Listening to music

[popeyespappy]

There's a depth to analog that digital just cannot match.

Yeah, that's an interesting position, and I've gone back and forth on it.  I find that good digital is just better these days (provided the electronics is good).

My rule of thumb is that vintage vinyl is always better than the CD of the same album.  However, digital remasters (especially high-res) are often better than both.

It's largely a matter of taste, but the fact is everything is a compromise in audio reproduction. The old albums we know and love were mastered with vinyl in mind. Most of them have everything below 50 Hz removed from the master. Lower frequencies take up more physical space on a vinyl album. So the lowest frequencies are left out of masters produced for cutting vinyl records so they could have less space between the groves. That gives us a longer grove so we get more play time on the record.

Most CDs produced through the 80s and 90s were made using the the masters that were made with vinyl in mind. CDs aren't vinyl and music mastered for CDs needs to be treated differently in order to get the best sound out of the CD. So remastering older music before digitizing can give better results, but a poor job of remastering can can also lead to poor end product. Add to that the often degraded, sometimes more than others, condition of the original masters, and remastering doesn't always give us better music. The first 4 times Thriller was remastered they made it louder. By the fourth try they had managed to completely fuck it up.

Then there is the digitizing process itself. I think most music that is digitally mastered these days is recorded in a 24 bits/192 kHz. Anything less than that and you are probably losing something in the process. You can record with higher resolution like 32 bits / 384 kHz, but most audio pros would probably say most people couldn't tell the difference between the two. Since it takes up more space why bother if you can't tell the difference.

Good recordings are important, but you need good playback equipment to get the most out of it. Once again though everything is a compromise. You need big speakers to produce low frequencies. Low frequencies require large resonating cavities. That means big enclosures. Most people don't like big ass speakers these days so most of us don't get great bass. At least not without a subwoofer which is another compromise. I won't even get into crossovers. Even McIntosh compromises with the design of their tube amps. Output transformers aren't the best way to get an even frequency response. McIntosh is still using them in their tube amps though because it gives them a more linear output across a wide impendence load. Some speakers are picky about the amps that drive them, but a McIntosh tube amp will drive about anything.

Finally, but possibly most importantly is the dynamics of your listening area. Speaker placement and listener position is key, but they shape and layout of the room are important too. But most of us don't have a golden trapagon shaped room with perfectly placed absorbers, defractors, refractors, speakers, and a chair in the sweet spot. We just make the best of what we have and make more listening compromises.

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I listen to music while driving or working outside.  MP3 or FLAC, headphones or speakers.  I record and listen at a PC through a pair of reconditioned Heresys that were standard issue where I grew up.

Symphonies sound better through high end, but rock and roll is just rock and roll. For example, if it's too clear, the squeaky pedal in Since I've Been Loving You makes me skip it.  A little hum doesn't crush my groove.  I prefer the direct experience of live music.

I almost bout a pair of Heresy IV's, but decided they were probably more than my small room needed.

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You like those vinyl distortions  I also found that digital was missing something until I got really good digital electronics about 6 years ago.  It really should be easier, but it isn't.  Anything less than high-end (many thousands and recent electronics) falls flat for me.

I'm pretty happy with my budget audiophile system. 45 year old but recently rebuilt Marantz amp, Wharfedale Linton speakers, and a Rega P3 with Exact II cartridge. The Marantz has a warm almost tube like sound that I like. The new Lintons are just plain great for the money. The P3 gives me some upgrade options if I want to go there. The one thing I'm missing is decent DAC, but sooner or later I'll get one of those. But, I'm not an audiophile and don't claim to be.