Like others I've not heard the recording. What everyone knows but doesn't say is that the original recording and how it is mastered are far more important than the format. I'd much rather listen to a good recording encoded into 256k VBR MP3 than a poor recording on SACD. The recording is so much more important than anything.
+1 about the loudness war - dynamic compression is so harmful it can easily swamp other aspects of SQ. So often CD remasters add dynamic compression to "enhance the sound". (Latest discovery on this front: "It's Too Late to Stop Now" by Van Morrison. Live concert from 74. Although it's by no means a perfect recording the Polydor 1988 release is far better than either the 1997 or 2008 remasters - purely because of the dynamic compression added to the remasters.) Most SACDs, high rez recordings etc avoid the compression. Compare with an equivalent newish CD master and you hear a difference! Always ask why though. A lot of the stuff you described in the blurb sounds like snake oil. Henry66;596880 Wrote: > Interesting. Would it not have made more sense, when increasing the > number of bits, to stick to a dynamic range of 96dB and increase the > resolution of each bit? That would be about 4dB of dynamic range for 24 > bits, 3dB for 32 bits, etc. > > Why did they choose the current scheme? Backwards compatibility? I've used this analogy before. These are all just numbers, either 16 bit or 24 bit. When you go from 16 bit to 24 bit it's like converting from pounds into pence. You end up with the value (loudness) but you now have smaller change. Maximum volume on CD or hi rez is always 0db and lower volume goes down from there - -4db, -20db, whatever. So in effect hi rez is doing what you wanted, representing quieter sounds below -96db. How useful this is in the playback format, given the other distortions present in the replay chain, is a matter of debate. (There is no doubt it's useful in the studio during production.) Darren -- darrenyeats http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/richpub/listmania/byauthor/A3H57URKQB8AQO/ref=cm_pdp_content_listmania/203-7606506-5721503. (Inguz bass EQ'd) SB3 -> (pre bypassed) Krell KAV-300i -> PMC AB-1 (caps bass EQ'd) Desktop -> Genius Slab SW-flat2.1 700 Sennheiser HD 25-1 II Awaiting delivery: -> Benchmark DAC1 HDR -> ATC SCM50ASL + ATC C4 Sub ------------------------------------------------------------------------ darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84091 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
