Analog vs. digital

@sns Done with the discussion of measurements vs sensory perception.

Agreed!
This poor dead horse has been beaten countless times. Dismissing what you hear with an audio component is akin to buying video products and paying no heed to what you see on the screen. Irrational behavior.

Charles

There are many others who think like me.

Good luck with your digital audiophile endeavour.

I am sure you aren’t alone with your preferences. That’s great! Stick with what pleases you most. Why in High End audio do differences of preference and taste have to result in potential conflict? It makes zero sense. Just go with what works best for you and call it a day.

Analogue for you, digital for me. Both are splendid options.

Charles

Digital recording can ’look’ good at first glance, but if you are familiar with live sounds and have a good ear you will agree with my statement. Not a single note right.

Well I listen to live music performances often. 4 such outings in the past 7 weeks. I classical (Piano and cello) 3 jazz . All 4 were small venues and un-amplified. We also have a piano in our living room. So I’m no stranger to live acoustic instruments.

Good quality digital components serve me exceptionally well. However I do understand and respect the idea of “to each their own “.

Charles

I am afraid not.

If that’s your outcome with digital, then so be it. Yours is the antithesis of my experiences and listening to digital components and music reproduction. Fortunately for those who are dissatisfied with digital,  there remains a plethora of analogue options. Thus, we all can be musically happy.

Charles

@2psyop 

Agreed!

And you can add a well sorted out digital streaming source to this list. Numerous ways are available to achieve excellent home audio sound quality. We as music lovers can choose which ever source approach we desire. And having one doesn’t negate the others at all.

Charles

@rvpiano 

‘But the LP’s from that period actually (usually) sound better.

To an extent I agree, but again definitely exceptions existed. When I had a turntable I often compared records and CDs of the same titles. In some cases the LP was better sounding. In some cases they were pretty much equal. On a few occasions the CD sounded better than the corresponding LP.  So in my experience it seems that the recording’s quality is as big a determining factor as is the recording format.

Charles

@itsjustme

I suggest hearing digital from a great, old analog recording, well mastered (interestingly, most will be red book, not HD) such as the old verve, blue note or Mercury stuff.

I have to say you nailed it with this observation. This has precisely been my listening experience. Many of the jazz labels from the 1950s-1960s if remastered with care and skill will sound natural and wonderful. So much sucess is dependent on the recording itself. For an example, Contemporary Records (Old school west coast jazz label) Prestige, Riverside etc. Just to mention a few to add to your list.

Their Redbook CDs sound absolutely beautiful and engaging via my CD transport and DAC pairing. I think some digital components chase the detail aspect too much and miss the forest (Naturalness) for the trees (over emphasized artificial detail)). But without question there are some very capable and well implemented digital components that will get the job done in an exceedingly musically -realistic accomplished manner.

Charles