Why do records sound so much better than digital?

[Carovigno]

ewww... no.

Compared to vinyl. Plus Tidal Masters cannot be beat. Regardless of politics.

 

[tuga]

Shellac?

 

[sq225917]

Much like many native American tribes believe that a photograph steals part of the soul of whoever is in the photo, I believe analog recordings also steal some of the soul of the person(s) being recorded. Each time you play an analog record, you are releasing a bit of that soul back into the air. You just don't get that part with digital.

Is that because digital is soulless to begin with?

 

[Chrispy]

Compared to vinyl. Plus Tidal Masters cannot be beat. Regardless of politics.

If they're masters they're masters, despite if Tidal screws it up using the stupid codec and getting people to buy gear they didn't need to begin with. Can get masters from other services/sources.....

 

[MattHooper]

Is that because digital is soulless to begin with?

Of course!

Just like the Transporter in star trek takes people apart, puts them in to computer code, and re-assembles. They all come out with their soul missing!

 

[Kal Rubinson]

And each time you play it, there is a little less soul in the record to release.

Not only that but you have to brush it off the stylus.

 

[DonR]

Not only that but you have to brush it off the stylus.

Soul fluff.

 

[Sal1950]

So it was a surprise to me as a pianist/keyboardist myself (we grew up with 3 pianos in the house, along with many other instruments), I actually found many piano recordings on vinyl quite compelling. While I of course can hear some of the deficits that might drive you more crazy - pitch instability being an obvious one - I'm often able to listen past those to the qualities I like.

That reply really surprises me Matt. I was always driven mad by the various pitch instabilities of vinyl playing good piano recordings. You being a connoisseur of piano sound and not being bothered by it confuses and surprises me.
I guess it all falls back to the statements vinyl fans always make when defending vinyl's grosses failures,
"I can listen past them"

You certainly can hear pre-ringing. Look for tracks that start with a very loud transient and there will be slight noise just a poofteenth of a second before the music starts. But within the music, I struggle to hear it / or I can't hear it at all.

IME it was much more audible on RTR tape than vinyl.
It may be that the pre-ringing (bleed thru) happened on the original master or on the purchased tape I listened to.
Quite possible (probable) the ringing on vinyl was covered up by the medias surface noise and other distortions?

What percentage of the posts in this thread do you imagine are making B.S. claims for vinyl

Tooooo many. LOL

I don't think "straight wire with gain" across the entire system is a good idea. As I previously mentioned, the room and speakers will mess it up. My individual components are as linear as possible and (hopefully!) approach the "straight wire with gain" ideal, but then I apply DSP to correct the speaker/room or apply salt and pepper for personal taste.

That's cool Keith_W, so do I.
But if a listener uses non-linear gear upstream, the distortion introduced can then never be removed.
Get your rig right from the beginning, then season to taste if desired.

 

[MattHooper]

Not only that but you have to brush it off the stylus.

I need my brush blessed by a priest!

 

[Sal1950]

I'm just here to figure out why records sound so much better than digital.

Brain damage from over-indulgence in intoxicants ???
Just kidding Matt.

 

[MattHooper]

That reply really surprises me Matt. I was always driven mad by the various pitch instabilities of vinyl playing good piano recordings. You being a connoisseur of piano sound and not being bothered by it confuses and surprises me.
I guess it all falls back to the statements vinyl fans always make when defending vinyl's grosses failures,
"I can listen past them"

Oh yeah, it is kind of strange admittedly!

When I got my good turntable and spun some tracks with piano I remember thinking "holy cow, THAT sounds like a piano!" But of course not all tracks strike me that way. And most of the stuff I listen to the piano melody is moving around enough to make pitch instability less obvious. Even in sustained notes, if a record is pressed ok (hole centered) it's not really obvious. But, yeah, there are certainly times where the pitch instability is a bummer. I've mentioned before, my father-in-law, and absolute fanatic about classical music (lots of classical piano too) felt like he'd died and gone to heaven when classical music was finally available on CD.

 

[Robin L]

I need my brush blessed by a priest!

Or clean it with holy water.

 

[DonR]

Soul fluff.

and phat grooves.

 

[MattHooper]

Or clean it with holy water.

Well, I may not have had a priest bless the water I use to wash records, but I have heard my wife curse my record cleaner. Not sure what effect that has, yet....

 

[Keith_W]

I'm just here to figure out why records sound so much better than digital.

Anyone have any ideas? We need to talk about this.

Why do records sound so much better than digital?

Vinyl = distortion and compression. If you read up about mastering for vinyl, you may be amazed by how compromised it is (I know I was). I agree with what was said above, though - for its time, and for such a simple technology, it does play music very very well. I myself like some albums on...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Chrispy]

Why do records sound so much better than digital?

Vinyl = distortion and compression. If you read up about mastering for vinyl, you may be amazed by how compromised it is (I know I was). I agree with what was said above, though - for its time, and for such a simple technology, it does play music very very well. I myself like some albums on...

audiosciencereview.com

Moebius strip?

 

[Robin L]

Well, I may not have had a priest bless the water I use to wash records, but I have heard my wife curse my record cleaner. Not sure what effect that has, yet....

I've cursed my VPI 16. Was not helpful.

Cleaning my mold-covered copy of "The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders" gave me an intense headache.

 

[dlaloum]

I used the commonwealth sister acronym SFA acronyms three weeks ago… And spelling out was not very appreciated.

I have never poofteeth outside of the commonwealth…
Guess #2 … Canada?

Yes, well in my case - Melbourne, Australia....

Canada tends to be a little more "American" - so I don't know!
Brits tend to use many of the same terms.... (as Aussies)

 

[dlaloum]

I need my brush blessed by a priest!

With holy water...

 

[dlaloum]

I've cursed my VPI 16. Was not helpful.

Cleaning my mold-covered copy of "The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders" gave me an intense headache.

Mold on the cover, or Mold on the vinyl?

Mold on the vinyl is more easily cleaned than on the cover!

I have used Enzymatic cleaner, with Vacc Machine, followed by Ultrasonic deep clean - gets most records clean