"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Keith G wrote:
The worst offender here by far is Plowie - he hands it out like we have
all just got off the boat, but he don't got the balls to back up the
crap he posts with any concrete evidence or specific information.

Sigh. You prefer vinyl to CD. So in many ways have just got off the boat.

Take a CD and copy it to another CD. You'll not tell the difference
between them.

Take that same CD and copy it to LP. You'll instantly tell the LP copy
from the CD master.

This means LP is *adding* something to the audio that it shouldn't.

Dave. 99.99% of people (and I include your good self in
this figu-) have no possibility of "copying" (your term)
a CD to LP, so interesting as your hypothesis may be,
you have no means of proving it. So near, but so far:-)

No one is denying the potential superiority of CD over vinyl
as a reproducing medium, but so many people prefer "the
musical experience" from vinyl, and I can illustrate why this
should be.

I am sure you will recall there was a rare sealed Decca
pressing of a Beatles LP on the Parlophone label sold for
close on GBP 700 just a while back. The proud new
owner turned out to be a well known Swedish musician/author.
He took the pressing to a CD mastering company which I
frequent to have it transcribed to CD. I was delighted to be
involved..

The pressing, apart from a few ticks and pops on the inner bands,
was pristine. A reference CD was made for his private use only.

Just as you surmised, the two were indistinguishable from each other.
Then, some bright spark got the idea of comparing our "reference
CD" with the commercially released version

What a surprise! The CD had a dynamic range some 6dB
less than the LP. There was clear evidence of Smiley at work
with and excess of both LF and HF, unpleasant compression
and detectable clipping.

This is perhaps the reason why a mint sealed pressing sells for
close to GBP700 while the CD can be had from any second
hand shop for Euro 2.


The potential of the CD is vastly superior to the vinyl pressing,
(though only marginally better than the 14 inch lacquer from
which the metalwork for vinyl pressing is made) and yet in so
many cases the latter is preferred by discerning people who
can hear the difference. If you are not one of these, then
buy the CD. You can save yourself a lot of money:-)


That you choose to ignore this most fundamental of flaws means you're
really not worth trying to educate over other matters like horn
colouration, break up of cones with full range drivers, etc etc.

A bit presumptuous, Dave:-) Some might wonder whether a TV
sound recordist should be trying to "educate" someone
like Keith on those subjects. Let Lowther, JBL and Altec do
the educating if required They have highly qualified people in R+D who
really know the subject. They also organise excellent demos, lectures
and workshops.

I'm happy that you enjoy your hobby and certainly that you make so much
of your own bits and bobs, but when your flowery descriptions of just how
much improved the latest one is over last weeks delight read like the very
worst excesses of the Hi-Fi press. That made most genuine sound
enthusiasts simply stop buying them.

Keith is one of the few on this group for whom audio is a "hands on"
hobby - in contrast to those who prefer to sit in their armchairs
and patronise. The best way to learn about speakers, amps etc is to
build some, listen, compare, draw your conclusions and take the next
step.

That, as I see it, is exactly what Keith is doing. He seems to be
enjoying, and learning from, the experience.It requires a
high level of motivation, and interest, which many people, even the
most capable, seem to lack.

I know from e-mail outside this group that many who read but do not
subscribe, are very interested in his down to earth approach, and
his findings. Without his threads, this NG would be a poorer place.


Regards to all

Iain