I’ve enjoyed music listening for most of my 70 years after leaving the womb. Technically inclined, I’ve also enjoyed pursuing the hobby of realistic musical reproduction.
Out of sheer convenience I longed for the emergence of digital playback after growing tired of all the work needed to make listening to analogue pleasurable. Then I retired and, with more time on my hands, rediscovered vinyl.
It took actual listening to convince me that analogue playback, properly done, can in fact sound more realistic than what the digital engineers who deem the medium flawed will admit to. Only my ears helped to reach that conclusion, because the passionate arguments often used by fans on either side of the great digital/analogue divide failed to convince with well-meaning, rational arguments.
I am so very grateful for a longer life after rediscovering analogue. How else would I have seen how the popularity of high-quality digital streaming makes it so very easy to choose, among the dozens of performances available, those I would like to acquire for the tender, loving care that is required to truly enjoy analogue reproduction.
I’ve come to realize that one venue compliments the other beautifully. A good digital rig can sound awfully good, and so can an analogue one that benefits from the attention that the medium requires to be at its best. One medium helps to save money and time on the other, each playing its rightful role.
My CD resolution digital files of Beethoven and Brahms Symphonies, for example, put me in those incredible seats I once had at Orchestra Hall in Chicago. It is without a doubt an enjoyable experience. However, playing their vinyl equivalents brings soul to my memories.
In fact, there is no need to argue which is the better medium. In reality, neither one is. After all, there is no substitute for sitting on the second row, center at Chicago's Orchestra Hall, practically on top and just a few feet away from the musicians, watching them work in the live medium which is, non-arguably, the superior one.
