Originally Posted by
Jimbo
It is not the digital recording that is the problem, and yes most post 1980 vinyl is from a digital master. It is the ability of our domestic equipment (DACs) to unravel this information and allow us to hear what was recorded without screwing it up. Remember a turntable is not a DAC and that step is crucial when playing back digital recordings on vinyl. It is when you use a DAC to reconstruct the digital information where it all goes horribly wrong.
Now think back to the early days of digital music and CD players used as the main piece of equipment for playing digital music - the sound was abhorrent, it was shockingly bad. I know I had many players and they were awful.
Wind forward 30 years or more and listen to some of the same CD material ripped to a file and played back via the best DACs available and we are light years ahead in sound quality. Why, because DACs have improved and all the associated equipment. Digital music has now become listenable and many find it their preferred way of listening to music. But the reason I believe that Digital music has become listenable is because it now sounds a little closer to analogue.
I have not heard every DAC on the planet by any means but I can tell you I have heard Chords DAVE DAC and Blu2 M-scaler and this combination is truly entering the analogue realm and to some extent beyond. And this is a system that plays back those original CD recordings either via CD player via m-scaler or as a file based rip. Nothing has changed with the recording. It is simply far better reconstructed in the analogue realm.
Vinyl plays back digital recordings effortlessly in its ability to reproduce the sound in analogue. Digital equipment still struggles IMHO apart from a very few exceptional cases.
Great post James,
I agree, theres some magic in digital recordings that modern Dacs like the Dave can reveal.
Listen to the same recording on different dacs and they can sound very different.
Different ways to do it of course,
Different dac chips, different implimentations and design philospphies.
My own Dac converts everything you plug into it to 10x DSD, then lowpass filters that through an output transformer, not a traditional analogue output stage.
DCS, Berkley systems, Bricasti, PS Audio and others all have different approaches to digital, so I dont really believe in the classic ‘one or the other’ vinyl vs digital argument anymore, I can enjoy both whist them not being the same.
And why not?
Last edited by Gazjam; 07-04-2018 at 13:12.
AC POWER
Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
AMPS
Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
SPEAKERS
Wharfedale Evo 4.4
DAC
PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
TURNTABLE
Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
PHONOSTAGE
Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
DIGITAL
OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
MUSIC PLAYBACK
Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
Ipad Roon Remote.
Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
SPEAKER CABLES
Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
INTERCONNECTS
All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables