Your other points:
I will do a little searching myself to find out what it is.
The sound of vinyl to me is not (a). (b) I am not familiar with, the only vinyl I have is from 25 years ago or more, the golden 'pre 1995' era, as I have heard.
(c) I have no access to, and (d), although I have no access to, I claim to hear the difference over YouTube between various cartridges and players. There was even a YouTuber who used the piezo-ceramic cartridge on a high end turntable with a phono amp with ceramic inputs, with excellent results.
I think we can agree here. I have found that good quality digital play back, even Spotify, is pleasant to listen to. The problem for me is compression on digital media.
How about 'the sound of high-res audio'?
My reference to lower dynamic range may not be clear: I meant that since the dynamic range is limited, vinyl versions had to be mastered differently than the CD versions to avoid taking too much space on the record. Of course listening levels can be adjusted.
Here we go again. I have been presented with incorrect information. Is there an example of RIAA done in software done right?
I take it there is a difference between a 'flat phono preamp' and an standard pre-amp or amplifier.
I will do a little searching myself to find out what it is.
The sound of vinyl to me is not (a). (b) I am not familiar with, the only vinyl I have is from 25 years ago or more, the golden 'pre 1995' era, as I have heard.
(c) I have no access to, and (d), although I have no access to, I claim to hear the difference over YouTube between various cartridges and players. There was even a YouTuber who used the piezo-ceramic cartridge on a high end turntable with a phono amp with ceramic inputs, with excellent results.
I think we can agree here. I have found that good quality digital play back, even Spotify, is pleasant to listen to. The problem for me is compression on digital media.
How about 'the sound of high-res audio'?
My reference to lower dynamic range may not be clear: I meant that since the dynamic range is limited, vinyl versions had to be mastered differently than the CD versions to avoid taking too much space on the record. Of course listening levels can be adjusted.
Yes we agree on this. Is the record release date actually the date of stamping? I will look up the other points on cross talk etc.
The BEARING is, IMHO, more important. It controls the background noise level.
Recently, I had the Karousel installed in my LP12 and it makes a HUGE improvement in all aspects of playback. You need to work from the source, and the bearing is THE source.
Is there any particular reason a simple bearing is used instead of ball bearings or roller bearings? Is it the noise?
Some bearings use synthetic oil. I came across a sapphire ball bearing upgrade: https://www.decoaudio.com/deco_audio_rega_turntable_upgrades.html
Came across this in a search: https://www.fidelitydesignsltd.co.uk/cusbearings/cusbearings.html
Also this nice graphic. Apparently inverted bearings are a bad idea.
https://www.acoustic-signature.com/technology/dtd-dura-turn-diamond-bearing/
Do turntables come with a little sticker on the side recommending service intervals for oil changes and stylus changes, or a simple reminder to refer to the manual? Is that too agricultural, maybe?
Some bearings use synthetic oil. I came across a sapphire ball bearing upgrade: https://www.decoaudio.com/deco_audio_rega_turntable_upgrades.html
Came across this in a search: https://www.fidelitydesignsltd.co.uk/cusbearings/cusbearings.html
Also this nice graphic. Apparently inverted bearings are a bad idea.
https://www.acoustic-signature.com/technology/dtd-dura-turn-diamond-bearing/
Do turntables come with a little sticker on the side recommending service intervals for oil changes and stylus changes, or a simple reminder to refer to the manual? Is that too agricultural, maybe?
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At the moment, the turntables offerred by Audio-Technica have caught my eye, and seem to offer everything I want, including appearance.
The Audio-Technica site offers this helpful text:
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-eu/turntables
I like this one, prices seem to have increased.
The Audio-Technica site offers this helpful text:
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-eu/turntables
I like this one, prices seem to have increased.
Get some old Sony CD player (most reliable transports) with an optical output at perhaps $20+, connect that to one of the latest DAC's from SMSL the SU-1 at $80 (exceptional jitter on optical with galvanic isolation) , and use that as a reference to establish what "good" might be considered against a turntable. You can also connect internet through USB.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-su-1-stereo-dac-review.44029/
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My initial plan was to use an old DVD player with optical out, to a DAC. This was before I discovered CDs were compressed. SACD is a possibility but I have not looked into it yet.
CD's are NOT compressed.
They are sampled at 44.1Khz with a word size of 16 bits. There is no compression algorithm and each sample is individual/absolute... meaning it is not a number that references to the previous number: as in a delta... the way digital video is handled.
The problems with CD are the analog brickwall filters that are applied to filter out all sounds above 20Khz. Those steep filters introduce phase shifts at frequencies that are within our hearing.
Another issue with the earlier CD DACs were the time based distortions... ie: if you look at a square wave you see "pre-ringing"... something that is definitely a natural event. And we hear that.
Now, the DACs have gotten much, MUCH better since the 80s, to the point where Red Book encoding actually sounds good. But you can not get away from those filters. I guess if you were to record at much higher rates, say 96/24 and then process that data stream to implement a 20Khz low pass filter and then encode that into Red Book you might be OK.... except remember that 96Khz is not a multiple of 44.1Khz.. so you will run into some interpolation distortions. That's why we keep seeing 48Khz (48/24) encoding.
I suppose that very high rate DSD makes a lot more sense... that is what Mobile Fidelity has been doing to archive their analog master tapes... such high bit rates, at 512Khz and 1Mhz pretty much make the interpolation down to Red Book a moot point.
The market, and the Music Industry, pretty much killed off SACD.
They are sampled at 44.1Khz with a word size of 16 bits. There is no compression algorithm and each sample is individual/absolute... meaning it is not a number that references to the previous number: as in a delta... the way digital video is handled.
The problems with CD are the analog brickwall filters that are applied to filter out all sounds above 20Khz. Those steep filters introduce phase shifts at frequencies that are within our hearing.
Another issue with the earlier CD DACs were the time based distortions... ie: if you look at a square wave you see "pre-ringing"... something that is definitely a natural event. And we hear that.
Now, the DACs have gotten much, MUCH better since the 80s, to the point where Red Book encoding actually sounds good. But you can not get away from those filters. I guess if you were to record at much higher rates, say 96/24 and then process that data stream to implement a 20Khz low pass filter and then encode that into Red Book you might be OK.... except remember that 96Khz is not a multiple of 44.1Khz.. so you will run into some interpolation distortions. That's why we keep seeing 48Khz (48/24) encoding.
I suppose that very high rate DSD makes a lot more sense... that is what Mobile Fidelity has been doing to archive their analog master tapes... such high bit rates, at 512Khz and 1Mhz pretty much make the interpolation down to Red Book a moot point.
The market, and the Music Industry, pretty much killed off SACD.
Are you 'getting back' to vinyl, or just starting out with vinyl? And at what level of interest are you looking for? Just casual listening? Critical listening? Decent, new starter turntables can be had for $300-500. Then there's the mid-class, and then the very high-end class, as in > $10K. My guess is the 'decent' class, but correct me if I'm wrong. Try a Teac, Fluance, or Pro-ject if you're just starting out. And there's a ton of others in the < $500 range to. Why spend a lot of money, if you're unsure of the end-result, or if it's worth your effort?
Both of you talk about different things: DATA are not compressed on a cd as PCM is linear ( compressed like in a MiniDisc, MP3 or when you use something like winzip or a Flac ).
But audio is ( more than often). It's dynamic range compression through the use of what is called a compressor or limiter.
Vinyl did not allowed for large amount of ( audio) compression, which is a kind of ( lucky) artefact which didn't allow for a war about music loudness.
When digital appeared this limitation disapeared and from there a 'race' start about making the music 'louder' than the previous release ( through the use of audio compression/ limiting) because our brain crave for 'loud' signals. This eventually led to what is known as 'loudness war' and it's all about ( audio) compression... which is ironic as the digital media allow for way higher dynamic range than analog media would have ever dreamed of...
So both of you are right.
A phono stage/phono preamp is not like a regular preamp. In addition to amplifying a very low level signal and providing RIAA eq, it also provides the correct load for your cartridge. This is essential for correct FR. A flat phono preamp is without RIAA eq.
Also, I'm afraid that Audio Technica turntable is pretty much the same as the EZCap you already have, minor differences. Look here at the AT internals https://musehelix.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/MotorAndPower1.png .
In stead, wait for the JVC, and spend your money on a phono stage. You may also have to buy a cartridge, or at least a replacement stylus - also potentially costly...
I suspect that what you are hearing is being mistaken for compression. An acoustic level can be arbitrarily set with signals ranging from the loudest to the quietest. Compression can be considered a function of non-linear gain, whereupon the gain reduces moving away from the pivot point in either direction of a transfer curve. However, digital artifacts can result in compression or expansion. There is no reason for all digital to be solely bi-directionally compressive.
It seems more likely that low level signals are being masked as preventing being resolved into a background. Hence the resolvable dynamic range is being restricted from a low distortion foreground to the point of restricted masking. The dynamics between the foreground to a masked background (limited decays in natural instruments for example) can seem like lifeless compression. Oftentimes the volume is turned up to create foreground distortions to punch through the masking, this as a means to bringing artificial (more lifelike) dynamics back in.
IMO as traditional measurable distortions reduce greater emphasis needs to be placed on interconnect cabling, balanced lines, etc.
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It isn't just me. 12 pages of what is the best TT out there for $200 max? The answer is that you are going to come up short, short of a miracle. I believe that you can go too far in price, but this doesn't scrape the bottom well.
You never know... my son-in-law just scored a Thoren's TD125 MK2, Linn Attok with an Audio Technical AT95ML cartridge for under $200. He got it from his wife's father... oh that was me!... and for nothing...
I will admit that I have actually given away audio equipment to mentor possible audiophiles in the making. If they can appreciate the difference, I don't mind making the difference.
It seems it completely changed his financial picture... he then went out and bought $5,000 worth of records from an estate... one Jimi Hendrix he then sold for $750. Lots of Mofi's etc. Must say he is loving it. I also gave him a phono preamplifier and amp I built 40 years ago. He didn't like anything else... except for my Linn LP12.
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The RIAA correction is done by applying three poles (three filters) with exactly defined time constants.
You are trying to do RIAA correction by using a graphic equalizer, that is not the same. At all. Audacity used to have (has?) a specific filter for RIAA compensation.
It's just a preamplifier that applies no RIAA correction.
CD, potentially, has more dynamic range than vinyl records. Both have more dynamic range than what you can reproduce in a typical living room.
When vinyl records were the main medium, the "loudness war" meant creating a loud record, via elevating the recording level (the cutting level), this doesn't require dynamic compression.
The reality is that CDs were the victims of loudness war. To compete in the "Loudness war" on CD invariably meant dynamic compression, because there is no way to record over the 0dB level on a CD.
I agree that the bearing is one of the most important parts of the turntable, but so is the plinth where the bearing and the tonearm pillar sit on. And the tonearm. And personally i'd say that of these 3 items, the tonearm is the most important.