Analog Versus Digital

[Tywais]

Why does analog sound better than digital?

Music was forever changed in 1983. Up to that year we had lived in a digital-audio-free world, where musicians and the music industry flourished in a state of pure analog bliss. Vast numbers of people actually listened to music--without doing anything else--on a regular basis.

An analog recording corresponds the variations in air pressure of the original sound. A digital recording is a series of numbers that correspond to the sound's continuous variations, but the numbers have to be reconverted to analog signals before they can be listened to. No wonder analog and digital sound so different from each other.

I'm not going to argue that analog is, or will ever be more popular than digital. Or cheaper, or more convenient, easier to use, more durable or that analog will reverse male pattern baldness. Analog just sounds better than digital. Listening to a well-recorded LP, you hear humans making music; with digital it's more about sound for sound's sake.

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[CarlBkk]

It's the age-old arguments that even professionals and writers have given up arguing about.

Analog sounds more lifelike, despite it's cracks and pops, than digital. The music can involve you more IF it's a good recording and IF the equipment is excellent.

But..

Modernday high-end digital players can sound more and more analog...which means they have a "warmth" to their sound whilst providing every nuance of detail. Still....get a good recording on vinyl and play it on a top SME, get the same track on CD and play through a top Wadia and see which you like more. I'm betting that for myself, I'd like both and just admit that their sound is slightly "different" but neither is better. Maybe after living with each for a few months I could decide.

However, for convenience sake AND the recent improvements in components and value for money of digital players, I'd go digital.

[Traxster]

Tywais,

yep I agree.

Gimme the good old LP any day.......

At least analog sounds like people actually playing

rather than sounds being manipulated by someone in a sound recording studio.

ANALOG RULES...!!!

[Traxster]

'Music was forever changed in 1983'............

maybe that's what Don Maclean was talking about in American Pie ??

[Tywais]

There's a similar debate regarding vacuum tube (valves for the Brits) versus solid state. Before I came to Thailand I built vacuum tube amplifier & preamplifier and designed my own speakers. Everyone who listened to my setup stated it was the best sound they ever heard. The clarity, sharpness was excellent versus an equivalent solid state version I had. Again, it's probably as much the sound difference as anything else such as THD. The argument for tubes was that there was a broader harmonic content giving a "cleaner" sound.

[rockyysdt]

When declaring that analogue audio reproduction sounds better than digital one must ensure any comparison is being evaluated in an informed way.

Any comparison should ensure that the digital music source being compared has been stored using WAV, an uncompressed storage method which keeps maximum audio quality for playback.

Due to many advantages such as storage size and internet transportability, many digital recordings often use the MP3 format which is compressed. As a result digital playback is compromised.

Also, now that we have BluRay reproduction digital playback utilising HD DTS (10 times more information over CD) , the richness, dynamic range, and detail of digital audio is about to wipe the floor in terms of Analogue vs Digital.

Having said that, if you throw millions of baht into your turntable and limited edition vinyls, you're sure to end up with a kicka$ sound.

Edited December 5, 2010 by rockyysdt