BerylliumDust
WATCH OUT!!!
Merlin,
Once Tim de Paravicini said (we were at 1985):
PART I:
"Ten years ago in Stereophile, I said that digital was never going to work well in the chosen format. Digital should use a 400 kHz sampling rate and 24-bit words. Then it will satisfy the hearing mechanism and won't have a digital sound. Digital has a "sound" purely because it is based on lousy mathematics. The manufacturers presuppose too simplistic a view of our hearing mechanism.
But manufacturers don't want to change - it's the lowest-common-denominator syndrome. It's like 525-line television, which allows you only X amount of resolution. With digital, you've fixed your resolution parameters, where analog never had that problem.
I've been pioneering work on a CD player that runs at 88k, but it only works with CDs that were cut at 88k."
PART II:
"I still do work on the vinyl record; it still can be advanced. The number of vinyl molecules passing the needle every second is equivalent to half a gigahertz. So there ain't a lot wrong with it, fundamentally. You can carry on improving it without losing compatibility. It's like good old 35-mm films - you carry on improving films, but there's nothing to stop you from shoving them through the same old projectors!"
PART I:
That's why oversampling (when properly implemented) works to some extent, although we are ultimately "guessing"...
Today CD players all have virtually equal flat frequency responses in the 20Hz-20kHz range, it's what happens (or what that doesn't happen) beyond 20kHz that makes the difference...
PART II:
"The number of vinyl molecules passing the needle every second is equivalent to half a gigahertz"...
It's really a petty we still need RIAA equalization as "bass courtesy of a tt", isn't it?... the lower the frequency the wider the groove and the greater the difficulties for the cartridge to follow it, thus the higher the distortion... and then high frequency noise from the contact between the stylus and the groove...
I guess we will always have the same old vinyl "sound".
Happy new digital year to all!
Once Tim de Paravicini said (we were at 1985):
PART I:
"Ten years ago in Stereophile, I said that digital was never going to work well in the chosen format. Digital should use a 400 kHz sampling rate and 24-bit words. Then it will satisfy the hearing mechanism and won't have a digital sound. Digital has a "sound" purely because it is based on lousy mathematics. The manufacturers presuppose too simplistic a view of our hearing mechanism.
But manufacturers don't want to change - it's the lowest-common-denominator syndrome. It's like 525-line television, which allows you only X amount of resolution. With digital, you've fixed your resolution parameters, where analog never had that problem.
I've been pioneering work on a CD player that runs at 88k, but it only works with CDs that were cut at 88k."
PART II:
"I still do work on the vinyl record; it still can be advanced. The number of vinyl molecules passing the needle every second is equivalent to half a gigahertz. So there ain't a lot wrong with it, fundamentally. You can carry on improving it without losing compatibility. It's like good old 35-mm films - you carry on improving films, but there's nothing to stop you from shoving them through the same old projectors!"
PART I:
That's why oversampling (when properly implemented) works to some extent, although we are ultimately "guessing"...
Today CD players all have virtually equal flat frequency responses in the 20Hz-20kHz range, it's what happens (or what that doesn't happen) beyond 20kHz that makes the difference...
PART II:
"The number of vinyl molecules passing the needle every second is equivalent to half a gigahertz"...
It's really a petty we still need RIAA equalization as "bass courtesy of a tt", isn't it?... the lower the frequency the wider the groove and the greater the difficulties for the cartridge to follow it, thus the higher the distortion... and then high frequency noise from the contact between the stylus and the groove...
I guess we will always have the same old vinyl "sound".
Happy new digital year to all!
. merlin - I'll let you know about the bass when I get my TT home.
