By Juan C. Ayllon “Neil Young famously said years ago that digital sounded like nails being driven into his brain. And now we find out that the late Steve Jobs only listened to vinyl at home, preferring that warm old-school sound to any digital device, including the ones he helped revolutionize and change people’s listening habits forever,” Tom Schnabel wrote for KCRW, National Public Radio’s flagship Southern California station in 2012 (www.kcrw.com) He added that Jobs had been working with Young to create “a warmer, more analog sound for iPods and computers, but death cut him short.” With a career spanning from the 60s on, studded with multiple Grammy Awards. Gold and Platinum records, the celebrated Canadian-American singer and songwriter, Neil Young, later modified his digital hate by attributing his digitally-induced, brain piercing sensation to poorer compressed recordings, such as lower resolution MP3 files. Furthermore, he suggested that better quality audio recordings rendered over a high quality DAC can actually sound quite good. Of course, Young would go onto launch his high resolution Pono music service and player that ultimately failed, and currently, he employs a hybrid method of recording on two inch tape and immediately storing the recording digitally. Regardless, in the world of hi-fi enthusiasts, many claim the superiority of the “Analog Sound” over digital. Now, on face value, this seems ludicrous, since technically all electronic playback is in analog. But of course they are talking about the analog medium used for playback, i.e., vinyl or tape (i.e., reel to reel or cassette), versus their digitized counterparts (i.e., digital recordings including CDs, DVDs, SACDs, digital files (MP3,, 40.1 kHz 16-Bit, 192 kHz 24-Bit, DSD, etc.) and streamed audio (Qobuz, Amazon, Spotify, and Deezer for example)) which are converted to analog with a digital to analog converter (DAC). Vinyl Redux According to CNET, a vinyl record usually starts as a digital or analog recording captured to a hard drive, which is sent to a mastering studio, where it’s evaluated and optimized to sound best on vinyl. From there, grooves, which represent the sound of the recording, are cut into a master lacquer disc. As a record player’s needle runs over these grooves, it moves up and down, creating an electric current that, when amplified and sent to a speaker, produces music (www.cnet.com. “How a Vinyl Record is Made”). Taped Up With audio tape, a mixture of resins, magnetic particles, and solvents is coated onto a thin plastic film (www.epa.gov), and “electromagnetic induction to convert an electromagnetic audio signal, a voltage, into magnetism, which is then used to realign magnetic particles on a reel of recording tape, creating a magnetic representation of the audio waveform.” (MacProVideoDotCom). Many audiophiles consider reel to reel tape masters the pinnacle of audio reproduction for its striking blend of realism and organic warmth. The Basics of Digital Recordings With digital recording, sound is stored and manipulated as a series of discrete numbers, with each number representing the air pressure at a particular instant. A microphone connected to a circuit called an Analog toDigital Converter (ADC) generates these numbers, which are called Samples, with the number of samples taken per second being dubbed the Sample Rate. And, as mentioned earlier, the numbers convert back to sound using a DAC linked up in a system to loudspeakers (http://artsites.ucsc.edu/EMS/music) What’s Up, DAC? As you may know, nowadays, DACs are used everywhere from cell phones, TVs, computers, to Bluetooth speakers and other digital playback devices. Some can sound rather thin, tinny-sounding, or otherwise inferior, such as in the audio coming from your cell phone or lossy MP3 files being played back from them linked up to your stereo. Now some purists would argue that there are no differences in DACs that are designed to be “audibly transparent” (i.e., no audible distortion, coloration, noise, or jitter), the fact remains that a number of them are designed to have purposeful coloration tailored to their brand – and why wouldn’t they? Product differentiation is part of the name of the marketing game. If they all sounded the same, then why not buy a hundred dollar Topping DAC and call it a day? The venerated Nelson Pass of Pass Labs, Threshold, First Watt, and Do It Yourself circles said the following about his amplifiers (which definitely have a house sound) in an interview: “I like measurements, and I use them all the time, but they don’t get the last word…I’ve spent decades working to correlate good sound with measurements, and we have a reasonable picture of what works, and you see that in our products.” He says of their products with their signature house sound, “These represent our own listening tastes, and appeal to a large enough portion of customers to keep us in business,” and concludes, “I always keep in mind that we are in the entertainment business.” (https://parttimeaudiophile.com) When it comes to DACs, coloration may be achieved through the use of vacuum tubes, DSP, or more often via the digital filters employed, for example – and, as a result, you can definitely hear some qualitative differences. And with some DACs offering users options to select between filters, the results speak for themselves. For example, with the Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC that I reviewed several years ago, I compared its digital filter's two algorithm settings—"Listen" (its default setting), which "provides greater accuracy in the 'time domain,’” according to the user manual, and "Measure" that has greater frequency accuracy. I found that I much preferred the Listen mode, which sounded stunning and luxuriant serving up high quality recordings, whereas I found the “Measure” mode too harsh and sibilant for my tastes. Mike Moffat, designer of the Schiit Yggdrasil Analog 2 DAC that I prefer and use in my reference system said, “Our multi-bit DACs use a digital filter that has a certain algorithm that I think sounds real good.” When I was reviewing the Pass Labs X250.8 amplifier, I made the following observations: “While my Lampizator Big 7 Mk1 DAC was here, it underscored its strengths and characteristics: bold, linear, but with a wetter, glistening presentation as afforded by the RCA 5U4G rectifier tube in tandem with the 300B tubes in the output stage…Then, after the Lampis departed, the Lumin T2 Network Music Player with its streamer and built-in DAC (which was used in the formal listening session) imparted a balanced, full and slightly warm, yet detailed aural experience devoid of tube sheen.” (https://positive-feedback.com) Later in a review of the Yggdrasil, I observed that, “I do not recall the Big 7 (as incredible as it was), the Lumin T2 or the Ayre QB-9 Twenty delivering quite this same balance of the visceral combined with well-defined imaging.” Bottom line, they all sounded great, the differences were small, though noticeable, but in the end, I believe it boils down to personal preference. On occasions when Belle and I dine at Beelow’s Steakhouse, I favor their Australian lamb chops in peppercorn sauce, medium rare, while she delights in their crusted twin tenderloin filets, medium. At the end of our meal, we are both in high heaven. It’s Complicated Mucking the waters is the fact that most music recordings are created digitally, whether for digital or analog media, such as vinyl or tape albums. Yet, vinyl and tape lovers swear by their LPs. Meanwhile, both Neil Young and Blue Coast Records' Cookie Marenco record their products in two inch tape, and transfer them to high resolution digital with outstanding results. What Gives? There’s something inherent about the analog recording process that imbues their results with a signature warmth – be it on the front or back end. For example, I have long enjoyed the warmth and vitality of some excellent vintage 1950s and 60s jazz albums that were originally recorded on tape that made for superb CDs. And similarly, friends and I treasured cassette tape recordings from CDs that we made and sent each other via the mail back in the 80s and 90s. To be quite honest, sometimes they were more enjoyable than the source CDs we recorded – especially when played over portable CD/cassette players, where the tape sounded richer and fuller than the spinning disc. It wasn’t even close. Shedding some light, Shane Berry, an SAE certified audio engineer, consultant, remixer and recording artist who’s produced audio content for large multinationals such as Red Bull, Supercell, Heineken and recording labels such as Trapez, Ministry of Sound, and Kompakt, described the phenomena associated with analog recording this way: By the nature of analog recording, certain artifacts are introduced during the audio capturing process (such as distortion) that add frequencies that just so happen to fall into the audio spectrum that we (in the West at least) find pleasing; i.e., odd harmonics in tape saturation (creating chords) and even harmonics in tube saturation stacking into octaves—in other words musical in nature… It is these anomalies that are associated with analog sound and give it its characteristic warmth and naturalness-ness. Thus the most often cited "drawback" of digital recording is the lack of these phenomena entirely (no warmth = cold) and the introduction of another kind of distortion that is inherently displeasing to the human ear, non musical, low level distortion as a result of quantization error and aliasing—but, as mentioned above, with high quality digital gear, these artifacts are rendered irrelevant to all but the most stubborn or sensitive ears. (https://macprovideo.com ) I am reminded of analog media’s additive process (and the use of vacuum tubes in the signal chain, as well) when I volunteer as the sound board operator of the Behringer X32 mixing board at church twice a month. During spoken passages, the vocals of our worship leader, Joel Gropp, are EQ’ed but served up dry, sans reverb or effects. As such, his voice sounds quite natural and unaffected. However, when he sings I activate the effects, or reverb – and his vocals sound rich and marvelous! A Word on Reverb For those unaware, reverb (or reverberation) refers to the sounds that we hear when sound bounces back to our ears from various surfaces in a space, as opposed to the direct source. They reach our ears at different times with varying intensities. When you’re in a small space, reflections bounce back quickly, closely matching the volume of the original, creating a short, slappy sound. In a large space, it takes longer for the reflections to reach your ears. The time is longer, and the intensity is lower, resulting in a rich, layered sound that we may associate with large spaces like cathedrals or caverns. (https://www.sweetwater.com) By deploying effects, voices sound richer, warmer, and enveloped in a pleasant luscious aural envelope, conjuring choruses in a vast Catholic cathedral, or dialed down a bit, in more intimate environs. And, in rare, unguarded moments when a singer catches me off guard and sings sans effects, their voice sounds naked and less appealing. Like a sodium restricted dietary serving of unsalted grilled chicken over plain pasta, it’s simply not as appealing as when rendered with mushrooms in a rich Marsala wine sauce. A Caveat and More Sauce The catch is, when a well-recorded digital music recording is made, a good tonal balance is already in the mix and, on a good system and in a decent listening room, it can sound exceptional. However, if you’re like Carlos, a former worship leader of ours who really liked his effects extra thick and heavy – “Give me some more sauce!” he’d bellow – then analog (and/or vacuum tubes) may be just the thing for you! A Harmonic Balance I was talking with Straight Wire’s Steven Hill via cell phone on my commute home the other day, and I shared Shane Berry’s explanation of the additive nature of analog media in the audible range. I related it to the similar impact of tubes in a DAC that I am currently reviewing versus my reference solid state DAC. “Yes, it certainly fills in the sound with its added harmonics,” he said. I am reminded of listening to a VG plus vinyl LP of Supertramp's Paris Live at the Pavillon de Paris/1979 while reviewing the Pass Labs XP-17 phono stage this past November. “The cheers and chants of an enthused Parisian crowd, the detail and dynamic contrast of the Rick Davies' organ, Roger Hodgson's exploding guitar riffs, hammering keys, and Davies and Hodgson's vocal harmonizing…(were) vivid and visceral,” I wrote. It was an utterly wondrous aural treat. However, as I wound down my review notes, I happened to play the same album digitally on Qobuz, and I was especially taken by the extra bit of micro detail that I just didn’t hear on the LP. There’s trade-offs with each, and it’s up to us to decide which suits us best. Analog? Digital? Tubes? Solid State? Both?
Speaking of which, now I’ve got a hankering for roasted Australian lamb chops in peppercorn sauce at Beelow's. Medium rare, please!
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