Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Vol IV No 8

An experience I had moments ago may be illustrative in regard to this digital vs. analog argument.  I was listening to Casey Kasem's Top 40 on 102.7 in Miami, which I know is digital because it says so in the closing credits: "digitally re-mastered."  A Steely Dan song was playing when I tuned in and it sounded good - I couldn't tell it was digital.  I experienced a momentary panic: "Maybe my whole ideology is mistaken!"  Then I turn up the volume.  Aha!  In an all-analog version, the sound becomes richer and remains focused.  Here it became obvious the sound was all shot through with idle speaker cone movement.

Vol IV No 7

Here is my method for determining whether a song from the analog era is or is not digitalized in a given version I am hearing, as, for example, on the radio.  An all-analog version of the song will become more pleasant-sounding and compelling as you increase the volume to the threshold of distortion.  A digital version will become painful to the ears as you do the same thing.  So that, with a digital version your tendency is always to turn the volume down, while with all-analog playback your tendency is to turn it up.

Vol IV No 6

I now believe it may be possible to ascertain the digital/non-digital status of vinyl records with nothing more than a jeweller's loupe.  Obtain several vinyl records which you know are digitally processed and several you know are all-analog.  Use the loupe to examine the grooves closely at varying points on each record.  You should note that the digitalized record grooves will be very, very smooth, while the all-analog grooves will have all sorts of ripples, which correspond to (infinite) audio detail.  (The digital grooves are smooth because of filtering which conceals the sampling frequency.) 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Vol IV No 5

Clearaudio's "Statement" turntable, with linear-tracking tonearm, is advertised on page 132 of  the November 2012 issue of Stereophile magazine.  I would recommend this product.  The massive construction will simulate the mass of industrial record cutting machines.  This accords with my Principle of Audio Reproduction Accuracy, viz.: A playback system is accurate only to the degree that it is identical to the system by which the recording was produced.  Edison's cylinder machine had this virtue implicitly.  Use the "Statement" to record your vinyl to magnetic tape for final playback.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Vol IV No 4

An ad on the rear cover of Stereophile, November 2012, which promotes a digital audio product, states in dramatic italics that it is "for those who still believe in progress." Readers of this blog know about my sound-on-film product concept. But progress can also occur in other analog audio technologies. For example, consider how an antique wax cylinder phonograph could be improved by being produced in a high-precision modern version according to modern machining techniques. I recently wrote to Donald Trump suggesting that a top quality vintage gramophone playing "like new" vintage 78's might have truly remarkable sound quality.