Audio Empire wrote:
Surely, [passion for vinyl] has some root. We can't put it all down
to luddite-ism. Interest in LP is growing - even among the young who
weren't even around in LP's heyday. I recently got a newly released
integrated amplifier from a respected hi-end source which sports
both MM and MC cartridge inputs as well as a built-in 24-bit/192 KHz
dual differential DAC and an ADC (for record out)! So why is LP
still seen as a viable alternative to CD?
I don't think that we have to come up with any magical explanations
for some people liking or preferring vinyl, just as some people prefer
film to digital photography. Vinyl is a pleasing little bit of
retro-technology, with attendant cleaning rituals and nice-looking
turntables; people like to use their beautiful old Pentaxes and Leicas
and Hasselblads too. And, just as vinyl has a certain sound, film has
a certain look, if you like that kind of thing.
When it gets serious, though, people are not so keen on the retro: if
you have a life-threatening infection you're not so likely to reject
antibiotics and insist on sulfonamides.
Well, I know my reasons for continuing to enjoy LP along with CD,
SACD, DVD-A and high-resolution downloads as well as internet radio
(more about this latter source another time), but the reason why
many don't find CD to be all that superior to LPs is based on a very
simple conclusion. While CD SHOULD be superior to LP, and certainly
CAN be superior to LP, it is usually far worse. The fact is that
most commercial CDs sound wretched. They are overproduced (or
indifferently produced) , compressed, limited and generally aimed at
the lowest common denominator. ?This problem isn't just limited to
pop music either. I find that it crosses all musical genres and
barriers.
But almost everyone on this list knows that already: the loudness war
is well-documented, and people have been complaining about bad
recordings and bad pressings for decades. Sure, look-ahead
compressors make dynamic range reduction possible on a scale that
wasn't possible in the past, and some companies abuse them. Having
said that, I'm not so sure that old recordings were so great: some of
them certainly were, but many weren't. Even 30 years ago there were
companies making "audiophile recordings" that had the distinction of
sounding good. (What were all the other companies doing, then?)
http://turnmeup.org/
Andrew.