[desmoface]

Don’t get me wrong; on paper digital destroys vinyl, especially in critical measurements such as signal to noise ratio, dynamic range, headroom, wow and flutter, rumble, etc. Wow and flutter and rumble aren’t even measured on CD players as far as I know.

It shouldn’t sound better, but vinyl does, and that’s all I care about. Believe me, I wouldn’t have spent the considerable amount of money I have, if I didn’t hear a difference.

Steve

That may be your opinion, but just remember which provides the better 'canvas' to showcase music or spoken word on: The one with wider & flatter frequency range, higher potential dynamic range, and far lower noise floor.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Don’t get me wrong; on paper digital destroys vinyl, especially in critical measurements such as signal to noise ratio, dynamic range, headroom, wow and flutter, rumble, etc. Wow and flutter and rumble aren’t even measured on CD players as far as I know.

It shouldn’t sound better, but vinyl does, and that’s all I care about. Believe me, I wouldn’t have spent the considerable amount of money I have, if I didn’t hear a difference.

Steve

That difference you're hearing, the sound of money rushing from your bank account, is called expectation bias. It's something many audiophiles fall prey to.

 

[desmoface]

Ahh, the power of suggestion, ‘‘tis a powerful thing. That said, I’d like to think I’m smarter than that, and in my case I know that one sounds better than the other as I’ve done a lot of a b’ing. If you just look at specs, you are missing the big picture.

This reminds me of the old tube vs solid state thing - there really are no losers in these age old arguments - I’ll happily continue to listen to my old, inferior format, with a big smile on my face

That difference you're hearing, the sound of money rushing from your bank account, is called expectation bias. It's something many audiophiles fall prey to.

 

[ADUHF]

Another horrible sounding official track. How does stuff like this even get out there?!



Even my cat doesn't like this one... And I don't even own a cat.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Another horrible sounding official track. How does stuff like this even get out there?!



Even my cat doesn't like this one... And I don't even own a cat.

MeOWCH!

Gotta give the customer what they want, and what they're paying you for - at least have said so many engineers to me on pro-audio forums. Fifty, or even thirty years ago, mastering and releasing something like this would have earned someone not a Grammy, but a size-10 kick out the door into the parking lot, plus a pink slip!

How the times - and the sound of the popular genres - have changed!

 

[desmoface]

It just sounds better, and this is YouTube, compressed, etc. Must be magic.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

It just sounds better, and this is YouTube, compressed, etc. Must be magic.

'Compressed', in which manner?

 

[desmoface]

https://www.yoursoundmatters.com/stop-listening-to-music-on-youtube/

"All audio on YouTube is compressed (approximately to around 126 kbps AAC), which in itself isn’t such a bad thing; AAC compression can sound ok at relatively low bitrates."

'Compressed', in which manner?

 

[TheSonicTruth]

https://www.yoursoundmatters.com/stop-listening-to-music-on-youtube/

"All audio on YouTube is compressed (approximately to around 126 kbps AAC), which in itself isn’t such a bad thing; AAC compression can sound ok at relatively low bitrates."

Good! You've done your homework. As long as you realize that data reduction does not affect dynamic range.

 

[ADUHF]

I like this group alot (well, their more R&B-ish stuff anyway). But this sounds pretty badly DRC-ed in the louder chorus sections. Somebody please tell me my gear is to blame, and the distortion is not in the actual recording.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

I like this group alot (well, their more R&B-ish stuff anyway). But this
sounds pretty badly DRC-ed in the louder chorus sections. Somebody
please tell me my gear is to blame, and the distortion is not in the actual
recording.

BBBLecch!! Sounds like something I could blow leaves out of my gutters with!

Definitely the recording, though I wouldn't doubt if most poppy stuff from the last fifteen years might be straining your input stage a *little*.

 

[ADUHF]

Thanks for confirming, TheSonicTruth. I was afraid of that. Some of Red Velvet's other recent videos also sound DRC'd. SM Entertainment (the company that puts these out) is a major music distributor in Korea. So I was just rather surprised (shocked might be more accurate) they would release something that sounded like this.

Anyway, Happy Holidays y'all!

 

[stonesfan129]

I do not understand why CD is still getting the compressed/maximized mastering. Usually the only people that are still buying a CD are people that care about the sound quality. I can understand making MP3 downloads maxed out because people are buying them to listen on earbuds and in the car. CD, vinyl, high-resolution downloads are all considered "audiophile" formats and as such should retain the entire dynamic range of the original recording. Looking at the track in Audacity doesn't tell the whole story though. I've seen brickwalled masters that are listenable (Kanye West is an example, if you are into that sort of music).

 

[TheSonicTruth]

I do not understand why CD is still getting the compressed/maximized
mastering. Usually the only people that are still buying a CD are people
that care about the sound quality. I can understand making MP3 downloads
maxed out because people are buying them to listen on earbuds and in the car.
CD, vinyl, high-resolution downloads are all considered "audiophile" formats
and as such should retain the entire dynamic range of the original recording.
Looking at the track in Audacity doesn't tell the whole story though. I've
seen brickwalled masters that are listenable (Kanye West is an example,
if you are into that sort of music).

That last point demonstrates that music writing and performance matters as
much as production/engineering choices.

 

[desmoface]