The Ear of the Beholder

I wanted to talk a bit more about my audio society meeting I mentioned yesterday. One of the things that surprised me is that it seemed that some members came to the comparison with a closed mind. Some there seemed to already equate 'digital' with 'bad'. I knew that there were some big analog heads in the room, but I was surprised buy the strong, almost visceral negative reaction that some of them had.

As I said, we first listened to the SACD, then the CD, then the record, then the reel to reel tape. These were all of the same recording, all from the same master. After we listened to the record, I heard some in the room say things like "now it finally sounds like music" and "finally, something not digital". I was surprised by this because I really felt that the CD was not that great, but the SACD we heard sounded much better than the record. I felt that the SACD had tighter bass and better definition than the record did, plus it had none of the pops and hisses often associated with listening to vinyl.

Now I know I just posted about how much fun I was having with vinyl, and that is true, but I am looking forward to listening to some SACDs tonight. I like to think that I keep an open mind about formats and try to pay attention to what I am hearing in the moment. Now maybe because these guys are accustomed to listening to vinyl they do not hear the pops and hisses. Maybe since they were closer to the center of the room and I was off to the side they heard something in the imaging that I did not. I dunno, but in any case I thought that in that particular example the SACD sounded great, and the record good, but not as good. I guess the beauty of music just can't be objective.

It was a Wednesday

Yesterday I went to another meeting of my local audio society. The presentation was a comparison of different formats. The presenter had an SACD player, a CD player, a turntable and a reel to reel tape player. A what? you say. I reel to reel tape player was the first playback device capable of stereo, and this one in particular dated from the 1950s. It was quite a contraption. The presenter had a recording, from the same master tape, on all four formats. We first listened to the SACD player, then the CD, then the turntable, then the reel to reel. Our goal was to do this a few times with a few of the recordings he had on the different formats and compare. This did not really work out.

Once we got to the tape player the crowd was pretty blown away. This was a machine that had been sitting in an attic for 10+ years, playing a tape from 1956 and it sounded amazing. After we heard the first tape we wouldn't let him go back to the other formats, we just wanted the tapes. He played a few more classical recordings, which all sounded great, then he played this recording of some kind of Dixie-jazz that was recorded in some guy's living room back in the 50's and I have to say it was unbelievable. The imaging was amazing, the instruments sounded true and everything just sounded authentic. It sounded like there was a band in the room. I have to say it seemed to be the most accurate reproduction of music I think I have ever heard. I was floored. I guess it is just another example of what we can learn by exploring how they did it back in the day.

Revolution

Well hi there! Long time no see! Well, summer proved to be a down time for my in my hi-fi world. But wait you say! It is October! Yes, well, the summer and then some.

Anyway.

I am back, and I have had some new experiences. This past weekend my wife and I were visiting her parents in her home town. They have good taste in music and have been collecting albums for a while now. On vinyl. And they no longer have a turntable. And I do. Booya.

So we came home with a bunch of fat loot, from Abby Road to Blind Faith (the nude cover) to Wagner. Some amazing albums. We brought them home and for the past couple of nights I have been listening to them on a really old turntable, a Technics SL-Q300 that has not been particularly well maintained. It belongs to my brother but he does not have a place for it at the moment. So these records desperately need cleaning, and the phono cartridge needs to be replaced, but I gotta say I am loving it.

I guess I needn't point out that it is old vinyl on a cheap record player that has managed to reinvigorate my excitement about hi-fi after a hiatus, but I am gonna do it anyway. It is not always the gear, or the technology, but the experience. I am gonna keep on experiencing, rolling along, as a vinyl Mr. Dylan is telling me, like a rolling stone.