For me, high fidelity is a hobby. That means that I am not averse to taking the time to optimize the setup, hell I enjoy it and find it rewarding, and a bit of ritual - as in cleaning and maintaining records - doesn't bother me either. For me, the reason that LP replay is essential is not the sound quality, but that so much of our rich recorded history is simply not available on any other format, and probably won't be. That seals the deal, as far as I am concerned. Some secondary issues are that many LPs can be purchased for a few dollars, and the artwork can be enjoyed in it's full glory. |
Tvad, sounds very cool, a family connection to your hobby that you can look at every day. Great stuff!
There is one last thing that I like about turntables. As machines, I find them to be quite beautiful. So many of the machines of today have the mechanisms hidden within them, anonymous black boxes, appliances really. Turntables are pretty much right out there; the mechanism is there to behold and enjoy. Deconstructivist, by nature. Kind of like that visible human body model that we all built as kids. Not to make too much of it, but in some philisophical way, it is both an anachronism and futuristic all at the same time. |
Certainly, digital media has greater frequency respons than LP replay at the low end of the spectrum, but at the high end, LP are capable of response in excess of 45K, which easily exceeds redbook CD replay. There is also some compelling research suggesting that LP replay may have a dynamic range that exceeds CD replay, as well. See here:
http://www.audioholics.com/education/audio-formats-technology/dynamic-comparison-of-lps-vs-cds-part-4/dynamic-comparison-of-lps-vs-cds-part-4-page-2 |
El, it is super that you take the time to do your own tests; my hat is off to you. Actually the link does not asses recorded signal into the noise floor, but points out that the noise floor has, by far, the greatest component below 500HZ and measures dynamic range of 96db or so above that cutoff to the top of the noise floor. Not bad for a rock slamming around a plastic racetrack really.
BTW does anyone know what the carrier frequency was for CD4 recorded LPs; certainly that had to be reliably reproduced. |
One thing to keep in mind when cleaning CDs is to wipe linearly from the center hole to the outside edge; if you wipe in a circular motion, scratches can be put into the data stream and will cause long dropouts. |
Hey, I finally get to agree with El on something! A record is a an analog mechanical representation of sound. Sound is converted to electrical energy by a transducer, the microphone. A mechanical respresentation of the electrical waveform is then engraved on vinyl, by another transducer, the cutterhead, and another transducer, the cartridge, then converts this mechanical energy back to electrical energy, which is then converted back into sound waves by yet another transducer, the loudspeaker. So no there isn't a lot of converting going on with sound reproduction that never leaves the analog domain. |
I can't agree that A/D and D/A converters color the sound less than transducers. It is too simplistic a statement and the concept of coloration is very hard to define. One has to consider frequency response, S/N, magnatude, order, type and spectra of distortion products, etc., etc. One person may prefer low amounts of high order distortion to high amounts of lower order distortion and another may call it the other way. Personal choice is my best guess. |
Eldartford, no doubt you are correct and, for you, if the mono microphone comparisons on the origial Stereophile Test CD can make the voice of J. Gordon Holt sound like Julian Hirsh, the late editor of Stereo Review Magazine, they must certainly be more colored than anything else on the planet.
However, for me, these colorations are consonant with the fabric of the music and, if you listen to the jitter distortion comparisons with the harmonic distortion comparisons on Stereophile Test CD3 you may agree that some people find aharonically related distortions in small amounts much more damaging than harmonically related ones. Though they probably won't make me confuse JG with Julian as I have the advantage of having known him. And a good egg he was! |
