Is it my speakers? I think I'm done with CD's. Are paid-for downloadable files any better? (...and, "Can it reach 60", a quality test for CDs)

[dobyblue]

Bad mastering doesn't just give CD a bad name, most major label releases feature that same bad mastering on all formats including vinyl. Some people are fooled into thinking vinyl is mastered better because they maybe saw a "DR" score from the DR database, but the TT meter was not meant for measuring vinyl or needle-drops, but original digital source material.

Just take a look at Coldplay's releases, that DR5 24/192 file sounds just as awful as the DR5 CD file...which isn't surprising because it's the same mastering.

Being format agnostic is the way to go. Although I will never be buying cassettes again.

 

[Sal1950]

Some people are fooled into thinking vinyl is mastered better because they maybe saw a "DR" score from the DR database,

Leaving the DR range issue aside, mastering for vinyl is ALWAYS done in a way much inferior to that for digital releases due to it's weaknesses in all technical all areas compared to CD.
Read the truth about "mastering for vinyl".

Vinyl Mastering

Tips for vinyl mastering - preparing digital masters for vinyl pressing.

www.gottagrooverecords.com

Mastering for Vinyl | Envato Tuts+

Some people say that a master for vinyl isn't necessary. That a well mastered track will translate equally as well on CD, as it would to vinyl. I say that this simply isn't true. There is no...

music.tutsplus.com

 

[par4ken]

Vintage vinyl was not butchered like modern releases usually are.

My vinyl rips show consistent DR values about 12. DR is valid for vinyl as long as the recording is clean to start with and you clean the few remaining clicks. Good digital copies of the same recordings will show the same DR value or perhaps 1 point lower. I agree that DR values (of vinyl) from a database could be questionable but at least they do provide a rough guideline.

Usually SACD releases show DR values similar to vinyl, they are not brickwalled. I have encountered a few Japanese SACD releases that are bricked, so there are no hard and fast rules!

 

[dobyblue]

Leaving the DR range issue aside, mastering for vinyl is ALWAYS done in a way much inferior to that for digital releases due to it's weaknesses in all technical all areas compared to CD.
Read the truth about "mastering for vinyl".

Vinyl Mastering

Tips for vinyl mastering - preparing digital masters for vinyl pressing.

www.gottagrooverecords.com

Mastering for Vinyl | Envato Tuts+

Some people say that a master for vinyl isn't necessary. That a well mastered track will translate equally as well on CD, as it would to vinyl. I say that this simply isn't true. There is no...

music.tutsplus.com

No it isn't, there is nothing you cannot cut to vinyl...you just may sacrifice things like overall volume resulting in a louder noise floor. It's very rare the vinyl is mastered differently and usually when it is, it's better. It shouldn't be, but that's the way they approach it.

The statement "mastering for vinyl is ALWAYS done in a way much inferior to that for digital" is erroneous. I'll give you two quick examples off the top of my head:

1) We have the vinyl cutting files for The Beatles and Abbey Road on the Blu-ray. There is no difference in the mastering, in fact they handicapped the high resolution digital files for those albums, and the Compact Disc, by using peak limiting. The Blu-ray and the vinyl do not have peak limiting. Why would I leave that issue aside, given peak limiting reduces dynamic range?

2) Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium. The digital versions are awful, massacred in the mastering stage by Vlado Meller. The vinyl was cut AAA by Steve Hoffman. It's not better because it's vinyl, it's better because of the mastering.

 

[dobyblue]

Vintage vinyl was not butchered like modern releases usually are.

My vinyl rips show consistent DR values about 12. DR is valid for vinyl as long as the recording is clean to start with and you clean the few remaining clicks. Good digital copies of the same recordings will show the same DR value or perhaps 1 point lower. I agree that DR values from a database could be questionable but at least they do provide a rough guideline.

No that's simply false. The vinyl release of Away From The World (Dave Matthews Band, 2012) was cut at Sterling by Ray Janos using the CD-DA files mastered by Ted Jensen. The CD measures DR7, the vinyl measures DR11. It's the same master.

Here's mastering engineer and founder of Dynamic Range Day Ian Shepherd with more:

 

[mandrix]

Friends don't let friends run Windoz.

GO Linux

What? And miss the endless joys of Windows "updates"? fagettaboutit.

If Linux would run everything I want then I'd have been there. Well then there's that whole command line thing.
Truth is I don't want to tackle another OS at this late date.
What I really want is an affordable motherboard that does x16 x8 x4 Pcie slots occupied without breaking the bank.
------------------------------------------------------
We now return to our regularly scheduled thread.
FLAC good!

 

[ar surround]

Vinyl: The Bath Fitter rep showed up to give us a quote. I don’t recall what led to it, but he mentioned that he was really into vinyl. So I showed him my old Discwasher set, including the stylus cleaner and Zerostat. He had never seen one before and was very impressed. So I gave it to him.

 

[mandrix]

Discwasher. Wow. That brings back memories. I bought my first set in the early '70's.

That and the Watts disc preener.

 

[Sal1950]

No it isn't, there is nothing you cannot cut to vinyl...you just may sacrifice things like overall volume resulting in a louder noise floor.

LOL, yea like to avoid all those issue the playback gain would have to be increased to
levels that would make the surface noise sound like a 747 on take-off.

No it isn't, there is nothing you cannot cut to vinyl...you just may sacrifice things like overall volume resulting in a louder noise floor. It's very rare the vinyl is mastered differently and usually when it is, it's better. It shouldn't be, but that's the way they approach it.

Well I got about 4 more links on vinyl mastering that all say the same as the first 2 but
try this one.

Vinyl Sucks and Your Little Dog Too!

So you either know more than all those other engineers or your purposely trying to ignore/bury the facts. Problems such as speed irregularities, (wow and flutter) inner groove distortion, surface noise, pops & clicks, etc will always be there to cripple the sound of vinyl compared to digital, irrelevant of a couple points in DR.

 

[Sal1950]

Discwasher. Wow. That brings back memories. I bought my first set in the early '70's.

That and the Watts disc preener.

Yep, I gave my last one along with a ZeroStat, the washer fluid and stylus brush to the nice gentleman the bought my last turntable 20 years back.

 

[LB-V]

Here's mastering engineer and founder of Dynamic Range Day Ian Shepherd with more:

Enjoyed the YouTube clip. Thank you for sharing.

 

[LB-V]

Couldn't resist...

 

[par4ken]

AM stereo had five different formats and a chip to decode all of them? Why did I never see even one piece of equipment in the stores? They discontinued the broadcasts before I ever saw a decoder.

I agree I never saw a piece of AM stereo equipment in the stores either. There was some equipment made however. Most came after C-Quam became the de facto standard. I always thought that the Kahn system made the most sense. Anyway I bought a used Plymouth Voyager that had an AM stereo radio in it and I thought that it worked great. It wasn't too long that I got rid of the van and lamented not keeping the radio. Then AM stereo itself started to fade away anyway.

Here is a fascinating link The Official AM STEREO Web Site

I'm sure that (I remember that) somebody, Sony perhaps had developed a chip that would decode all five systems. Four automatically and the fifth via a switch setting. I can't find proof of that right now but did find this about a chip that decoded three systems automatically. I'm not paying for the full article but here is a sample.

 

[barfle]

What if Windows goes away from FLAC? They could change Windows so it no longer works.

There are hundreds of programs that run under windows that will continue to support FLAC. It won’t be an issue while I can hear.

 

[barfle]

Friends don't let friends run Windoz.

GO Linux

Micro Soft.
Small Limp.

 

[MidiMagic]

Very unlikely but you could just convert back to wav!

With what? If Windows suddenly stops reading flac, what do you convert it with?

 

[MidiMagic]

There are hundreds of programs that run under windows that will continue to support FLAC. It won’t be an issue while I can hear.

Not if Microsoft's I/O interface will not pass flac to those programs.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

With respect...

You're really missing out on hearing your music with all your "what if" barriers... Continuing the conversation seems pointless!

 

[par4ken]

With what? If Windows suddenly stops reading flac, what do you convert it with?

First that will never happen. If it did you could still use Linux.

 

[himey]

If Windows suddenly stops reading flac

Can you name ANY format that "Windows suddenly stops reading"?