29-09-2005, 07:52 AM
Good morning all, thought I would drop in my 2 pennies worth!
The CD v Vinyl contest may not be as much so much about absolute clarity of reproduction as a need for the imperfection of reality. This is an ethereal concept; much more difficult to rationalize. As Spam points out, the CD's inherent ability to reproduce the recording accurately, helps the format to win the accuracy race every time.
The key to the CD format is the way digital information is held, created by sampling the music at (quick) intervals, while the analogue recording is continuous with no gaps. Think of the analogy of watching a movie flickering in front of you, compared to the differing way you would experience the content, were you a member of the film crew, watching it happen in real time, with no flicker.
I believe the human brain is able to determine the difference, at some level.
My second point is related to the sheer perfection of the CD reproduction, made possible by modern recording techniques, which are very good indeed. The mixing equipment used by the professionals is in itself is amazing. When we hear music in real life, we naturally hear imperfections from variables such as poor acoustic properties of the theatre, feedback from microphones etc. These imperfections are digitally manipulated and removed at the recording stage. (Bit like “photo shopping†that pimple away!)
When we hear the end result, it is too good to be real, so our brains tell us that something is wrong, we are not quite sure what, but remain subliminally aware that this is not reality.
This is where vinyl comes into its own. The record played on good equipment may actually give a more real listening experience. Not as clear as CD, but more natural.
So there you go, in my opinion, the problem is that the CD along with modern recording and mixing technology, is just too perfect. Add this to the possibility that our brains at some level detect the on off nature of the recording and perhaps we have an explanation of some kind.
The CD v Vinyl contest may not be as much so much about absolute clarity of reproduction as a need for the imperfection of reality. This is an ethereal concept; much more difficult to rationalize. As Spam points out, the CD's inherent ability to reproduce the recording accurately, helps the format to win the accuracy race every time.
The key to the CD format is the way digital information is held, created by sampling the music at (quick) intervals, while the analogue recording is continuous with no gaps. Think of the analogy of watching a movie flickering in front of you, compared to the differing way you would experience the content, were you a member of the film crew, watching it happen in real time, with no flicker.
I believe the human brain is able to determine the difference, at some level.
My second point is related to the sheer perfection of the CD reproduction, made possible by modern recording techniques, which are very good indeed. The mixing equipment used by the professionals is in itself is amazing. When we hear music in real life, we naturally hear imperfections from variables such as poor acoustic properties of the theatre, feedback from microphones etc. These imperfections are digitally manipulated and removed at the recording stage. (Bit like “photo shopping†that pimple away!)
When we hear the end result, it is too good to be real, so our brains tell us that something is wrong, we are not quite sure what, but remain subliminally aware that this is not reality.
This is where vinyl comes into its own. The record played on good equipment may actually give a more real listening experience. Not as clear as CD, but more natural.
So there you go, in my opinion, the problem is that the CD along with modern recording and mixing technology, is just too perfect. Add this to the possibility that our brains at some level detect the on off nature of the recording and perhaps we have an explanation of some kind.