MoFi controversy

@theaudioamp I guess that is the "thing"...Are we kidding ourselves that our ears can hear the difference in CD quality versus anything with more resolution? But if studios are recording in 24/96 it would seem best if we could buy the files in that native format or stream them. 

But then again, if TV manufacturers ever start making 32K super-super-duper resolutions and enough color depth for a trillion shades of grey, you can bet people will buy them.

Advertising hype works.  Not too many went broke using the ideas of Edward Bernays. 

I note that while many have their panties in a wad over this MoFi controversy (and perhap rightly so), they aren't quite as bent out of shape knowing MoFi used DSD256 instead of PCM at 24/96, so maybe it does come down to "impressions, perceptions, and misconceptions".

I was dopped into believing I had something special so I unloaded a lot of money buying them and know feel raped and will go in a different direction in the future.

For all the digital guys here’s something to have a cup of coffee over! https://www.atrtape.com/sound-of-tape  

To understand why, a professional tape recorder provides the most lifelike reproduction revolves around a couple of important factors. The key lies in the inherent technology of the tape itself. Audio tape in use during the 1950s and ’60s provided approximately 65,000,000 magnetic particles per second of recording a quarter inch format at 15 inches per second (ips) tape speed. Each magnetic oxide particle or groups of particles takes on either a north or south orientation after exiting the recording head. Starting to sound like digital bit stream? Well yes and no. However there is one huge difference between analog tape recordings and even the best digital recordings.

RESOLUTION

The highest digital resolution today offers 4,608,000 bits switching per second. Not bad. Big improvement over the standard Red Book CD but it is not even close to sub-micron particle resolution of ATR Master Tape.

RANDOM PARTICLE STACKING

Quarter inch, two track ATR Master Tape running at 15 inches per second (ips) involves approximately 80,000,000 oriented and randomly stacked particles per track second. It’s not just the particle count but the random stacking that turns this super binary resolution into pure analog playback. This is why even a narrow track width recording still sounds so detailed despite the lower surface area.

Music is an intrinsic part of the human soul. It plays to our emotions, it talks to us, it calms us, it makes us rise to our greatest accomplishments and brings back our warmest memories. Why not record it on the best medium to achieve the best quality of sound?

theaudioamp

Member since	Jul 28, 2022   So....yah.....

@budlite22 , coffee? I think you mean a good laugh: https://www.atrtape.com/sound-of-tape I don’t know what they were smoking when they wrote that, but they should have been reading instead. Tape does not sound more life like. It sounds like tape.

You got it @secretguy , I am new and have not been brainwashed yet. Better ask me questions quick before my brain is sullied.

@budlite22 a wise old salesman once told me. It is our job to tell the customer what is better about our product. It is our competitors job to tell the customer what is wrong about your product. You don't lie to the customer and you never sell them something that will not work for them, but other than that, you just tell them the good stuff.

I will play the competitor to magnetic tape:

• While it is true that there is a high density of tape particles, our competitor left out a few key points.
• The storage and recording is affected by magnetic particle density. It is impossible to keep the magnetic particle density perfectly consistent along the tape causing distortion.
• In addition to manufacturing inconsistency, the tape moves left/right changing what the tape head is exposed to independent of the audio signal causing distortion.
• Our competitor did not give an accurate description of the process of magnetism of the particles. There is both orientation and strength of magetization. It is the strength that is the signal level. That strength needs to be communicated to the tape and taken off the tape. It is true there are lots of fine particles, but the signal levels are low, which contributes to analog noise.
• Magnetic materials are not linear. As the field gets stronger, they will store less and less magnetism. This causes compression which is a harmonic distortion.
• The tape does not move perfectly linearly by the tape head. It shifts left, it shifts right, it stretches, it rebounds, it even bounces on the head a little. This causes wow, flutter and signal distortion.
• Every time you play a tape, the tape head become partially magnetized. This slightly demagnetizes the tape every time you play it.
• The layers above and below can also cause magnetic changes in the tape.