True Audiophile

arunlouie

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Hi All,

I gone through an interesting post in a gadget forum site, its about an audiophile and his setup, I like to share it in our forum. I hope this will be treat for all you guys.

Here is the link,

Gizmodo - Why We Need Audiophiles - Audiophiles


PS: I dont know were to post this, if its in a wrong forum category please excuse me.

Regards,
Arun
 
At first, this is a very old article. Secondly, most of Stereophile reviewers have switched to using completely digital systems. Third, comparing a 350,000$ analog system to an MP3 playback is strange. And, frankly I find Fremer's outbursts on CD to be quite amusing.

Digital systems have come a long way. They can give you a 3 dimensionality to the music that a analog system can never deliver.

Cheers
 
A lot of the article is nonsense from the comparison to a 200$ ipod to saying that the crackle is part of the liveliness.

But would have still loved to hear it one day :)
 
At first, this is a very old article. Secondly, most of Stereophile reviewers have switched to using completely digital systems. Third, comparing a 350,000$ analog system to an MP3 playback is strange. And, frankly I find Fremer's outbursts on CD to be quite amusing.

Digital systems have come a long way. They can give you a 3 dimensionality to the music that a analog system can never deliver.

Cheers

surely you are joking buddy! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
surely you are joking buddy!

Sooner or later we need to have an actual showdown between a digital and analogue system, with an impartial jury (do such birds exist?) of 5-6 forum members. All other components will remain the same. Same albums to be played. SACD's, first pressings, the best recordings of different genres-Rock, Jazz, Hindustani and Western Classical.

For the CDP I propose an Esoteric XO5/KO5. For the TT..... bring it on folks. Anything within a similar budget.

Perhaps listening may change my preference. But nothing I have read till now, on any site, would make me spend a penny on vinyl :)
 
^^
ajay have you ever wondered why, in almost every CDP or DAC that is reviewed, the reviewers mention things like "sounds very analogue like..." or 'most analogue sounding cdp" etc, etc???

one listen to a finely tuned analogue setup will answer that question!

in fact, i have seen it convert harcore digital believers do a complete about turn once they meet analogue even halfway!
 
I don't agree with Michael Fremer that a HISS, POP and CRACKLE is a 'necessary impurity' (audiophiles are masters of spin). I would consider it an intolerable NOISE that would considerably reduce my pleasure of listening to music.
 
At first, this is a very old article. Secondly, most of Stereophile reviewers have switched to using completely digital systems. Third, comparing a 350,000$ analog system to an MP3 playback is strange. And, frankly I find Fremer's outbursts on CD to be quite amusing.

Digital systems have come a long way. They can give you a 3 dimensionality to the music that a analog system can never deliver.

Cheers

Venket sir.... ye kya ho gaya hai aapko? Are you serious? Initially, I believed digital techs, being the latest, MUST be better. I used to have a Panasonic stereo in my teens on which I would enjoy my Nadeem Shravan songs (yep..... that's right.... BEEN a great fan) and Jagjit Singh-Chitra Singh. Also experienced the Rehman revolution on the same jig. Would sleep on a couch and put the two in one right behind my head and just above. This gave me greatly blissful sound. Then, when I was able to afford a CD Walkman, I bought one with a bunch of mp3 CDs but with same music that I had on tapes. Found them sounding different! Way too different..... and thought well, may be my ears have been fooling me all through my Teens. May be THIS is the way music would have been originally recorded..... to sound like most of the instruments are merged with each other! And not like the way I used to listen, a clear distinction between every piece of orchestra.

Then, before seven months, I realised after joining this forum, (and was releaved to know) that analogue is the epitome of sound reproduction. Since then I was eager to have an audition of vinyles, which realised on the last leg of my journey to holy grail (when I had to rush back to bhavnagar with my dealer to replace the broken speakers). I listened to Jagjit Sing Chitra Singh live concert vinyls on Denon tt, denon 1912 with paradigm monitor 7v6, elac bf53 and Polk tsi400. It was amazing!

.....and now sir, you ..... please tell me that analogue is the truest sound. The best a digital jig can do is reproduce it at par. Yeah, everybody these days, is having a completely digital setup, I.e. the source and amplification parts are digital. May be because of ease of operation, storage and cross component convergence. But do you think the best of CDP + Integrated Amp combo can beat a top of the line TT + Tube amp jig? Has this been tried before?

Eager to get a reply from Venket sir...

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
 
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surely you are joking buddy!

Sooner or later we need to have an actual showdown between a digital and analogue system, with an impartial jury (do such birds exist?) of 5-6 forum members. All other components will remain the same. Same albums to be played. SACD's, first pressings, the best recordings of different genres-Rock, Jazz, Hindustani and Western Classical.

For the CDP I propose an Esoteric XO5/KO5. For the TT..... bring it on folks. Anything within a similar budget.

Perhaps listening may change my preference. But nothing I have read till now, on any site, would make me spend a penny on vinyl :)

Wow... we both for the same idea at the same time. Pitty I'm so far from the place you people have meet ups. Would have been first to be in such a test meeting.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
 
^^
ajay have you ever wondered why, in almost every CDP or DAC that is reviewed, the reviewers mention things like "sounds very analogue like..." or 'most analogue sounding cdp" etc, etc???

one listen to a finely tuned analogue setup will answer that question!

in fact, i have seen it convert harcore digital believers do a complete about turn once they meet analogue even halfway!

Manav

"Analogue sounding" is an oft repeated cliche, which makes me wonder why the reviewer is reviewing a digital system in the first place. If he is looking for an "analogue sound" then he should not be reviewing a CDP or DAC.

A good digital system should be unapologetically digital sounding. Personally I am a fan of digital and solid state music. If my source and amp started emanating sounds which could be referred to as 'analogue' or 'tube' sounds, then I would consider them a failure, and I would get rid of them :)
 
Sound is analogue and not digital, over the years people have mistaken the phrase to mean something different - and today Ajay as you say, many people take "analogue sounding" to mean - as a Vinyl. You can listen to CDP or a DAC but you always hear analogue, a good system IMO (whether using a digital or analogue) source should always sound close to the original recording/performance which is always analogue :)

Ajay, I think you might have meant something else - I am surprised by this post :)

cheers
 
i would like to add some of my irrelevant thoughts here (especially since it is going to be my 500th post here in this forum)..
long time back (in the 90s) in the University hostel, i borrowed a friend's father's turntable and listened to stuff from the Kingston Trio and Dean Martin...
i was especially fond of Dean Martin songs like The Yellow Line, and Houston ( that down and out line.."Saw a Dollar yesterday but the wind blew it away" that forever seems to echo my predicament..)
i don't remember the make of the TT ...
just for old time's sake i was listening to Dean Martin again ..this time the chain was digital except for a tube in the DAC and i realised that I could never get the magic of listening to the record ...
i could be romanticising the experience or there could be some other thing..but since i played those records everyday for months..there must be something about records that one doesn't get with digital...but that doesn't mean i am going to go analogue any time soon...
 
I don't agree with Michael Fremer that a HISS, POP and CRACKLE is a 'necessary impurity' (audiophiles are masters of spin). I would consider it an intolerable NOISE that would considerably reduce my pleasure of listening to music.

A good clean LP on a nice record player neither pops nor clicks nor hisses.

There's something in analog that I don't think can ever be reproduced by digital setups - atleast all the ones I've heard so far. I'm not sure I have the vocabulary to describe it but music just seems to flow and I never ever feel the need to become critical of flaws in the system. It just draws you into the music. It doesn't matter whether its a 1500 rupee cheapo turntable or a 15000$ big name one.
 
Sound is analogue and not digital, over the years people have mistaken the phrase to mean something different - and today Ajay as you say, many people take "analogue sounding" to mean - as a Vinyl. You can listen to CDP or a DAC but you always hear analogue, a good system IMO (whether using a digital or analogue) source should always sound close to the original recording/performance which is always analogue :)

Ajay, I think you might have meant something else - I am surprised by this post :)

cheers

Sridhar

Both the points you have made are absolutely right. Dosen't matter what kind of source we use, ultimately we will be listening to analogue sound. And the object of high fidelity should be to pursue a sound which is as close as possible to the original recording.

By 'digital sounding' I was referring to the sound of a CD and information being converted from digital to analogue. By 'analogue sounding' I was referring to vinyl sound. Perhaps I should have used a different terminology.

Incidentally a thought has just struck me. I remember coming across CD's where it is mentioned that 'this album has been recorded digitally'. What exactly does that mean?
 
Digital vs analogue is an old debate with no clear agreeement (But we could agree that no side will ever give up :D). Think of them as two ways of making great sounding system. My humble opinion is... Analogue - It has few shortcomings but not noticeable to most of the people. Digital - Could be an ideal system but there is a scope for improvement. Sorry to use unscientific terms but vinyls sounds kind of like organic. CDs sound clinically precise. Though probably sacrificing Very high fidelity overall vinyls sounds great.

Ajaybhai, In the past there was a proposed meet with Manavbhai, any chance of that in near future. As you mostly listen to classical music your views would be interesting and important.
Regards
 
Incidentally a thought has just struck me. I remember coming across CD's where it is mentioned that 'this album has been recorded digitally'. What exactly does that mean?
hee hee hee. Ajaybhai you went for the jugular vein :lol:. What you say is absolutely right and I agree with you, but there are some of the finest recording in analogue and converting them to digital wont make sense. And though this is digital era, most of the great music is already done in era when analogue ruled :)
Best Regards
 
reignofchaos

Wouldn't every nice, clean LP start hissing, popping and crackling after an x (limited) number of playbacks? I am not sure, that's why I am asking.

hiten

If Manav is agreeable to hosting a bunch of noisy hifivisionians, then I would be happy to be part of such a meet. I am sure a good cdp would be available in the NCR and Manav's set up has everything else :)
 
hee hee hee. Ajaybhai you went for the jugular vein :lol:. What you say is absolutely right and I agree with you, but there are some of the finest recording in analogue and converting them to digital wont make sense. And though this is digital era, most of the great music is already done in era when analogue ruled :)
Best Regards

I remember reading an article that a lot of music from the past now exists only as digital information with the recording companies. I find the idea of recording companies using this digital information to issue fresh vinyl albums a delicious irony :)

I have read that it is happening. But is it really true?
 
I remember reading an article that a lot of music from the past now exists only as digital information with the recording companies. I find the idea of recording companies using this digital information to issue fresh vinyl albums a delicious irony :)
hmmm seriously best way would be to listen to both the media if possible. (A main digital setup and small analogue setup)

Wouldn't every nice, clean LP start hissing, popping and crackling after an x (limited) number of playbacks?
I remember reading an article that a lot of music from the past now exists only as digital information
You are giving these vinyl crazies/nuts/fanatics more reasons to buy more records so they could treasure them :).
 
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