Why spend so much on a CD system? Just a thought...

I don't know what you mean, just off to iron my orange cap sleeve tshirt and white jeans and streak my big hair.

I'd heard the higher registers (ie all this fuss about harmonics) are not capped on vinyl, whereas they are on CD, would that make a difference?

 

Well traditionally the frequency range of a CD is 20Hz - 20KHz, some say that's the maximum range of human hearing so the CD fans argue any more is pointless, but Vinyl doesn't have those restrictions AFAIK

 

Yeah apparently CD has brickwall filtering at the frequency extremes which is a 24db/octave roll of. That must have some impact on the sound. On top of that is the fact that my ears are analogue.

 

My primary reason is simple, I have a fairly big digital collection now (pointless saying CDs, as it's all ripped to FLAC on my PC), and bugger all vinyl. As "hi-fi" is meant to be about listening to music and enjoying it, then surely we need to optimise replay of the medium that we own.

Secondly, I actually think that CD has got a lot closer than it used to be. Maybe I'm just getting used to my latest digital source, but I really have been seriously unimpressed by a number of vinyl rigs more recently.

 

If you like the bass being progressively rolled off as the stylus approaches the end of each side.

 

hell yeah.

 

Different CD players and DACs could have a differnt filter at the extremes. Some of the more modern DACs use 'FIR' filtering which is phase linear and allows them to use stupidly tight filtering without any of the usually complained about 'ringing'. Others like many NOS DACs have no filtering at all or only 6dB/Oct.

You might be surprised to hear that your ears are not actually entirely analogue. The Stereocilia in the inner ear, that generate the electrical signals that travel down the auditory nerve are finite in number, and they are either 'on' or 'off'. Your hearing is made from a quantized electrical signal, sorry!

 

My ears are still analogue in that they do not contain a digital to analogue convertor and therefore none of that devices shortcomings.