Is computer audio a bust?

Most....If not all the music you listen to was mixed and mastered on a computer. I'd rather listen to my master sessions directly from my 2 track mixes via computer than burned to a disc. As a matter of fact....With hd so cheap I no longer save anything to disc and barely listen to disc.

However, for recreational listening I prefer vinyl. I wish I was engineer on a level that afford this option but I will have to stick with high rez masters for now.

I believe my ears. I have listen to an analog signal converted on the fly from all sample rates and bit depths. The difference for me is obvious, with higher res always sounding closer to the source. Attack and decay of notes are almost always an indicator with space and timbre also playing a big part.

This article can make a statement and say it is settled science but to my ears it ain't so.

News flash.....Every recording studio in the world has decided to get rid of their computer based system. They don't know what they are going to use but they say that after listening to a cd player they realize how bad their computer based recording systems are. Just a bit of humor to stress a point.

I'll say it again.....computer audio is how 99.9999 percent of all music is recorded.....mixed and mastered today. Playing back files on your computer has the potential to be as close to the final mix as possible....for the good or bad of it. People are so hung up on usb....well, today's usb sounds as good as last year's firewire thanks in part to asynchronous. So much so that I no longer use firewire to playback tracks for mixing. Anyway....If you don't like usb buy a mytek with a firewire port.

Again.....listening to a hard drive is how recording engineers mix. After sending out for cd pressing, the cd wi be compared to the two track file from a hard drive to ensure a proper pressing.

Also....I for one am glad that disc drives have been pushed to the back of the bus. Do you know how many laser problems occur with dvd drives. It is a crap shoot to even invest in a top player due to the short life laser problems. And....hard drives are so cheap that backing up your files in incredibly easy and fast.

Cd players aren't big sellers these days. They are way down compared to its hey day.

Charles....I find both done right to sound fantastic and I'm not trying to convince anyone one is better but rather that the premise that computer audio is bad....wrong or dead is way off base. Again..computer audio is the way most recording are created and sound fantastic.

Let me put it this way; a recent recording project did for a client, consisting of the group Spyro Gyra was a 26 track recording. If you were afforded the hardware....software....and tracks....would you like to have total control of your mix and afterwards would you burn it to a disc for playback in a cd player or would you save a 2 track file and use this as your playback reference? My guess is the later.....which is how most engineers keep and listen to their 2 track master mixes. Not that it doesn't get burned to a disc but that the file is saved, archived and referenced on a computer and a hard drive. A dedicated computer based system for sure but today, for most people, it is not hard to put together a dedicated computer based system.....and can cost a whole lot less than a sota cd player.

My point about Spyro Gyra was made because...In the not too distant future this might be possible.....at first I can see it starting with the ambient mix....then surround....then limited track mix....and then total mix. The variables that would need to be reconciled is distribution. ..royalies...and artist creative control. The latter is the biggest...but doable.

You might think that it could never happen but it could....copy protection of some sort could be applied...everything could be save in a cloud and payment could be fee for access. Your home hardware could be the restriction point for protection through software loaded on your computer.

Sound crazy...but so was the light
bulb....telephone....radio...and lp. All this can happen..and nd someday will. Sorry to take off an a tangent....but this is along way of saying computer audio ain't dead but rather just beginning.

Charles...my computer system is the least hassle playback medium I have. It is easier than cds and vinyl. The only thing easier is my tuner.

I record in either 24/48 or 24/96 for my multi track gigs. Admittedly I'm a small fish in the world or recording engineering. The beauty of digital is that once I mix down to track and master the mix a file copy of that 2 track will sound the same as the master. The only difference will be in sound will occur due to the difference in playback hardware. I've never worked in DSD but many rave it's sound.

When I archive and transfer analog tape I use 24/96. Believe it or not there is a current argument claiming that properly dithered 16/44 or less, is all that is needed to to maximize the transfer resolution of any analog tape. I've been involve in some of these discussion and don't subscribe to this belief and argue that my own listening test tell my ears otherwise but these folks are smarter than me and throw all kinds of math and science at me telling me I'm buying snake oil and only gilding the lily by using anything beyond 16/44.

If anyone is interested in my work, which is all on location live concert recording, I would point you to Frank Vignola Trio with Bucky Pizzarelli, Live Standards or Felipe Salles, Timeline, or Ronnie Leigh, live at Apple Jazz...to name a few. These are only available in cd but I do have the hi res 2 track master mix. I also have 3 more releases coming out next month.... 1 is a limited run surround mix, the second is a blue ray dvd....which will have 24/48 audio and the 3 will be a mostly acoustic jazz concert on cd. All of these will be released on the Apple Jazz lable.

I'm not trying to pedal my wares but give you a frame of reference from which I speak, albeit, just a very small part of a much larger industry.

Steinberg's WaveLab. It is a mastering program and has many useful plug ins. It is more than you need but many of the things it provides will be exceedingly useful.

EAC is a good program for extracting data from discs but for creating audio files WaveLab kills EAC. WaveLab is a full mastering program which allows for all kinds of flexibility from creating and mastering two track recordings to 48 track mixes. Yes....that is way more than you'll need but what it can provide for your 2 track data will amaze you. It has all kinds of plug ins that will come in handy. It also can help with system set up, too. Take a look at their website for more information. It is $500 well spent.