Mikey Fremer vs Ask Paul
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- Опубліковано 28 лют 2021
- Analog Planet and Stereophile reviewer Michael Fremer tackles the question Paul posed earlier: distortion in vinyl? If you love Mikey Fremer as much as we do, you're going to want to watch this video. Classic!
Have you gotten your copy of the Audiophile's Guide to setup? Make magic with your system using this guide and CD.
www.psaudio.com/products/the-... - Наука та технологія
25-30yrs ago I owned a high end CD player, Pioneer PD91 (£900 new). I had auditioned many players before I purchased it and it beat all comers, even machines costing more than three times as much. I was totally into CD and had a large music collection.
One fateful day I visited a friend and listened to his vinyl setup. Pink Triangle Export, Rega RB250 and Audio Technica OC5 run into a Rotel preamp. It totally blew the Pioneer out of the water.
I immediately went out and purchased a decent deck of my own and have barely played a CD since.
Luckily a local second hand record store did me a deal where they swapped my CDs for the same albums on vinyl at no extra cost, often I got two records in exchange for one CD. Imagine that happening today.
He speaks 100 mph but you can't stop listening him. Distortion or not 😂
The audible distortion is to prove his point
He spews nothing but a distortion of reality.
Mike is the best.
i stopped listening to him after one sentence
I love Michael Fremer's reviews. I love my PS Audio gear. Two icons.
You brought an album to Audio Advice “Music Matters” show a couple years ago in Charlotte and played it in a small room and we all just about fainted. No one could leave that room until the manager came and said we’re closing the store and turning out the lights. I’ll never forget us six guys with you in that room and that music that was produced. Thank you!
Please please come back to Charlotte soon!
Best,
Mark
What an audiophile calls an upgrade, an engineer calls an eq change!
Great to see you doing a presentation again....so miss these bits!
Michael has also gone quiet on the Analog Planet channel, an upload per month
Great video! Not often that someone posts or even knows about Analog to digital in real terms. I do A to D since 2000 and it opens up a whole new perspective on listening to and comparing music quality.
Wow, lost track of time n watched the whole thing. Fascinating. Thanks Paul (and vinyl friend).
Great!! Thanks for this. My two favourite audio gurus!
Fantastic bit! Loved the enthusiasm.
"Don't let anybody tell you what to think, but I'm going to tell you what to think..." WTF is that? There are so many variables in the signal chain, that there IS NO MAGIC BULLET TO GREAT SOUND. Once you get past that, mastering plays a major role in sound quality. Even if you have a great system, bad mastering makes all that time, effort and expense a total waste. I have records that sound amazing and ones that sound like crap. I have CD's the sound great and ones that sound like crap. SO, listen and collect whatever makes you happy, and ENJOY THE MUSIC!
As they say in the computer world, garbage in, garbage out.
I think Mikey was applying the ol' "audiophile" psychology. It's so engrained in some, they're beyond realizing they even do it.
@@ToadStool942 The problem is red book is a glass ceiling. On a great system vinyl and tape leaves it behind.
@@UberPilot Actually, you do err. The glass ceiling is not with redbook or most any reasonable format but rather with the playback system itself. But you're close. Well, not really. :)
@@ToadStool942 Name the CD player that will beat a hi end table. Doesn’t exist. I’ve seen the best one made demoed and than he put in the LP and crushed it. Show me a CD that will beat the Flock of Seagulls (first pressing) when it comes to rhythm timing and pacing. Doesn’t exist. Some day.
Thank you for your time. Very inspirational and educating!
Awesome analog vs digital explanation! Thank you Michael Fremer!
Now we need a video explaining what to look for in a quality turntable.
it is cartridge that makes sound and is the most important thing on a turntable you ask me. There are wires directly from the needle housing to the rca plugs without any electronics.
a very good turntable without a good cartridge does not give good sound. so the cartridge is the most important thing on a turntable
That's why there's analogplanet and Stereophile!
@@AnalogPlanet Have you heard a Tru-Glider standalone tonearm from Integrity Hifi in Canada yet?
Already a bunch of those. Including some from this Guy
@@60zeller everybody has a reply. I can't find the videos you speak of.
Groundhog Day?
That was informative sir about vinyl vs cd's.
I never knew it all along..
And you've got a great collections, I guess it has a great value now a days.
hi paul, i have jack outputs from my keyboard and connected an xlr adapter to use it directly without a mixer, could it be that this suddenly boosted my volume or does it seem like that? Greetings
Wow, that was a fast 19 minutes! I was captivated! ☮️🖖🏽
I do find it weird that as far back as 1987 and until now, there are still people who believe that anything with over 0.1 % total harmonic distortion autoatically is "bad sounding". Most of the time without even listening to the actual amp in action.
Same with wow and flutter.
If w&f is over 5% people automatically say it's "bad sounding".
@@QoraxAudio Without (hopefully cheap) turmtables with high wow and flutter, there would probably no genre of music known as Funk.
I am a vinyl guy, bought my first LP's in the eighties. Fortunately I never got rid of them. What the technology of today gets out of the grooves amazes me. To put it plainly: you don't need very expensive stuff. A vintage (rim drive) turntable in good shape, a nice cartridge (jico sas needle is a budget tip) and a modern tube phono preamp. This will in my subjective view outperform any commercialy available digital format, including streaming of course, with ease ... just give it a try. Does vinyl ad distortion? Who cares, if even DSD doesn't come close. Once you have fallen in love with vinyl, you will start to collect it. 😀❤️
Nostalgia isn't associated with objective science
>budget tip
>almost 300 bucks
@@passengerseed We are talking about thousands of bucks for ultra high end mc cartridges. In comparison, for what you get soundwise from the jico sas, it's budget imho. My latest tip would be the Audio Technica AT VM95ML for around 160 bucks.
@@engineeringvision9507 Correct. But if objective science doesn't sound good to your ears, you have a problem. Otherwise of course, all is fine. So be it, I don't care.
Dear Paul, is there any chance that I can buy a copy of signed the-audiophiles-guide-and-reference-disc by you? Thank you. Regards.
Never thoughtI would do this!
As a kid I was given Manilow Live I ve listened to it for years on all types of turntables maily lower end equipment I still don't own anything considered hi end, but I have to admit I do listen to it on Spotify and still find myself choosing the LPs (even after all the years of playing them and mishandling them incorrectly) to listen too first there's just something missing from the sound. So if its due to distortion, ok!
Funny seeing that PS Audio pre-amplifier. My first ‘audiophile’ pre-amplifier was a PS Audio ‘The Source’. I sold it in 1996 to a young VP of Banco Popular in Quito, Ecuador. The sound was so impressive, he just had to have it after listening to it along with the rest of my sound system. BTW, at that time, I thought PS audio meant Power Supply Audio, because the power supply was a separate little unit with an external transformer. Good memories...
Soon as this Emma Demi gets over Mikey can't wait for the next videos that you put out miss you a lot God bless🙏🎸🎵🎼
Mikeys stories, hilarious as ever! 🤣 Love the vinyl sound of my Transrotor ZET 3/Audio Mods Classic II/Audio Technica VM540ML/Graham Slee Reflex M2 "Era Gold" system much much more than any digital format btw. 🙂
I met you back in the 70’s when you were on WBCN ! I have your comedy LP also. Great videos also!
Love Michaels choice of vinyl 👌 Dr Lonnie Smith.
It looks like the transfer switch installed in Mr. Frehmers house was wired with aluminum wire. I am aware that most electrical distribution is done with aluminum conductors however, in this case I wonder if this has been part of his problem?
All of this is "recording dependent". As each recording , does have it's own signature; regardless of the format. We're just hacking thru the Audio Jungle, in the hopes of finding some "nuggets" of "real music".
Yet, you still have to get up every 18 minutes to turn the damn record over! Primitive!
@@edthefirst2859 - "Oh ! the Humanity ! " lol
I thought we were getting some comments from Michael Fremer? There appears to be a long haired hippy in his listening room🤣🤣🤣🤣👍🤣
Gotta love Mikey’s passion. ❤️
whats up with that reverb/echo in his room, never heard anything like that.
He did mention the dCS Scarlatti DAC briefly but, before that, I wondered if it was a fair contest as I got the impression - rightly or wrongly - that he was happy to spend an arm and a leg on a turntable, arm and cartridge and perhaps rather less on a really good digital playback system.
Right he is. Just recently i built an amplifier designed by Nelson Pass, where you can tinker with the distortion profile. For me the right amount of 2nd order distortion sounds so much better - it´s just insane. It is measurable and very clearly heard. Just try it for yourself - you won´t regret it.
what make is that turntable, and which cartridges does MF use?
That is the calmest I have ever seen Mr Fremer. All of my (very few) LPs sound very crisp and clean, but a few REALLY pop out a super detailed sound stage, and shimmering voices (human and instrument). I like the interface with Vinyl, but I listen to Digital on Thumb drives in my car. I put on my Pink Floyd Wish you were here LP, when Shine on you crazy diamond plays, David Gilmore's guitar just sings, and the room is filled with the music. Some other LPs sound good but not magic, but I have not had a CD come alive like PF WYWH, or Diana Krall VBof. I am sure that a very high end transport and well mastered SACD might equal what I here. I have a pretty basic system Rega Planar 2, Sprout 100, Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 (on stands) Infinity subs.
Aha. Cause you are vinyl fan and spend zero money on good cd player and finding good cd releases?
" LPs sound very crisp and clean" Hahaha, no no no no no.
I have pretty good vinyl setup, and even just as good setup for digital. Digital always, ALWAYS outperform the vinyl.
That these guys claim to hear the difference, of course they do, this is super easy, because it is super easy to hear how lo-fi should sound. Get real!
Mikey pleasure and informative as ever!
Can we download these demo files somewhere and hear them for our selves? I've heard very good vinyl and then compared to digital, over Bluetooth and the digital was still hands down better. And I even like an analog sound. In my own system I have an R2R DAC, pure class A solid state amp and a quality tube amp as well.
Not that it would be practical for me to setup a vinyl system and library, if I wanted to, but at the moment, I really don't.
I'm not putting down anyone who prefers vinyl though. It's different and if it sounds better to you than it's better for you. It is also a much more involving, tactile experience and I completely get that.
My two favourite audio UA-camrs, I have followed Michael for several years, think we exchanged emails a few times and he seems a great guy, lost count of the recordings he has introduced me to.
Let me 'splain: when my battery powered preamplifier is "off" it produces a hum through the speakers. I turned it off and shot the video not paying attention to the hum. Listeners heard it. Paul EQ'd and reposted the video so now there's no hum but I sound like I'm in a tin can....it happens.
That's why my comment disappeared I left you.
I was wondering have you tried the new valve amplifiers switch mode power supply on the Manley Labs amplifiers on the lathes, it's much superior should give a better sound quality on the lacquer.
Did you say you had a transformer before on your mains? you should use two site transformers and some run capacitor, 1 transformer at 5 kVA second one at 3.3 kVA both with 5 run capacitors at 100uF at 440v in parallel on the primary coils, outputting 32 amps. To your equipment. And use dedicated lines for neutral and earth and have a suppressor on the Earths. And make sure the site Transformers are filled with transformer oil
Yep, there are people you can listened to forever. Fremer fascinates.
Digital needs somehow needs to add 0.5 or even 0.3 Digital are just 1 & 0's . Then you would get the reverb & eco into the sound. - 0.3 - 0 - 1- 1.3 ..vinyl recordings accidentally did it. That's why digital is SO complicated. They are forever trying to get something back which isn't there . I maybe simplifying things a bit. CRAZY ! Look at the price of the Techdas Zero turntable......And digital too! MSB Select Dac etc..... Crazy prices... Thanks Peter & thanks Michael. It would be nice to come back in 500 years time,and see what's around. The Tecdas Turntable & MSB Das will be in a museum somewhere...
Great info. Made me laugh and learn. Fellow old farts. Shockingly right about the power thing. Not sure why the xfer switch caused the signal injection (crosstalk?) but I run full wave inverters here due to utility brownouts. Too many refrigerators, printers, even a stove, failed due to switching power supply transient amplification issues.
Miles Showell is indeed super nice. He took the time to give some very helpful answers to questions I had.
I wonder if Michael has ever tried any other flagship digital audio players for example the Cayin N8 or the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch?
The Cayin N8 has vacuum tubes in it.
I own a very good DAC/SACD player with no tubes in it.
@@AnalogPlanet I commented that because you mentioned that you use an Astell and Kern player.
Mikey F is not the first person that I have heard complaining about a "Generator Transfer Switch" adding garbage to the inside power distribution. Over the years, as an electrician i did many call outs to try fixing them.
Most expensive way is to add a HUGE Lorin Rectifier unit wired into a Battery backup and a DC to AC Inverter and run the house off this filtered power. $25,000++
Cheapest fix was to bypass the Auto switch and put a 50/70/100 Amp breaker (Based on Gen Wattage size) in the main panel and a positive interlock to lock out the Gen breaker until a power outage. Then on an outage you must throw the main 200 Amp Breaker, slide the interlock over to lock out the main, start the Gen set and turn the 50/70/100 amp breaker on. $600+
Bingo! I've still got that McCartney album from when it came out in the UK. However, I don't have the hifi to match, or the ancillary devices and listening room either. (Exit stage left to buy lottery ticket.)
You are a walking wakeup call 😄 Michael Fremer you are a joy
My son just walked in the room and thought this guy was Jerry Springer and then about 10 minutes later my wife comes in to tell us that supper is ready and said the exact same thing.
I have a problem with the video: can’t afford the space for the vinyl library let alon the library itself. In other words: many of us need high quality recordings that take little physical space. Streaming services make a great deal of sense. I do wish they sounded as good as the original quality recordings.
One of the best listenings to Lou Rawls's Tobacco Road I ever experiences was when I was 18 (in year 1980) during a girl firends birhtday party - her mother had put the original record on the turntable of a B&O system - I was flashed right away and got addicted to Lou Rawls since then.
Nevertheless, I never took the effort of stepping up to true vinyl - my turntable is in its original shipping box in the basement together with about 100 records.
Instead, I am streaming (pls forgive me for my favor of convenience).
Despite an old and quite cheap USB DAC for my PC I use a tube amp and a nice fully analog studio device to add some kind of analog distortion, the SPL Qure. To be honest, I am quite happy with this setup, knowing well that there are far better systems out there.
How much has your hearing degraded with age?
A year after Michael recorded this video which he use the term “sterile“ with regard to digital recordings, I started to use the same term never hearing this video until now. I thought I was a lone voice crying out into the wilderness but I see that Michael uses the same term popped into my head just recently. I have to say it sounds somewhat erie
I hate the fact that so much modern vinyl comes from a digital file when the original recording was analog
And worse. I've seen video of the master 1 inch stereo analogue tapes in the pressing plant converted to 96khz before cutting the laquer. How dumb and what missed opportunities
All I know is the human hearing range is not liniar so the lower end is less sensitive to us. We naturally emphasise this part to give it warmth that's why we naturally find records nicer.Digital removes unwanted noises but also the subtle nieuances of the recording
dolby noise reduction removes good music.
I love that deck Michael has in the video, it probably cost more than my house. But, I bet it sounds pretty, pretty, pretty nice!
What is it?
I think it’s the TechDAS Air Force Zero, possibly the most expensive turntable on the market, at around 500.000$
Totally makes sense that every step of recording etc adds distortion.
I think now that we are seeing a lot more 96/24 type material coming straight from the artist there is less of a battle, obviously initial production and recording choices plus mixing and mastering choices lend to final quality outcome, but essentially printing to vinyl which I still love, (there's just something about holding it) is still imparting a level of bit reduction and compression to it that detracts from the original recording that's just physics and shouldn't really be in question, then you could argue that most streaming platforms add compression and reducing a recording to CD quality also sqdishes it, add to that most people listening environments
ooms are not treated correctly so peeps are then battling with that issue. But I'll never forget actual listening to a lot of high quality 96\24 digital records in my first mastering studio and I can say with all honestly that I had never heard those tracks properly before, 100% tiny details that just were not there on previous listens, but then are most people going to spend upwards of 50\60k on speakers and room treatment to enjoy their audio? Probably not, so what ever the factor I guess what ever makes the listener happy is ok.
Fremer makes very good points, especially about production / recording choices often deliberately involve tubes. I think he's right that people often pretend to be purists but then neglect to include the complete audio chain. I also agree that vinyl can sound incredible, perhaps even better than singe-rate DSD given the right material (and an absurdly hi-fi vinyl setup). Nevertheless, some material is better suited to digital than to vinyl, particularly music that is very difficult to track in the sub-bass regions. Of course, we must also acknowledge the deleterious effect of wear upon high frequency fidelity, however gradual and subtle.
All that notwithstanding, my biggest reason for loving SACD is actually the incredible resolution and soundstaging possible with a good multichannel setup. Vinyl might sound subtly better on some material in some cases, but multichannel hi-res has 2.5 times more information than stereo, added nonlinearly with all the phase information included properly. There is no adequate comparison between pure DSD 5.0 multichannel and the best stereo vinyl can achieve -- they are totally different experiences. Of course, most people pour oodles of money into achieving the best stereo playback possible, but an excellent DSD multichannel experience can be had for mid-fi money that is in another league. Granted, people who are only interested in rock, pop, etc. will be hard-pressed to find any true DSD multichannel recordings, but for classical, there's no competition.
My experience partially parallels yours. In most genres I generally prefer the sound of lps on my turntable setup up to the same recordings on my SACD/CD player (a comparably high-end player to the turntable/tonearm/cart setup), regardless of the digital format- whether it be rock, jazz, 'world music,' R & B, or the like.
For large classical orchestral recordings, however, I often prefer the digital format, especially SACD, in re. to its potentially greater nuance in presenting the 'high density' of musical info in such works, plus the intense dynamics and extended frequency range of such recordings- especially since for vinyl to reasonably compete in this genre it generally needs to be a higher-quality recording and better-condition lp (and most used lps bought online or in stores are just not in such great shape). My SACD listening is all in stereo, as that's my setup, so my preference is not based upon the multi-channel capability of various classical music SACDS.
Ok, I am sure you’re right, but…….can you hear these differences with a $500. Turntable with a Ortofon Red cartridge, vs a really good cd!!!???
I was going to put in a generac generator in my home but now I’m steering clear of it!
Second time around is the charm! Paul McGowan vs Michael Fremer ---- Who's going to win? DSD or ANALOG? Are they both right? or simply enjoy the music! Both guys have super wonderful systems. Michael's LP turntable system costs as much as his house. Advantage ANALOG.
Let’s put the records mentioned in the description please, thanks.
Back in the day they added distortion (scratches, clicks, buzz, etc.) to make things sound more real or less artificial. Radio stations did it all the time as did DJs.
Not an easy task to explain my view about Vinyl / Digital, but let's go.
When I really started with vinyl, not long ago, around 7 years or so, I used to buy every cool one I could think of, but with time I began to filter, and reduced the scope to those that were the closest to the masters, simply because I realised I preferred to ear the real thing that was recorded, to feel closer to the creation, and I love that feeling.
So, first point to me : Fidelity.
Not every record sounds good, of course, so, since another preference of mine is to ear great sound, I added that filter to the search. For example I don't care if it is the first pressing of Ramones, I like the music but not the sound, so I won't invest time and money for that, on the contrary, I have two copies (one sealed) of Eric Clapton's MTV Unplugged, I hope you get my view.
Second point: Great sonic experience
During the process of improving my staff at home I learnt how important is a set of speakers (Dali Opticon 6), a dedicated amp instead of an A/V (Emotiva XPA Gen 3), a good set of speaker cables (recently doubled the AWG and the result was spectacular), and a nice Preamp instead (again) an A/V (Emotiva XSP-1), sorry Paul, PS Audio is still out of my budget ;-). Sure most of you know people don't understand that, I do know.
All that machinery has nothing to do with vinyl, I know, but it matters, whatever the format you like if you don't have a minimum to appreciate it there is no point to talk about any format, I'll come to this point later.
BWT I have a RME ADI-2 Pro fs as dac and an Origin Live TT with a Dynavector 10x5.
So, Third point, capable machinery.
I apply both Fidelity and good sound filters to either vinyl or digital records, of course in both formats I have incredible experiencies. But here comes the fourth point: path.
I have LPs in both formats, and my preference is always the vinyl version, the analog path. I don't know how is the digital version generated, and I don't understand why they sound so different, but this is my experience. Remember, filters applied and music played in the same system.
So, given my conditions (fidelity, sound quality, machinery) and experience, my preference to reproduce my filtered music is through the vinyl path.
And last but not least, the RME is both ADC and DAC, so I use it to digitize my best LPs, getting a very very very close sound between both formats, so much that I also prefer my vinyl digitized content to their digital editions.
As somebody else said, and I agree, it is a matter of personal preferences
* I've just been Fremerized!! Thank You, Mike. *
I love ripping Vinyl to DSD...the music has no digital harshness or brightness but still has that Vinyl warmth...just my ears, happy ears.....no vinyl inconveniences ...
Did the sound change,,,,?,, its hurt my ears now,,😲
Yep Paul adding distortion for the fun of it it's good he's not a mastering engineer
Why would you want to digitalize vinyl records and tapes? The signal then goes through a DAC which it turns back to analog plus added crap. Except if you want to listen to music on your mobile devices of course.
Ya i use power conditioning and a very noticeable improvement u need emi rfi filtering with low impedance
Awesome gentleman 😎👍
This is a actually true even in hi res but using adaptive, reconstruction filters, interpolation and accurate clocking it gets reduced massively.
2 Brilliant Hi Fi gurus, most enjoyable vid
The antidote about the listening party..the first time someone really hears Good imaging no matter the medium they call feel its the greatest they have ever heard..... I do love a good record and in love a good digital hell idgaf I just love good sounding music. Especially with tons of layers. ..... Have a good one guys
It is true that vinyl has the potential to sound better than super audio CD as a recording format but comparing apples to apples for the price point of the playback unit is where the question stands.
Examples are plenty of a vinyl version sounding better than a CD version but it's mostly about the CD version being poorly mastered. It's especially a bummer to realize when a digital ADC recorded version of a vinyl playback sounds better than the actual CD version.
Why was this reposted?
There was a ground-loop hum in the background of the original video. This reupload took care of that!
Maybe to get rid of some of the comments. I know I had a little back and forth with Mikey and his conclusions.
@@EliasTheHunter yeah right and made it sound worse thank god hes not a mastering engineer
Audiophiles are always listening to the final product. The magic actually happens four stages before during the initial recording process. If I recorded a program completely digital (with the exception of analog preamps and limiters which are often standard procedure) then mastered it on to vinyl, this guy would say the record sounds so much better. What made the records of decades ago sound so good was the extremely high amounts of distortion introduced into the initial recording process 'off the floor.' A single input strip of a Neve 1073 composed of lead can weigh 10lbs-- that's a lot of distortion. Finally, the REAL distortion comes with the magnetic tape recorder itself. It's huge and that's what makes it sound great.
I'm not surprised that the group Mike Fremer invited over to his house experienced the LP on his turntable as sounding substantially better than a top-of-the-line digital setup- but I'd bet that none of them ended up buying a turntable and going at least somewhat analog afterwards (Though I hope I'm wrong about that)!
Sadly, people don't seem to value great sound much nowadays, which is sad, because it's like great smell, great taste, great sight, and great sensations- it's really visceral and pleasurable (one of life's great pleasures IMO) if you open yourself up to it (or simply notice it from the start).
Quite the record collection...
Have been a big vinyl fan since the 70's,I have Tidal streaming and I still like my vinyl first.
Not me. On tidal no pops and tics and having to turn a damn record over every 15 minutes!
The words “a lot” was digitized in this clip. It came out as one word “alot”. 😅
I have both and play both, high res digital through a decent DAC and vinyl on a good system. From my experience, you have to spend way more for a great sounding turntable, tonearm, pickup-system, needle, phono-preamp, aso. to get close to a well mastered and great sounding high res digital recording. Only if you then spend even more on your analog audio equipment, you will surely surpass any digital format in sound quality. So, one must compare the cost of a good DAC to the cost of a good TT with a good system in the same price-range. In that case I believe the digital system will blow the analog out of the water. Spending 3 times the money on an analog system will then again surpass digital. Like to hear your thoughts on that......
Michael admitted that all playback methods introduce "distortion." So it's simply that he prefers the "vinyl" distortion. Plus the fact that "Mastering" (first or subsequent re-mastering) always changes the sound.
Excellent!
Awesome. Thanks
Look at all those records!!! I know this is only a small part of his collection.
there Cologuard samples
Dear Mr. Fremer.
And Reel to Reel sounds better than vinyl, right.
(My then budget pro-ject based) vinyl playback for me always had a mixture of flaws and undeniable advantages over my then budget digital playback kit: a bit of groove noise, a somewhat throaty character of the pickup, usually more prat and more visceral percussive power, and this authenticity that comes along with playing original media older records were originally issued with, breathing the air of the époque. now am 100% streaming from ssd, quobuz, or selected radio stations, and in the best case I can sense the air of the recording venue, as if the captured moments time travel to present days, but strangely its never me who (mentally) timetravels backwards to 50s, 60s, or 70s, which browsing in vinyl made me do… does that make sense at all to anyone out there?
In my experience most digital downloads from the major labels are lacking compared to a good digitized vinyl playback. I’d be happier if the labels offered downloads of digitized vinyl. Also the resolution matters with digitized vinyl, 192KHz is noticeably better than 96Khz if the playback gear is of sufficient quality.
When you write that, what you're actually asking for is a well mastered copy of the music. A lot of pop music is horribly produced, with masses of compression used. Ideally we'd a flat transfer without that compression. Why settle for a Vinyl rip that is compressed?
@@MaterLacrymarum The dynamic range of vinyl is less compressed than the digital downloads due to the physical limitations of cutting the grooves on the vinyl. But it’s more than just compression there’s actual sonic information that’s lacking from the digital downloads in many instances.
@@TorToroPorco Indeed - however the fact remains, Vinyl has less dynamic range than a digital recording is able to do. Further, don't compare apples and oranges. Commercially released chart hits, put up on streaming and downloads, are not targeting audiophiles, or even play back on hi-fi systems. From an audiophile perspective, they've been ruined by poor mastering (compressed). I agree. But they're the worst the format has to offer. All Vinyl, ad far as I know, uses RIAA equalization and Curve, for example. You can certainly find instances where compression on digital recordings is over-used. I'll give you an example right here - Alice Cooper's new CD is DR5!!! But I avoid such things - forewarned is forearmed. Compression of this sort is far less of a problem with Jazz and Classical.
I love Michael Fremer! Now I'm going to check out the PS Audio power plant...for that plug he gave your P15 and P20, you should gift it no charge to Michael!!!
I liked when the ps audio power plant was affordable... now it’s CRAZY expensive!
Married to a home inspector, I have seen firsthand the flaws in most homes electrical systems. No problem running a toaster, but not a high end audio system. I agree that a regenerator is more expensive than perhaps it needs to be, but think about the cost of bringing in a dedicated power line. The better your gear is the more it will benefit from clean power. Maybe you are among the lucky few who already enjoy relatively clean power. I bought a P15 and have never regretted it.
What's distortion though?
An empty concert hall has a dB around 35. All live performances have distortion.
Focusing on distortion to explain why some methods of recording or playback are better than others sounds like a red herring.
Ned Ryerson?
Needle nose Ned?! Bing!
Am I right, or am I right...
Deja Vu, Dear Paul.
He makes a good argument for vinyl. The only advantage of digital is low noise and it’s immunity to most outside influences( pops and clicks, rumble, tape hiss.). I can tell you that lossless digital is way better than mp3 crap they give us. Why Amazon and iTunes can’t give us lossless or dsd formats is a crime.
classic on vinyl is the biggest no go EVER
Micheal is fantastic. They seem to have quality, authentic characters down at Stereophile
You should hear a sony cdp xa50es cd player the insane sampling bit rate the way it reproduces music u hear sounds u never heard on the recording
Great to listen to Michael, always a source of great knowledge, sadly I do not have several houses to spend
on a turntable (hoping my existing machine of many years keeps going!!). Should one infer from Michael's
talk that perhaps all the "Modern" Re-Mastered Albums have at some part of the process been through a
Digital process ??
Yes, probably. Any LP or remastered LP since about 1979-1980 is likely to be digital. As I recall, the first digital LP released in the U.S. was Ry Cooder's Bop til you Drop in 1978.
Drum roll please................all the way from the Analog Planet......It's like asking Robin Williams to tell a single joke and 3hrs later..............(you're still laughing) you get the punch line. Kinda. I'm Joking with you Mikey! Thank you gentlemen for a great video. Now one question: does vinyl have less or more distortion vs. digital? Kidding
Paul, didn't we see this one yesterday?
Yup. Sorry. The old one had hum and this one's clear of it.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio Ohhhhh, well in that case... thank you!