The lifespan of analog tapes are unfortunately variable, like human life!
buyer of high definition tape transfers beware
Listen carefully before purchasing high definition tape transfers (HDDT's).
I bought a number, enticed by 'promotions' and availability of classic recordings, only to realize that
the higher frequency audio data was simply 'gone'. They sounded fine on pre-purchase earphone sampling, but
I did not listen carefully enough, and when the digitized recordings were played on my stereo, the 'cardboard' sound of every recording I purchased was apparent, though more apparent where, as with string instruments and piano as
opposed to large orchestral recordings, high frequencies were prominent. By chance I possessed a very well done digital copy of the 'ripped' LP of one of the foregoing HDTT recordings. The ripped LP recording was clearly,
immediately superior....there was color, vibrancy, and high frequency sound. Why, then ?
The life span of tape recordings is reportedly variable and dependent of storage of the tape. Twenty to forty years are cited. What of a recording made in the late 50's or 60's, with Oistrakh or other 'greats', and newly digitized in a smorgasbord of formats, from dsd 64 to 256, from PCM 24/88 to 24/384 ? Does the digitized resolution matter when the source resolution is lacking ? I purchased one HDTT concerto offering in different formats and resolutions. The higher frequencies did not reappear. They were absent. 'Re-mastered' offerings of similar recordings, but with the digitization cone by the recording music company near the 'effective' beginning of the digital era....early eighties, perhaps...offer at least the potential avoidance of 20 years of tape degradation preceding the digitizations process. HDTT offerings, conversely, wherein expensive digitization technology is applied to "master" tapes from the 50's and 60's, are to my ears a commercial endeavor more than deserving of 'caveat emptor'.
I bought a number, enticed by 'promotions' and availability of classic recordings, only to realize that
the higher frequency audio data was simply 'gone'. They sounded fine on pre-purchase earphone sampling, but
I did not listen carefully enough, and when the digitized recordings were played on my stereo, the 'cardboard' sound of every recording I purchased was apparent, though more apparent where, as with string instruments and piano as
opposed to large orchestral recordings, high frequencies were prominent. By chance I possessed a very well done digital copy of the 'ripped' LP of one of the foregoing HDTT recordings. The ripped LP recording was clearly,
immediately superior....there was color, vibrancy, and high frequency sound. Why, then ?
The life span of tape recordings is reportedly variable and dependent of storage of the tape. Twenty to forty years are cited. What of a recording made in the late 50's or 60's, with Oistrakh or other 'greats', and newly digitized in a smorgasbord of formats, from dsd 64 to 256, from PCM 24/88 to 24/384 ? Does the digitized resolution matter when the source resolution is lacking ? I purchased one HDTT concerto offering in different formats and resolutions. The higher frequencies did not reappear. They were absent. 'Re-mastered' offerings of similar recordings, but with the digitization cone by the recording music company near the 'effective' beginning of the digital era....early eighties, perhaps...offer at least the potential avoidance of 20 years of tape degradation preceding the digitizations process. HDTT offerings, conversely, wherein expensive digitization technology is applied to "master" tapes from the 50's and 60's, are to my ears a commercial endeavor more than deserving of 'caveat emptor'.
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