analogsurviver
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2012
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ABX test is usable - for gross differences.Audible transparency isn't debatable because it's easily determined with a simple ABX test.
LPs don't have signal above 15kHz normally. The groove modulation required to reproduce very high frequencies at any kind of volume level lead to premature record wear. The needle turns those frequencies to a distorted mush in just a few plays, so disk mastering involves a high end roll off. There can be stuff up above 15kHz, but it's basically surface noise.
And even that depends - if performed on low bandwidth equipment, it can give perfectly "legal" false positive result - that higher bandwidth recordings and/or gear do not bring any audible improvement.
LPs are the same as life - a box of chocolates, one never ( or at lest, seldom ) knows what one is getting. The sheer range of actual quality engraved in analog record is vastly broader than in any digital format - ranging from truly poor to superb.
All - and I do mean ALL - analog records I really like and cherish for sound quality have one thing in common - extended high frequency response, always way past 20 kHz.
That from my teens onward - and now confirmed by spectrum analysis available at almost no cost today.
The records that do not go beyond 20 kHz - unfortunately many recordings of classical music by major labels - always end on the low playing count. Rarely excerpted for outstanding musicianship ... - but always accompanied by wandering WHAT IF the recording had been better.
There IS a reason why Decca issued their Legends CD series
https://www.discogs.com/release/15795302-Various-Decca-Legends-Collection/image/SW1hZ2U6NDgyOTUzNjg=
( IIRC - THIRD attempt to convert the sound from the original analog tapes into digital )
with 96/24 kHz mastering - and even those RBCDs can not hold candle to their original vinyl pressing counterparts.
The most successful transfer to CD in my experience have been classical music recordings from the ETERNA catalogue ( VEB Schallplatten, DDR ).
Available under several labels - Berlin Classics, EDEL, and even budget under budget label - CCC.
Some of these are available on EMI, Denon, etc - but striving for the original always rewards the effort.