Vinyl is more dynamic than Digital?

cmalak said:
So in terms of the physical medium's capability, Bob is right. CD (and certainly hi-rez digital) is capable of delivering a wider dynamic range than LP or tape but the reality is most digital recordings are mastered "hot" as BobM mentioned where the mastering engineers boosts the dBs across the entire song because artists and music studios want their songs/albums to sound loud because most people listen to the material on car radios, iPods, etc...(i.e., crappy play-back gear) and when you boost everything it makes it sound louder/clearer on inferior playback gear. This is known as the "Loudness" wars and much has been written about it. Generally speaking, LPs are marketed to a more discerning consumer and are generally mastered less "hot," meaning the mastering engineers retain more of the dynamic swings (soft to loud to soft etc...) because LP buyers are generally (again not always) more likely to have mid-fi to audiophile gear that is able to clearly showcase those dynamic swings/changes in a song, which by the way is one of the key things that makes music so enjoyable - that emotional roller coaster that a shift in dynamic can take you as part of the song's message.

If you google "loudness wars" and "compression" you will get a ton of hits on this. And of course there are a ton of differing opinions about this, even among mastering engineers but in terms of the medium's pure ability to deliver a wider dynamic range, digital (CD resolution on up) beats vinyl and tape.
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I could not agree more. I think you have it there.
 
dlb2 said:
Wait until digital downloads are the norm, then the generation that grew up with CDs will be nostalgic about them like we are with vinyl.

Of course I don't think it's "just" nostalgia. I think vinyl sounds better than digital...


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I hope that never happens! If that day comes it will be the day the music died in my book. I won't be able to get any new music, but at least I'll have the records and CDs I have on hand.
 
kiwi_1282001 said:
I disagree.

Downloads have no value at all. They are not physical media and many downloads are free.

It may help to think of it like this; CD's and Vinyl are physical. Physical = collectable. Collectable = potentially valuable.
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That has nothing to do with it as I see it. To me personally, vinyl records and CDs also have zero monetary value. The value is in the listening, artwork and liner notes and it is not monetary, it's cultural.
 
As many people have pointed out, digital music has a much wider dynamic range, better frequency response, lower distortion, etc. than vinyl. Of course, better specs don't do you any good if you don't know how to use that capability, and in my mind, that is why we are having this discussion. Compared to vinyl/analog playback, digital is in its infancy. We are still learning about digital artifacts that negatively influence the sound.

Just look at the number of filters on high-end DACs used to tame the sound. Now we know about pre-ringing where digital is distorted before the note plays. A few years ago that was science fiction. As time goes by we can expect more and more discoveries to be made that will allow digital music to reach its potential.

For example, just last week I installed a new power cord on my digital file player. This cord is designed to remove high frequency noise created by digital power supplies and circuits and reflected back onto the power line. I am still amazed at the improvement I am hearing from this upgrade, and now need to order another for my DAC. If that works even half as good as the previous one does I will be happy.
 
MusicDirector said:
. I'd be happier if it were 30 or 40 years ago.
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I'm with you on that although I'd like the 90's back when I was in my 20's lol!!! Do it right this time .
Anyway I think I'm starting to agree with the digital being the way of the future .
I'm analog from the get go. But while waiting for my turntable I've been listening to an average at best CD player . And the cd's I bought from the store are bright and not pleasing to the ears.
But the cd's I have that are recorded from hi Rez files(only2 ) are so much better than any digital I've heard(for a modest price ). I can't believe how good these sound and how bad the store bought CDs sound compared to them.
So I'm starting small. I'm going to order and IFI dac($250) and get the schiit Loki dsd ($150)to add to it . Just to give this whole digital thing a try. I figure the Loki adds dsd to any dac it would be good to have. I might bite the bullet and just order another with dac included but I'm not sure yet. I don't want to spend much until sure I like this.
I was always closed minded to cd/sacd due to the amt of money you had to spend to match the quality of vinyl. This has opened my eyes a bit. But vinyl will be hard to replace and I'm sure is years away from it.
 
Petro85 said:
I'm with you on that although I'd like the 90's back when I was in my 20's lol!!! Do it right this time .
Anyway I think I'm starting to agree with the digital being the way of the future .
I'm analog from the get go. But while waiting for my turntable I've been listening to an average at best CD player . And the cd's I bought from the store are bright and not pleasing to the ears.
But the cd's I have that are recorded from hi Rez files(only2 ) are so much better than any digital I've heard(for a modest price ). I can't believe how good these sound and how bad the store bought CDs sound compared to them.
So I'm starting small. I'm going to order and IFI dac($250) and get the schiit Loki dsd ($150)to add to it . Just to give this whole digital thing a try. I figure the Loki adds dsd to any dac it would be good to have. I might bite the bullet and just order another with dac included but I'm not sure yet. I don't want to spend much until sure I like this.
I was always closed minded to cd/sacd due to the amt of money you had to spend to match the quality of vinyl. This has opened my eyes a bit. But vinyl will be hard to replace and I'm sure is years away from it.
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I call BS on this Steve! :D
 
Lmao!!! Well I'm working and I'm all buzzed up on paint stripper. So maybe I'll sleep on it :)
 
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