The "great" sound of reel to reel explained

Atmasphere - My Benchmark DAC1 was specifically designed not to be warm sounding since according to technical director of Benchmark John Siau warm sound is good for voice and some instruments like guitar but does bad things to instruments that have more complex harmonic structure like piano. Piano, according to him, can sound on very warm gear almost like out of tune.

People don't want neutral sound - just look at Audiogon posts how many people seek warm sounding gear or ask how to make sound warmer. One person started thread asking how to make sound warmer and less detailed (I advised blanket over speakers) http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1198790051&read&keyw&zzblanket

My Benchmark DAC1 was chosen in studio test as most accurate but not the best sounding of few DACs. Recording engineers liked it but audiophiles didn't - calling it sterile and clinical. Somebody even mentioned that instruments should not sound separately but together (as a sound blob). My first impression was pretty much the same - it was so clean I thought at first that some instruments are missing from recording. It is a little bit similar to sound of guitar - clean jazz guitar will be lifeless and sterile but you add distortion and it will become lively and dynamic rock guitar.

As for reel to reel - there are reasons why it was replaced in studios by digital recorders. Nobody is recording with pre-emphasis anymore because of that (useless feature of CD player). I also remember that analog tapes had tendency to copy from layer to layer and had to be once a year rewind to prevent it.

Yes, digital has shortcomings but I cannot stand hiss coming from analog recordings or pops coming from vinyl. It constantly reminds me that I listen to speakers and not the concert. It annoys me so much that I will take any other option to avoid it - but reel to reel isn't the one.

Yes, who in their right mind would prefer cold to warm?

And neutral is average or boring depending on how you look at it.

I want speakers that swing all three ways. That's why I run 6 or more pair at a time in different rooms.

Thanks, Carlos. It was this line that struck me a bit.

The truth of the matter is that the only way to make digital sound like analogue is to add distortion.

I don't disagree. If I was to be anal about it I would say "the only way to make digital colorations sound like analog colorations", etc.

"I want speakers that swing all three ways. That's why I run 6 or more pair at a time in different rooms."

Mapman - can you repeat it in front of my wife? (otherwise she won't believe me)

People don't want neutral sound - just look at Audiogon posts how many people seek warm sounding gear or ask how to make sound warmer. One person started thread asking how to make sound warmer and less detailed (I advised blanket over speakers)

Kijanki, I think you are quite right about people wanting colorations. The question for me is, what is colored, what is not? Before I got into the business, that was a question that I felt needed answering. One thing I can tell you from the process that I went through is that you will not know the answer if you don't involve yourself in the recording process. Its very useful to hear live music, and then hear what the microphones hear, and finally the finished recording.

One thing I can say is this: our transducers, like mics and headphones, as well as electronics are a hellava lot better than any medium, analog or digital! They can fool jaundiced audiphiles at the drop of a hat, where neither tape, LP nor digital master file has that same ability.

Anyway, when you have a master tape from a session that you were present for, you have a valuable tool for sorting things out. Having used a variety of machines over the years, the reel to reel tapes remain, despite a great number of weaknesses, the best thing out there. A lot of the industry went digital simply because of the cost of the media; reel to reel tape can be quite expensive, especially in larger formats.

BTW I don't go for excessive warmth either- I regard it as a coloration, euphonic yes, but still a coloration (brought on by lower ordered harmonics). I just want neutral, my goal is to make it sound real, failing that as true to the original recording as possible. So far, reel to reel is a lot better at that than digital, though digital has made great inroads in the last 10 years.