AJinFLA said:
Like the recording/mixing/mastering chain responsible for maybe 90% of recorded music?
It would be fascinating to see the recorded media collection of those with SS/Op-amp free reproduction systems. I would love to hear all those recordings free of imbedded glare/grain played back on glare/grain free reproduction systems. How clear that must sound played through loudspeaker/room X!
I imagine Earl Geddes only used SS/Op-amp smeared recordings when using that Pioneer receiver at RMAF?
Perhaps if Earl reads this he can enlighten us.
cheers,
AJ
You used the words "smeared", not me. It's not a word I usually use to describe hifi equipment.
Recording professionals are well aware of the colorations of analog and digital equipment. I've been reading Loudspeakers for Music Recording and Reproduction by Newell and Holland, and was fascinated to discover that professionals rank loudspeaker systems and the associated amplifiers by their ability to discriminate between different ADC/DACs and bit depths.
In the view of recording professionals, a low-resolution amp/loudspeaker cannot discriminate between 16-bit and higher resolution digital, and does not reveal differences between ADCs and DACs. Higher resolution loudspeakers reveal what's on 18-bit systems, and the highest resolution studio monitors clearly reveal the differences between 16, 18, 20 and 24-bit systems and professional-grade ADCs and DACs. This is one disadvantage of digital crossovers - the inexpensive ADCs and DACs in the crossover mask differences between the pro-grade digital systems that are used upstream.
Obviously, a low-resolution loudspeaker is not a wise choice for mixing and mastering applications, since playback errors leads to poor mixdown and mastering decisions that then become part of the recording released to the public.
To say that all (pro) digital sounds the same does not reflect the experience of industry professionals. There's a reason that digital in the studio has been getting progressively better over the last three decades. The same applies to analog electronics - the amplifier without audible coloration has yet to be designed, despite many decades of trying by the best minds in the industry.
But all of this depends on personal perception, not what industry professionals think. If all ADCs, DACs, and analog electronics sound the same to you, the smart thing is to buy all your stuff at Costco or Radio Shack (or the local prosound shop), download MP3's off the Internet, and save a whole lot of money.