JA - I realize quite well that audio tastes span a wide range in terms of the sound they consider to be "right". No question that everybody is entitled to listen to what they like best. But, the the mind boggles at Art Dudley's most recent column, "There's a Storm Coming" in the June 2014 issue.
First of all, is there a need to keep beating the same old vinyl vs. CD horse? People have already pretty much made up their minds on that issue. Plus, you already have got another regular columnist who is a true believer in the vinyl gospel. Isn't this overkill?
But, then there is this:
"Considered against literally every music-playback medium ever conceived and created, the analog disc is the only one that generates its own electrification signal. Every other medium in existence - even analog tape - depends on an external power supply to create a source signal."
Well, I had no idea that if I just hooked up some wires to an LP disc, music would come out!! Ok, we know Art meant that almost all phono cartridges, not the discs themselves, are generators of electrical signal. But, in any case, so what? Does this translate into necessarily better sound at the end of the day? Art seems to think this is some sort of slam dunk, QED proof of vinyl's superiority. It is not.
I am not here to try to defend CDs. I have moved on as of years ago to hi rez Mch sound - to me, the best, most true to live performance sound I have ever heard. It is not even close. I am extremely thankful that Kal Rubinson's column also appears regularly in the mag. So, my very large collections of both vinyl and CD line the walls of my listening room gathering dust. However, I understand that some people, like Art, will just not let die the tiresome comparison of a 60+ year old technology vs. a 30+ year old one, as if nothing else in the past 30+ years is worthy of comparison or even exists.
And, by the way, no CD in my collection going back 30+ years has ever de-laminated. Is Art resorting to untrue propaganda to try to prove his point?
I am likely older than either Art or you, and I, too, have a certain amount of reverence for things past, especially mechanical things, but not when it comes to getting what I consider the best sound. Been there, done that. And, even modern incarnations and refinements of old ideas at their very best fall far short based on my listening.
Yes, there is a certain romance about things past and the small, "artisanal" producers who still believe in designs inspired by the past. But, I think careful listening to how stuff actually sounds to your own ears and your sense of what live music is supposed to sound like is far more important than stylistic or tradition bound limits to what you might consider. It is a big world out there, and I think newer technologies, including many mass produced items, have played a huge role in advancing the realism of music reproduction, certainly my own.
Art is a very gifted and entertaining writer. However, I dare say I could not live with the sound of his system, and, likely, he could not live with mine. But, what else do you expect among the millions of opinions that span the gamut in audio?
Best wishes,
Carl J. Weber
Philadelphia
Sent from my iPad
JA - I realize quite well that audio tastes span a wide range in terms of the sound they consider to be "right". No question that everybody is entitled to listen to what they like best. But, the the mind boggles at Art Dudley's most recent column, "There's a Storm Coming" in the June 2014 issue.
First of all, is there a need to keep beating the same old vinyl vs. CD horse? People have already pretty much made up their minds on that issue. Plus, you already have got another regular columnist who is a true believer in the vinyl gospel. Isn't this overkill?
But, then there is this:
"Considered against literally every music-playback medium ever conceived and created, the analog disc is the only one that generates its own electrification signal. Every other medium in existence - even analog tape - depends on an external power supply to create a source signal."
Well, I had no idea that if I just hooked up some wires to an LP disc, music would come out!! Ok, we know Art meant that almost all phono cartridges, not the discs themselves, are generators of electrical signal. But, in any case, so what? Does this translate into necessarily better sound at the end of the day? Art seems to think this is some sort of slam dunk, QED proof of vinyl's superiority. It is not.
I am not here to try to defend CDs. I have moved on as of years ago to hi rez Mch sound - to me, the best, most true to live performance sound I have ever heard. It is not even close. I am extremely thankful that Kal Rubinson's column also appears regularly in the mag. So, my very large collections of both vinyl and CD line the walls of my listening room gathering dust. However, I understand that some people, like Art, will just not let die the tiresome comparison of a 60+ year old technology vs. a 30+ year old one, as if nothing else in the past 30+ years is worthy of comparison or even exists.
And, by the way, no CD in my collection going back 30+ years has ever de-laminated. Is Art resorting to untrue propaganda to try to prove his point?
I am likely older than either Art or you, and I, too, have a certain amount of reverence for things past, especially mechanical things, but not when it comes to getting what I consider the best sound. Been there, done that. And, even modern incarnations and refinements of old ideas at their very best fall far short based on my listening.
Yes, there is a certain romance about things past and the small, "artisanal" producers who still believe in designs inspired by the past. But, I think careful listening to how stuff actually sounds to your own ears and your sense of what live music is supposed to sound like is far more important than stylistic or tradition bound limits to what you might consider. It is a big world out there, and I think newer technologies, including many mass produced items, have played a huge role in advancing the realism of music reproduction, certainly my own.
Art is a very gifted and entertaining writer. However, I dare say I could not live with the sound of his system, and, likely, he could not live with mine. But, what else do you expect among the millions of opinions that span the gamut in audio?
Best wishes,
Carl J. Weber
Philadelphia
Sent from my iPad