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Why do records sound so much better than digital?

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JSmith

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You can't do that with 1/0.
When a digital audio signal is converted back to an analogue waveform, then yes you can.

I still have a nice turntable and love popping on a record from time to time, but I never kid myself about the distortion and added noise of the medium.

Modern music isn't made for vinyl and the RIAA curve that is applied is a liability.



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don'ttrustauthority

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As someone else pointed out, vinyl can’t convey information at the frequencies required to actually feel the vibrations.
Well if you want accurate playback, put in on any kind of turntable and spin it at the right speed, and hang out a fingernail. Hear it and feel it.
 

Sal1950

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Oh brother, here go the deaf vinyl-heads again.
They drag a rock thru a ditch and have the balls to call it High Fidelity.
There hasn't been an LP worth it's purchase cost since about 1982.


expense.jpg
 

JSmith

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Marc v E

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Why does vinyl sound better?

Probably because of the high value of harmonic distortion and the technical need for an inbuild eq to boost the bass.

I've heard vinyl sound very pleasing but you can achieve the same sound digitizing it and listening to that. The rest is just a matter of taste and getting used to the clean sound of cd that can radically expose the quality of engineering and recording.

Anyway that's just my opinion based on the technology and listening experience. See here for the tech explained in 9 posts: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2020/12/12/turntables-and-vinyl-part-1/
 

hyperplanar

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I think it's the combo of the altered frequency response, distortion, and stereo imaging. Also for certain genres, the non-brickwalled masters for vinyl compared to digital. Don't know about anyone else's setup but I was able to compare a release where I know the masters are the same between the two mediums, and I noticed the vinyl setup had warmer bass (distortion, bass bump) and rolled off upper midrange/treble delivering a smoother sound. It's certainly less accurate but I can totally see how this is pleasant for some genres. The stereo image is also much less stable, like slapping a stereo widener effect set to 10-15% on the master. Sounds that are 100% mono in digital seem a bit unnatural sometimes. That lack of precision in vinyl can make the sound more enveloping and organic. I do like this for older music because they can sound a bit sterile without this filter.

The problem I think is that nowadays artists are free to use any of the many distortion/stereo imaging plugins to make songs sound exactly how they want—adding the additional filter of vinyl playback on top only serves to place the reproduction further away from the artist's intent. If artists want to add that analog vibe digitally they easily can (exaggerated case in point, lo-fi hip hop! This might come as a shock to boomers but nowadays people are seriously adding vinyl crackle/pop sounds and wow/flutter to their songs.)

I make liberal use of distortion and EQ in my music productions so it's not that I think they are bad. But when it comes time to reproduce the artist's work it should be through a calibrated, accurate, and low distortion system to best convey what they wanted you to hear. No different than viewing photos/art/movies through a calibrated screen.
 
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Blumlein 88

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I think it's the combo of the altered frequency response, distortion, and stereo imaging. Also for certain genres, the non-brickwalled masters for vinyl compared to digital. Don't know about anyone else's setup but I was able to compare a release where I know the masters are the same between the two mediums, and I noticed the vinyl setup had warmer bass (distortion, bass bump) and rolled off upper midrange/treble delivering a smoother sound. It's certainly less accurate but I can totally see how this is pleasant for some genres. The stereo image is also much less stable, like slapping a stereo widener effect set to 10-15% on the master. Sounds that are 100% mono in digital seem a bit unnatural sometimes. That lack of precision in vinyl can make the sound more enveloping and organic. I do like this for older music because they can sound a bit sterile without this filter.

The problem I think is that nowadays artists are free to use any of the many distortion/stereo imaging plugins to make songs sound exactly how they want—adding the additional filter of vinyl playback on top only serves to place the reproduction further away from the artist's intent. If artists want to add that analog vibe digitally they easily can (exaggerated case in point, lo-fi hip hop! This might come as a shock to boomers but nowadays people are seriously adding vinyl crackle/pop sounds to their songs.)

I make liberal use of distortion and EQ in my music productions so it's not that I think they are bad. But when it comes time to reproduce the artist's work it should be through a calibrated, accurate, and low distortion system to best convey what they wanted you to hear. No different than viewing photos/art/movies through a calibrated screen.
Actually that isn't possible. There has to be an extra master for LP to get it cut into the disk which will be used to stamp out the LPs. That extra master will have RIAA applied to it and often has other changes to make the LP possible to make. Like mono'ing bass among others.
 

hyperplanar

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Actually that isn't possible. There has to be an extra master for LP to get it cut into the disk which will be used to stamp out the LPs. That extra master will have RIAA applied to it and often has other changes to make the LP possible to make. Like mono'ing bass among others.

Yes that's true. I meant besides the RIAA EQ etc.
 

MrPeabody

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Last time my Dad was here we listened to Child in Time by Deep Purple on an original pressing and talked about the concert I had recently attended and we agreed on these exact points. We both got goosebumps when Ian Gillian hit the highs and I lamented that he didn't, and probably no longer could sing that song when Deep Purple was here a couple years ago.

If only Satriani had stayed with Deep Purple. He was with them for such a short time that many Deep Purple fans have forgotten. When Don Airey joined to take over for Jon Lord, the band did not suffer. But Steve Morse is kind of a poor man's Ted Nugent. Child in Time was borrowed from It's a Beautiful Day, but it's a better version. Probably because no violin. I agree with Blackmore that Perfect Strangers was Deep Purple's best original song. It is very unique, almost like a collaborative effort by baroque composers and modern composers. Blackmore's influence. The sad thing about Gillan is that something happened to his voice a very long time ago, most likely a result of too much screaming.
 
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