"Jenn" wrote in message
...
So, after a week of living with the Clearaudio TT/arm/cartridge, I love
it more and more. The sound that I am getting from my records is just
so effortless and easy... like a good concert hall. I just put on
several CDs, and I just don't get that with them. The timbres are
thinner and less life-like. I wish that it were the other way around,
but it's not. If this is due to "euphonic distortion", bring on more of
it!

I just copied a few CD's for my daughter...Joan Jett's first two
albums...her favs and very danceable. Copied them first through my main
system analog to a Marantz 530 pro recorder circa 1999..using a 4x Samsung
CD-R (top quality)..this was in real time. This was recorded near-maximum
signal but at no time did the overload light come on. Then copied that via
my DAW at 16x to another CD-R (current Memorex 52X variety) using a full
disk copy.

On these two records there are several tracks that have much ambience
surrounding back up vocals. Also, several tracks with featured drum
segments with extremely natural sounding drum recording. On my LP rig (Dual
701, Accuphase AC-2, modified Marcof PPA-2 headamp), these tracks sounded
very fine...the backups floated in natural ambience, and the drums sounded
taut and with extremely natural sounding transients.

On the direct-recorded 4X CD, the ambience comes through okay. But
transients in general and especially on the drum sound "sharp" and
unnatural. Moreover, the drums loose their "tautness" and sound "hollow".

On the second recording (52X CD recorded at 16X) the recording has
deteriorated...with "grunge" creeping into the sound, ambience greatly
reduced, and both the transient info and "hollowness" of the drum sound
deteriorated further, almost to the point of pain in listening.

I don't know how to record to CD any cleaner than the Marantz transfer...and
the effects here were remarkably defined. I've also recorded other disks
this way (Dylan, other folk-rockers) and felt they didn't sound quite as
good as the vinyl, but didn't pay as much attention to why.

This is the first time I tried a second generation copy on my DAW, and I was
taken aback by how bad it sounded. It is possible that the "read" CD-RW/R
player was having trouble picking up a clean transfer from the original
CD-R, but I think it goes beyond that. For I have also noticed that CD
transfers done one-to-one on the DAW don't sound nearly as clean as CD
transfers from my main system to the Marantz through my DTI Pro - Proceed
Converter chain. .I have some hunches about why this may be so, but need to
do more investigation.

My conclusion: take what you hear about the transparency of CD's with two,
maybe three grains of salt. Some of it may be equipment- or blank-induced,
but the deterioration is noticeable in a side-by-side -- ranging from subtle
to apparent. And if this is true in home recording under controlled
conditions, it is also likely true (as has been asserted) in production runs
of commercial CD's.