Copy & paste approach (not for engineers)
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/minidsp/238892-my-stack.html#post3554127
George
I keep hoping to get some stimulus to put out what I think about audio sound quality, in general.
Of course, I lived in the period of 78's, but in my teen years it was mostly mono LP's or the AM radio. Of course, I heard about Ampex mastering tape recorders, and knew that almost everybody cut their records from an analog tape. For my college years, I ended up with a Dyna-Acoustic Research mono system that sounded pretty good at the time. All of my college friends would bring their favorite records to play on my system.
Then I worked part time at a 'hi end' audio store in my senior year, and I got my standards raised. First of all, I was introduced to K-horns, then MC cartridges, and finally, Triode amplifiers. I found that I could listen all day to triode amps, they were even better than Dyna tube amps.
When I started working at Ampex, I got a 15ips-1/2 track master recorder, that I hoped to take my LP's and record them to keep the LP's from wearing out. The first thing that I found is that it never worked as well as I had hoped, and the recorded LP was somewhat worse than the LP itself, so we almost always listened to the LP, anyway. Later, I found that my pro recorder could do an excellent job with LIVE recording, and I came to realize that it was 'generation' degeneration, or the number of generations of added distortion that made all the difference.
While working in the Ampex Audio Division, a guy, who made the reference alignment tapes asked me if I had ever heard a DIRECT DISC recording. I said that I didn't think so, and he told me it was much better than the usual master analog recording, and then was mastered on a recording lathe to make the record.
It took about 5 years more, but finally Sheffield started producing direct disc records. Yes, the source material was not the most well known, but the SOUND! This is one of the factors that launched 'hi end' as we struggled to make the playback equipment as good as the best direct disc recordings needed to sound their best.
Now, what did I learn from all this? First, analog tape recording, while not perfect, can be darn good, but direct disc could be even better. I also found that the transients captured on direct disc remained with time, but analog recording lost some its 'sparkle' (not necessarily frequency response) even when stored 'properly'.
This is why I always use a direct disc to show me where I stand with analog playback.
When digital came on the scene "perfect sound forever" I was very disappointed, and I fought for higher sampling rates. Yet, even with higher sampling rates, digital, to me, still has problems, and I would go back to all-analog if I could.
This is my opinion and I stand behind it.
Of course, I lived in the period of 78's, but in my teen years it was mostly mono LP's or the AM radio. Of course, I heard about Ampex mastering tape recorders, and knew that almost everybody cut their records from an analog tape. For my college years, I ended up with a Dyna-Acoustic Research mono system that sounded pretty good at the time. All of my college friends would bring their favorite records to play on my system.
Then I worked part time at a 'hi end' audio store in my senior year, and I got my standards raised. First of all, I was introduced to K-horns, then MC cartridges, and finally, Triode amplifiers. I found that I could listen all day to triode amps, they were even better than Dyna tube amps.
When I started working at Ampex, I got a 15ips-1/2 track master recorder, that I hoped to take my LP's and record them to keep the LP's from wearing out. The first thing that I found is that it never worked as well as I had hoped, and the recorded LP was somewhat worse than the LP itself, so we almost always listened to the LP, anyway. Later, I found that my pro recorder could do an excellent job with LIVE recording, and I came to realize that it was 'generation' degeneration, or the number of generations of added distortion that made all the difference.
While working in the Ampex Audio Division, a guy, who made the reference alignment tapes asked me if I had ever heard a DIRECT DISC recording. I said that I didn't think so, and he told me it was much better than the usual master analog recording, and then was mastered on a recording lathe to make the record.
It took about 5 years more, but finally Sheffield started producing direct disc records. Yes, the source material was not the most well known, but the SOUND! This is one of the factors that launched 'hi end' as we struggled to make the playback equipment as good as the best direct disc recordings needed to sound their best.
Now, what did I learn from all this? First, analog tape recording, while not perfect, can be darn good, but direct disc could be even better. I also found that the transients captured on direct disc remained with time, but analog recording lost some its 'sparkle' (not necessarily frequency response) even when stored 'properly'.
This is why I always use a direct disc to show me where I stand with analog playback.
When digital came on the scene "perfect sound forever" I was very disappointed, and I fought for higher sampling rates. Yet, even with higher sampling rates, digital, to me, still has problems, and I would go back to all-analog if I could.
This is my opinion and I stand behind it.
As my system got better I found that most of my vinyl and CD are unlistenable. I stick with decent broadcasts.
I know exactly what you mean; I worked in forests most of my life.
I knew that it was a sincere/serious question. ...John's Porsche model.
george:
look for AN-245 from ADI: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.analog.com%2Fstatic%2Fimported-files%2Fapplication_notes%2F5866763300941AN245.pdf&ei=clijU_n2CfXFsATgy4GIDQ&usg=AFQjCNE-lwDpFYBYdNOFFdoF561JTEG2kQ&bvm=bv.69411363,d.cWc
look for AN-245 from ADI: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.analog.com%2Fstatic%2Fimported-files%2Fapplication_notes%2F5866763300941AN245.pdf&ei=clijU_n2CfXFsATgy4GIDQ&usg=AFQjCNE-lwDpFYBYdNOFFdoF561JTEG2kQ&bvm=bv.69411363,d.cWc
Good read.
I came to a similar conclusion. ...That was a long time ago; today I don't really know what truly matters except to be alive.
Why could you not John?
There is always, always, always distortion from the stylus, and in all audio - but the point is to reduce the subjective impact of it, to the point of being irrelevant. And that can achieved if enough focused effort is made to present the recorded content to the listener as cleanly as possible ...
I did say I liked LP.
The sound is very different to CD and very nice. I might even go out and get a new decent turntable when I've stopped wandering around the planet in a few years.
I just don't buy the bit about analog's superior resolving capability. If you take a listen to Pratum Integrum on the Caro Mitas label (SACD) you get a measure of what is possible in CD.
I have in storage a fantastic DG 'Swan Lake' LP - von Karajan conducting one of the big Russian orchestras. It really was an eye opener in terms of recording quality (I like the music as well of course) and I played it to death. I have quite a few others like that and many fond memories of my SME3009 arm, AT & Shure carts and Technics turntable.
I gave my SME3009, turntable and carts away when I moved to digital in the mid 1990's. Yes, I am a generous guy on occassion, if not a fool at the same time.
The sound is very different to CD and very nice. I might even go out and get a new decent turntable when I've stopped wandering around the planet in a few years.
I just don't buy the bit about analog's superior resolving capability. If you take a listen to Pratum Integrum on the Caro Mitas label (SACD) you get a measure of what is possible in CD.
I have in storage a fantastic DG 'Swan Lake' LP - von Karajan conducting one of the big Russian orchestras. It really was an eye opener in terms of recording quality (I like the music as well of course) and I played it to death. I have quite a few others like that and many fond memories of my SME3009 arm, AT & Shure carts and Technics turntable.
I gave my SME3009, turntable and carts away when I moved to digital in the mid 1990's. Yes, I am a generous guy on occassion, if not a fool at the same time.
That’s it mlloyd1.
Fig. 7 is what I asked for. The rest of this AN is very interesting too. Thank you!
Scott we appreciate!
George
He is DEFINITELY missing an opportunity here.
Two things I have learnt about engineers so far:
1. They would rather make you the impossible than write two sentences for the instruction manual, and
2. Most of them have trouble understanding that they cannot always make what they want to make, but have to make what the customers are willing to pay for.
Most of them, anyway. And I've been in engineer company literally all my life, my late father was a mechanical engineer, so most of our family friends were his colleagues, with some electrical engineers thrown in for a good mix.
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