Music Formats: What's hip and what's not?

Food for thought, " A well recorded and mastered song will sound fantastic on any format." Thumbs Up!
 
Mike said:
For me, it's DSD, R2R and Vinyl. High res PCM is hit or miss I'm finding. I'm also finding some of my latest CD's sounding absolutely superb.

With my T+A PDP 3000 HV soon shipping, I'm super excited to be spinning some of my latest CD and SACD's, not to mention its world class DAC.


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Mike, R2R songs are purchased as tape reels or are you home recording? Follow up, why not a DSD and PCM Recorder?

Jack said:
I agree, no matter what format it is in crap mastering and engineering sounds like crap. Several overpriced re-issues have proven that.
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Golucid said:
Food for thought, " A well recorded and mastered song will sound fantastic on any format." Thumbs Up!
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agree!
 
o0OBillO0o said:
Mike, R2R songs are purchased as tape reels or are you home recording? Follow up, why not a DSD and PCM Recorder?





agree!
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I buy reels from Elusive Disc and The Tape Project. There are other sites too.

Not sure about the last part of your question.


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In my view alone there is no such thing as "hip formats" and "unhip formats". I just used whatever I like that works, period. I could care less what is "hip" or not.
Again, that's just me.
 
Mike said:
I buy reels from Elusive Disc and The Tape Project. There are other sites too.

Not sure about the last part of your question.


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It was a follow up question. If you answered home recording, my question was, Why not a DSD and PCM Recorder?

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What's hip is Vinyl. What's not hot is that we have to dig, research, and share to find the best recordings of our favorite music.

So I suppose we can use a high resolution, digital, recording device to put all music in the digital domain. I think needle drops are hip & hot right now.
 
The Tascam product looks dated. Isn't the Ayre QA-9 the way to go? I am looking for a premium needle drop solution.

o0OBillO0o said:
It was a follow up question. If you answered home recording, my question was, Why not a DSD and PCM Recorder?

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Mike said:
Analog to Digital Converter Shootout: Which Sounds Best? (All Files Now Corrected and Available) | Analog Planet


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Mike, saw that- beat me to posting it.

M. Fremer, bless his heart, is doing the right thing. However, he can never seem get it right. 60hz hum? On his system?

Technical quibbles aside, I sure hope this gets the word out to what recordings are good/ bad AND some way of rapidly measuring once every thing is digital. I sure love to share with the world those $1000 hot stampers (google search, article in WSJ).

Lastly, the Dynamic Range Database (google it), if thats what you're thinking, is a start for single factor assessment, but I need a little bit more to say a recording with a DR15 value, X Genre, and Y process equals sonic heaven.
 
Realistically, the DR database is useful only to compare different masterings of the same recording, and even then is only one factor (of course). Depending on the piece of music, one can have a high DR reading but still have sonically detrimental hard peak limiting.
 
rbbert said:
Realistically, the DR database is useful only to compare different masterings of the same recording, and even then is only one factor (of course). Depending on the piece of music, one can have a high DR reading but still have sonically detrimental hard peak limiting.
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Rob, you got that right! I was browsing the DR DB last night and saw that the peak levels of some, really lots, when to 0dB- and clipped several times across an album.

If only I could export the data, so I can filter the tracks that clip and sort by each factor of year, album, artists, track, etc.. Looks like plan is set out to make and even better DR DB?
 
My simple take on things:

The MP3/Compressed format is here to stay. I'm not terribly happy about it. But until the masses begin to change the way they listen to their favorite tunes, this is going to be the dominant format.

The FLAC/"Lossless" format is also here to stay. Heck, it was even trending for a very short while. That said, this format is already beginning to regress back to what it was during it's emergence - a niche that only appeals to the people who give an actual f$@ about sound quality.

The CD / Redbook format will be around for a little while longer - but its' day in the limelight is over. Personally, I think this format is in a rough spot. The mp3/download crowd no longer sees the point in owning a physical music library, and the format simply isn't 'cool' enough to be supported by vinyl collectors. And audiophiles? They're too busy beating off to DSD. The only thing that CD has going for it at the moment, is quantity. I suppose affordability also factors in - if you're one of the few dinosaurs who still collect shiny discs.

Despite all of the controversy surrounding the DSD / High Res format, I think it's pretty safe. So long as there are audiophiles who are willing to sacrifice their first-born child to cover the cost of their 48029483290-bit library, there will be DSD.

And lastly, we have vinyl. I really do think we are living in something of a 'golden age' when it comes to media. Vinyl records have been trending for awhile now, and while I honestly believe the trend will soon begin to fade, it's a medium that is clearly here to stay.

Well, that's my take on the subject!
 
What is the disposable income demographic for each of the formats currently available. My thought, while not founded, product; regardless of format, will be readily available to the demographic willing to spend the money. Example, McIntosh, Esoteric and other high-end brands exist for us -- we are willing to spend the money. The masses want Samsung [razor thin profit margins]. I.E., there's a bed for every butt, right?
 
Most here seem to be commenting on what is here to stay. That's a lot different from what's 'hip' as in the thread title!

So what is hip is the LP, cassette and 8-track in that order. LPs never really went away (the year of least production was about 1992 or so depending on who you talk to) and have been 'hip' ever since. The 8-track... its ascendency with hipsters seemed to reach its zenith about 10 years ago... it seems though that the cassette is seeing a resurgence now. I have a box set of cassettes issued by a local band here in the Twin Cities (Seawhores) on a European label. The entire run sold out in something like 12 minutes. The box is made by hand and hand-painted. It is typical of underground releases, even by more notable artists. Anyone here seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Warner Brothers issued the soundtrack on cassette and sold it out (in case you've not seen the movie, which I think was really pretty good and a lot of fun, and no spoiler, a cassette figured prominently in the plot).

It remains to be seen if the CD will obtain hipster status; there are hints that it might in another 10 years or so. Certainly the current file codices will not, even though they are likely to hang around for a while.

I don't get why the 8-track became hip, even when it was explained to me. Maybe it was all those years I spent putting myself through college as a service technician, I had to fix a lot of 8-track players. I can understand the cassette- to me they sounded better than the CD when the CD first appeared. But part of being 'hip' these days has a lot in common with dumpster diving ... pulling old audio gear out of the trash and pressing it into service once again. FWIW though there is a very lively used market on cheap turntables...
 
atmasphere said:
Most here seem to be commenting on what is here to stay. That's a lot different from what's 'hip' as in the thread title!

Blah blah blah...
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Hey atmasphere, thanks for putting down your thoughts. My response is not a personal attack, but a conjecture to your comments. Remember audio is fun and so isn't this forum.

Now, I'm going to use Urban dictionary to define hip.

"Cooler than cool, the pinnacle of what is "it". Beyond all trends and conventional coolness"

I disagree with you. Everyone who has commented has to some degree, spoken there opinion on what's hip. It's purely subjective. Moreover, what is here to stay and what's hip are not mutually exclusive. Sarcastically, you forgot to put in wax cylinders! (though if you make one and sell it, and limited edition recordings, I am sure you will make some money.)

Here is one to discuss, is it hip or not? Recording Vinyl to YouTube in order to share free music (and to create a new art form at the same time!)

Link here: https://www.youtube.com/user/vwest1ife/videos
 
^^ when cutting something out of a post, isn't the protocol to use [snip]? as in:

Hey atmasphere, thanks for putting down your thoughts. My response is not a personal attack, but a conjecture to your comments. Remember audio is fun and so isn't this forum.

Now, I'm going to use Urban dictionary to define hip.
[snip]
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-or do I really ramble on that interminably?? Don't answer- my GF already did...

Here in the Twin Cities I've been active in the local music scene for years so my bandmates and I see and play with a lot of bands, so it should be no surprise that my view is different- its based on hipsters and the Urban Dictionary's definition included. So apparently we disagree despite thinking we are using the same definition. No worries- I just play LPs because I like them...

Recording LPs (and 78s) to YT has been around a long time- I often use it as I really hate iTunes to check out a band. It seems faster to me if I want to show someone a bit of music, to just find it on YT. If I don't know the name of the band or song but I know some of the lyrics often YT can find it.
 
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