low frequencies, affect the behavior of the loudspeakers. The +20 dB boost at 30 Hz can cause significant excursion of the bass driver, as observed on the system playing this record at the Hi-Fi Show (see the Haute Fidélité Paris 2025 video starting at 7 minutes and 24 seconds). When listening, this vinyl record offers deeper bass, giving more substance to the sound reproduction. The tonal balance is more faithful to the instruments than on the SACD version, but with an excessive emphasis on the extremely high frequencies, which makes the micro-details in the sound stand out a bit too much.

The SACD stands out thanks to its natural tonal balance, while Tidal and CD versions focus on a brighter clarity, sometimes at the expense of realism. The One Step edition, with its extremely low distortion, deeper bass, and more accurate instrumental rendering, emerges as the most expressive version, with overemphasized high frequencies. Comparing the different formats of the same album clearly shows that mastering plays a major role and can have an even greater impact on sound quality than the medium itself.

I invite you to listen to the different excerpts, especially comparing the SACD and the vinyl record, to hear how the mastering differs across media. Link to the excerpts and full set of measurements: (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

Importance in order are recording and then mastering. Get this wrong and the format doesn't matter.