While certainly the equipment can introduce differences in sound, especially phono cartridges, there is also the issue of mastering. With streaming the provenance is usually unknown, while with vinyl it is usually possible to determine the mastering chain. The digital medium itself certainly has a wider dynamic range than vinyl, however this is not always reflected in the music if compression was used in mastering. I have done synchronized A/B level matched comparisons of vinyl vs streamed tracks. Sometimes they are quite different (in that case I usually but not always prefer the vinyl)....sometimes they are virtually indistinguishable. I put most of this down to the mastering.
Analog invites you to turn up the volume
I've been listening to a lot of streaming digital lately and really enjoying it. The sound is nice, music selection is outstanding and sure can't beat the convenience. It has almost overtaken my listening sessions but last night I decided to fire up the turntable. I noticed myself turning the volume up and just rocking out at the level I thought was most satisfying. I was kind of startled to see how high I'd set the volume and when I checked the Db meter, it was 5 to 8 Db louder than when I listen to digital. I asked myself why I don't listen to digital at the same volume and I really couldn't come up with an answer because I certainly can. I just don't care to.
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- 28 posts total
- 28 posts total