"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On 5 Aug 2005 00:36:47 GMT, wrote:
Joel Tatelman wrote:
You've raised issues that lead to a lot of other
questions, which I won't
attempt to answer.
So far as I know, except for frequency response, a well
recorded CD (and
very many are not!) bests vinyl in every one of the
parameters that are
usually measured: dynamic range, distortion, s/n ratio,
etc.
Except for frequency response? Try again.
If we're talking about the physical limitations of the
medium, then
it's certainly *possible* for vinyl to have a frequency
response more
extended than CD. Think half-speed mastered LPs, or
direct-cut 45rpm
vinyl for examples, both of which I have in my collection.
OTOH, it's
certainly true that the *vast* majority of commercial
vinyl (well in
excess of 99%) rolls off above 12-15kHz to prevent
overheating of the
cutter head during mastering.
This is incorrect, as spectral analysis of any good
recording by a major label will show.
There is no roll-off at 12-15kHz to prevent
overheating of the cutter-head.
Helium is used for cooling when there
are large amounts of hf current in the cutter-head
coil. Neumann, Decca, and Westrex cutters
extend to 25kHz. I have no experience with
the Ortofon, but would expect it to be in the
same league.
Every visitor to a cutting facility asks about the two
huge helium bottles standing to the left behind the
lathe. If you had ever made such a visit, no doubt
you would have asked too.
Anyone who has worked in a studio with a cutting
facility (Decca had nine Neumann lathes when I
was there) will support my statement. A part of the
standard system test routine was to cut a sweep tone
20Hz to 20kHz. I have done this many many times.
Don't just take my word for it, there are
many many training manuals and
textbooks that will confirm the facts.
Cordially
Iain