Jul 31, 2005
Posted by Mike in Audio Production,Customer Service
0 Comments
Its all Digital Dude…or is it? (Part 2)
I recently repaired an old turntable for a friend of a friend and it had me thinking about analog vs. digital and how much there is still a lot of love for those old LPs sitting in people’s collections. Here was someone who was willing to pay me to repair a piece of equipment that still brought him a lot of enjoyment even though some may call it “obsolete” and some others just told him not to bother and just rebuy the music on CD. How sad…..
In the process of locating parts for his turntable on the web, I located a great resource for turntable parts and advice: Turntable needles.com. They had a needle, cartridge, belt and accessory for just about every turntable I had ever heard of and some that I had never heard of. And it made me think “If there is still enough support for this old technology to keep people like them in business, then why?” In this age of MP3s and CDs and such, why do people still enjoy their LPs?
I think the answer is pretty simple. LPs just sound better. Try this test at home: Cue up a CD of one of your favorites that you also own on LP. Play them both at the same time and switch back and forth between the two trying to get them just about in sync. Listen closely and you’ll hear the difference. Trust me you’ll hear it. Sure you’ll hear a crackle or two from the LP, but listen to the bass, listen to the subtle differences. The LP will just “sound” better.
Why??? Put simply, the CD is limited to 16 bit words and 44.1khz samples. The needle is limited by virtually nothing. Therefore, (get this) the needle can actually process more of the sound information at any given point in time than the laser! So the CD actually does not contain all of the music that the LP does. The CD only contains zillions of samples of the original recording whereas the LP contains the entire recording.
But there’s no denying that the CD is certainly a much more user friendly medium. Try to use your turntable in the car or at the beach. Try to make an LP. Its not quite as easy as burning a disc. As in life…easier and more convenient isn’t always better.
There’s much more to come as we explore the digital and analog worlds. But here’s the bottom line for today: As an audio professional, your clients want convenience AND sonic quality. Use all of the tools at your disposal and don’t think about analog vs. digital. Just make good sounding stuff!
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