eddie-baby

And oh great, your digital woes are over only if you are able to spend another 3 and a half grand on another box

Actually there is something in what tuga says. Digital is probably better resolution wise just as transistor amplifiers are technically better than valves. A valve amp dealer even told me that once, its just valves can tend to sound better and more life-like. Same applies to records probably, apart from the clicks, pops and the rest of it. Distortion or not it doesn't really matter if tonally it sounds closer to what our simple/complex brains tell us is real why would anyone stamp their feet and say its clearly not as good. What I have come across though since we all went digital back in the 80s or whenever, much of the listening to it can become sometimes tiresome. Perhaps that's why valves and vinyl are still around. People tend to change their digital bits a lot more than when things were analog as I remember it.

Not heard the best TTs but have heard a few good ones. Good tonal quality is there though as you say with playing records.

It does look really interesting actually. With anything like that these days it's always great through the power of Youtube to search the author as well. A lot of the time they are there in some form and you can actually listen to them before you buy as it'll give you a good insight before you start reading their books.

Yeah that's it. Trouble is there are people who are blindly convinced that it has no place anymore. As you say you get great enjoyment from either so that's all the evidence you/anyone ever needs really.

And smoking, do you still smoke things? Surely people only vape these days. I'll have to try some of yours though

That's really interesting actually Andrew, I'll take your word for it

You're obviously a genius Tuga as well as a good comedian who's wasted writing on forums.

You're hilarious!

By a neurologists definition we probably are organic/electronic, it's electrical impulses in the brain that controls thoughts and feelings, isn't it? Don't even begin to know enough about it to argue though. Still it's way more advanced than even what the most advanced digital systems that are available, at the moment anyway And when they do become better we wont care about our digital/analog it'll just be a real, speakers might have moved on a bit then as well.

Yes ok but there is more to it though, it's nothing magical or a made up fantastic absurdity as you suggest people make up. If it was that simple designers would just all be aiming for the same target. Humans are not binary. Otherwise someone would make a song up and everyone else who was a musician would be able to replicate it identically. Its the same for equipment you cant measure something with primitive instruments that are limited to measuring frequency or whatever. It will give you something that is only good to that instrument that measured it. You can compare to something else that's been measured with it but its still a limited measurement. As you say though if its come from digital master put onto a record its still the digital file your listening to just via a record. So the way it's reproduced from that record is obviously the bit that's getting to or brain rather than the DAC it came from to make it an analogue record.

Yes ears are just an interface to a complex brain of course and we know everyone sensors are different from hearing tests, basically no one hears exactly the same. And the fact is out brains are all wired slightly differently as well. Thing is we have to generalise somewhere and that can be seen in peoples behaviour, what are they buying and listening to. And what are they spouting on about on forums

Yes but we are analogue or more organic actually creatures, and digital now, CD or higher resolution as it is now available with streaming or whatever is electronic which is then converted back to an analogue signal we can listen to. I'm sure there'll be a point where a hi-res file will be so wide and so flawlessly converted that even an analogue or organic animal can never tell the difference between it and real life. For now though we have our digital mediums and converters we use for music playback. Analogue sources with their nasties aside as some have all ready been mentioned are still closer to organic than anything digitally stored and converted. Is this why perhaps some people find it more pleasing to the ear or perhaps more human like, and not all of it obviously, as its quite apparent you are listening to a record rather than a real life event (well you are listening to a real life event just a recorded one that's all).

Yes! 100% agree and for classical that is probably a night and day situation of overall better on all counts. Fluffed up stylus certainly are a pain, static dirt on the record, imperfections, whatever, it's all coming back to me slowly Such a different experience full analog though. And 'human voice' the thing that I've ditched so many 'good DACs' because of it sounded irritable It's like a case of you'd never have found the right DAC mate (although some are extremely good can't really complain that much). But it's a bit of a case of some of what you were/are longing is actually only on a record I hope I don't think of exploring tapes again as well. That was my 'main' medium for many many years. Had some great tape decks over the years that sounded phenomenal, I'm probably forgetting how good, it was that long ago.

Without turning other threads into vinyl vs CD or whatever bun fights on the side, thought I'd do another thread. It's been beaten to death already this as most things have, but found a short article as well that some might be interested in. https://www.blueaura.co.uk/blog/human-ear-prefer-analog-digital-sound/ We have been touching on this in other threads with things such as advances in technology and some expensive to very expensive DACs and their stepped waveforms. As well as brief chat about why some audiophiles have ditched vinyl. Right my view is in general digital is better, more accurate, dynamic and flawless not to mention versatile, to name a few. But I've been playing with a 'new/old' turntable for a while now with multiple different cartridges and have to say even with very low cost cartridges it can do things that not even some of the best DACs I've ever heard can do. Records with all their idiosyncrasies just present sound that digital can't. And instruments and human voice can sound very special to my ear. I think I've been listening to digital so long now I've totally forgot what analog can do in a good system. It really is something listening to records again, it's not all 'amazing' far from it some of it's total naff, but the parts that are good, really are! Don't want to sound like a convert I don't think that'll ever happen again, but there's certainly more than worthy space for it still going forward in the modern digital world I would say. And this is just the sound now, there's obviously the connection, ritual, and collector, cover work etc aspect as well that's what people love as well, but it is two separate things listening to analog over digital to analog conversion.