I will never forget, though, an article I read some time ago about a study done in Britain. In it, they got together a bunch of die-hard audiofiles. They used the highes-end equipment, they used the same speakers and other equipment for all the tests, but they played music from CD and from vinyl. The subjects did not know which was the CD, which was the vinyl, or sometimes if the same medium were being played twice. Sometimes they heard only vinyl or only CD, they just had no idea, and they were asked to rate it. In many of the cases, subjects were convinced that they were listening to a vinyl recording and that it was vastly superior to the CD recording they'd heard, when in fact both times they'd heard the same recording. Overall, the study concluded, the preference was subjective and stemmed from existing biases. If a person has decided that vinyl does and always will sound better, then that is the case in their mind. Two sounds can be identical in every way, but for some people, if they believe one of them is vinyl while the other is not, they will vehemently insist that the vinyl one is superior, usually employing the enigmatically ondescript term "warmer".
Bruce On Mon, 8 Jun 2009 10:02:58 -0400, "Bob Seed" <bobs...@tbaytel.net> said: > Most audio files that make a living listening to audio will swear that > vinyl > is the best, as it has a warmth that can not be duplicated by listening > to > CD's. The analogy that I once heard is like someone putting a q tip in > your > ear and turning it around. Not quite sure what the person meant by saying > that other than this individual might have suffered from listening > fatigue > by listening to a lot of CD's. Personally I prefer vinyl, but here again > I > come from the old school of audio tape and vinyl records. > In the haste to convert vinyl to CD's record companies didn't take the > time > to remaster the first generation of some of those old chestnuts that we > grew up with in the 60's and 70's, and simply massed produced them > flooding > the marketplace with inferior quality product hoping that the gullibable > public wouldn't notice the difference, as they would be playing the > recording on home equipment that simply wouldn't measure up to > professional > studio audio. Home audio has come a long way over the past ten years or > so, > and is as good as some of the bottom line of professional broadcast > equipment. Most broadcasters use off the shelf CD players in their > studios, > and if the CD player breaks down they simply throw it away and get a new > one. A professional broadcast CD player will cost in the range of 2 to 3 > grand. If listening to a radio station I don't think that you will notice > a > difference between an off the shelf home unit or a unit that is labelled > as > being professional. The professional units tend to be built better and > take > a licking and keep on ticking. When it comes to turntables broadcasters > prefer the professional line of Technique, as the professional line has a > variable pitch control. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bruce Toews" <br...@ogts.net> > To: "PC Audio Discussion List" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> > Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 8:46 AM > Subject: RE: High fidelty and turntables today > > > > You are quite correct, of course. I wasn't clear enough in my message. > > Thanks for adding this, I totally agree. > > > > Bruce > > > > > > On Mon, 8 Jun 2009 09:15:48 +0100, "Walter Ramage" > > <w...@blueyonder.co.uk> said: > >> Hi Bruce. I think what you say will only allow an individual to decide > >> what > >> he prefers. There is no definitive answer as to what format is superior > >> as > >> it always depends on what sounds good to any individual's ears. As to the > >> Technical debate, well one could argue over this until the cows come > >> home. > >> In the end it is all about the music and many years ago I discovered that > >> I > >> an my friends were listening to the equipment and not what was being > >> played > >> upon it and thus, we were never satisfied. Now I listen to the music and > >> try to get as much clarity as possible but if I enjoy what I hear, it > >> doesn't matter what it is played on. Walter. > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org > >> [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org]on Behalf Of Bruce Toews > >> Sent: 08 June 2009 06:04 > >> To: PC Audio Discussion List > >> Subject: RE: High fidelty and turntables today > >> > >> > >> The best way to do the vinyl versus CD test is blind, not knowing which > >> you are hearing. If you do multiple, unpredictable trials of this manner, > >> you will get a more unbiased opinion when you formulate one. > >> > >> Bruce > >> > >> On Sun, 7 Jun 2009, Walter Ramage wrote: > >> > >> > Hi. In short the answer is yes, you will always get superior quality > >> > reproduction from dedicated Hi-Fi equipment. There has been and still > >> > is > >> a > >> > raging debate between the exponents of Vinyl and CD. For the most part > >> this > >> > debate is purely subjective since it really depends on your preferred > >> > listening experience. Some people like a very forward stereo image > >> > while > >> > others prefer the sound stage to be more set back behind the speakers. > >> > I > >> > have a friend who prefers his sound to be more recessed as I think it > >> gives > >> > him a feeling of being in a concert hall, he is a great classical music > >> fan > >> > and attends lots of concerts. Others enjoy a bright sound and yet > >> > others > >> > like firm and prominent bass. Promoters of the Vinyl will say that the > >> > sound is much warmer while the supporters of CD will say that CD is > >> > much > >> > more detailed all be it more clinical. The only way to compare what > >> > one > >> > prefers is to go to a specialist, and any good specialist will always > >> > recommend you listen to the product before purchasing and often have > >> > listening rooms in order to let you have a choice of different > >> > combination > >> > of equipment. In truth, you really do get what you pay for. I > >> > remember > >> > when I purchased a system some years ago; I was amazed just how by > >> changing > >> > one amplifier for another, changed the sound quality. Even changing > >> > something as basic as the interconnects made a huge difference. > >> > Although > >> > you can audition the equipment, it isn't the same as having it in your > >> > own > >> > home and if you have a good relationship with any particular dealer > >> > they > >> may > >> > allow you to take the equipment home and listen to it in situ. So > >> > vinyl > >> > versus CD is something each person must decide for himself or herself > >> > but > >> > bear in mind, Vinyl isn't as readily available as CD and it might take > >> > a > >> bit > >> > of work tracking down the stuff your son is interested in. It is > >> > always > >> > wise to purchase audio separates as these components are designed with > >> their > >> > purpose in mind where as combination systems always have some > >> > compromise > >> > whether it be the tuner, the CD player or the amplifier or speakers. > >> > As > >> for > >> > the comparison between Hi-Fi components and PC or portable audio > >> > devices, > >> in > >> > my opinion there is no competition. Basically a PC is a storage system > >> and > >> > although it has the means of playing audio files, that isn't it's main > >> > purpose. You can get high quality sound cards but I fail to see how > >> > a?300 > >> > PC such as I am using now can compare with the ?1200 CD player on my > >> > Hi-Fi > >> > system. Another draw back is with file compression. MP3 files are the > >> > result of the original sound file being compressed to 10% of it's > >> > original > >> > size and hence has quality loss. These files are fine for their > >> > purpose > >> but > >> > for serious listening, they lack quality. I listen to these files on > >> > my > >> PC > >> > fed through a mid range HI-Fi system but for really serious listening I > >> take > >> > the CD down to the big system and let it rip. I think it really > >> > depends > >> on > >> > what your son wants to do and what he will be happy with a couple of > >> > years > >> > down the road. I think I will conclude with an illustration; Both a > >> > comfortable family car and a dump truck will get you from New York to > >> > California but I ask you, which would you prefer to travel in? On the > >> other > >> > hand if you wanted to transport lots of garbage to the local dump, > >> > which > >> > vehicle would you rather use? If you want high quality sound > >> reproduction > >> > then Hi-Fi separates is the route to take and the choice between CD and > >> > vinyl is a matter of personal choice after comparing the options. If > >> > you > >> > want a mass storage system for your audio files with a reasonably > >> enjoyable > >> > listening experience then a good PC with a high quality sound card fed > >> > through a reasonable stereo system will do and you could enhance the > >> > sound > >> > quality by only listening to Wave files but that raises storage space > >> > questions. I'm sorry this has went on a bit but it isn't the sort of > >> > subject that merits a glib response. Walter. > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > >> > pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org > >> > > >> > >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > >> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > >> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org > > -- > > Bruce Toews > > dogri...@ogts.net > > > > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > > pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.56/2162 - Release Date: > 06/08/09 > 06:01:00 > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org -- Bruce Toews dogri...@ogts.net To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org
