A certain MiNe 109, of uk.rec.audio "fame", writes :
No they didn't, because the cutting master tapes used to produce LPs
were all compressed and heavily EQ'd versions of the original recorded
masters...

Are you still going on about lp production masters? First of all, not
all lp masters are compressed and/or heavily eq'd.

Pick an LP at random in a music shop, it probably is. A tiny fraction of
LPs manufactured in the early-mid 80s are less so. I'll wager at least
90% of LPs out there are heavily doctored.

Second, some eq is
meant to be complementary to the natural frequency response of the
medium.

Complete and total hogwash! The final recorded work as the artist
intends is on the final master tape (that is why it is called the
"master"), and all mixing and EQing to extract the correct sound will
have been done during the production of that master. From that point
forth, mass production is singularly concerned with reproducing that
master tape as closely as possible.

It is possible to further alter it as required for the target audience,
and this is often done for pop music, but it is incorrect to say that
this is "necessary" and it is bunkum to talk about it being
"complimentary" to anything. Digital's natural frequency response, when
properly aligned and set up, is ruler flat so no EQ is necessary. It
will reproduce the recorded work *exactly* if it is required to do so,
as is frequently the case with classical recordings and on any music
intended to be listened to by serious musophiles.

EQ and compression *are* necessary on vinyl, as the various
imperfections of the medium would ghost much of the sound, and for
practical reasons due to the inherently mechanical nature of the cutting
and playback processes. If you told the engineer this silly
"complimentary" theory of yours, he'd laugh in your face. Engineers used
as little EQ and compression as they could get away with. Unfortunately
that was still a lot.

In other words, an lp master that *isn't* eq'd might be
considered 'broken',

It certainly would be broken - without extensive EQ and compression the
resulting LP would be unplayable, and the cutting lathe could be
seriously damaged (notwithstanding technological developments in the 80s
which enhanced this situation - albeit too late). These are PRACTICAL
CONSIDERATIONS, and are absolutely nothing to do with making the music
more enjoyable. They are necessary for the music to be playable in the
first place. It's that simple.

as would be an lp master without the RIAA curve.

Another nasty idiosyncrasy, completely unnecessary with the advent of
digital.

You are also comparing the apples of the original lp issue (the good
sounding one) with the oranges of the cd issue (flat, compressed).

As we all know, the process of playing back vinyl is what adds all the
warmth (read : distortion). The CD will be a fairly authentic
reproduction of the LP cutting master - ie flat and crap. That's what is
going onto your vinyl, baby.

To get the best out of the CD you need to go back to the master tape and
do a direct cut, straight over to the digital. Then you'll be in a
position to hear all the bits that they had to remove from the LP.


--

"Jokes mentioning ducks were considered particularly funny." - cnn.com