Any audiophiles here? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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progkidjoel View Drop Down

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Joined: March 02 2009
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Posted: July 02 2009 at 02:56

I'm the child of a poor audiohpile

mystic fred View Drop Down

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Posted: July 02 2009 at 02:20

frequencies - dynamics brings in the arbitrary subject of "loudness", many remastered cd's have enhanced dynamics which trick the ear in thinking it is louder and clearer - sounds great in the car but a bit overwhelming in the living room, unless you want to annoy the neighbours!

on the distortion front, i have listened to distortion-free sound analogue sound for most of my life (except for live gigs!) and my hearing is still pin-sharp, i pass every test at the doctors, though constant exposure to ipod would probably not be a good thing in years to come.... wait and ~~see~~ hear...!

listening to some recent vinyl albums i suspect they have been recorded digitally and the inherent digital characteristics (pinched, compressed high frequencies) have been transposed onto the vinyl recordings, they just don't sound like those old 60's lp's - for years recording studios have been longing to ditch their expensive unreliable 32 track tape machines and cans of Ampex gold master tape and i guess they may have done it - a sad blow for the analogue fan, but "progress" is inevitable i suppose..

btw to return to the thread subject of audiophiles, i am not an audiophile because a real audiophile would not be seen dead using cd's..

Edited by mystic fred - July 02 2009 at 02:27

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Mr ProgFreak View Drop Down

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Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:34

^ I'm not sure what you mean by "wider frequency response" ... are we talking about dynamics or frequencies?

mystic fred View Drop Down

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Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:33

i did do some experiments some time ago using a computer program that measures frequency response, and the cd had a very even bandwidth and was "louder" but the vinyl response was so wide it was difficult to keep within the scale (i printed the results somewhere on this site but it was a long time ago, they are here somewhere!) - sorry but there are no mind tricks, vinyl has much wider frequency response captured in those grooves, but i have had many discussions on the net and it would seem religious conversion woud be easier than getting someone to change from cd and vinyl!

by the way - to return to the thread subject of audiophiles, i am not one becausei know a real audiophile would not be seen dead using cd's ...

Edited by mystic fred - July 02 2009 at 02:25

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Mr ProgFreak View Drop Down

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Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:23

^ the fact remains though that vinyl has inferior dynamic bandwidth ... I'd say that a digital medium with 14 bit resolution would be a good analogy.

I know that this "battle" can go on endlessly, without any progress. My hope is though that with each generation people will look at the difference between vinyl/analog and CD/MP3/digital with less bias and more emphasis on the actual physical facts.

BTW: I'm sure that you hear a difference between vinyl and CD, and that you prefer the sound of vinyl and - by your subjective perception - vinyl has more dynamics than CD, or CD is more "compressed" than vinyl. Well, sometimes our ears play tricks on us ... just have a look at the thread about optical illusions. Eyes, ears ... they supply us with data which is processed by our brain, and that's where things can go terribly wrong as far as accuracy is concerned. LOL

mystic fred View Drop Down

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Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:14

i hate being labelled an audiophile

, i haven't got a £20,000 system with a £5,000+ cartridge - i just enjoy getting the best out of my lovely records, many of these miniature works of art have been painstakingly produced from state-of-the-art recording equipment (even the old 50's records sound amazing) and justify some respect, not played on a tin-can sounding ipod, MP3 or the over-eq'd and compressed cd that sets your teeth on edge!

...that out of the way, my modest mid-range setup has been assembled through many years of auditioning and matching many makes of components, after much testing i can say even a budget system can sound good if set up properly, but investment can produce even better results.

As for the vinyl / cd thing, both have their pros and cons but i prefer the sound of my vinyl records over cd generally, cd's are boringly convenient, but i have come across a few cd's that have been startling - the SACD and DVD-A 5.1 surround sound is very good, and i would recommend the 20 or 24 bit stereo recordings over the standard 16-bit ones, vinyl is still superior over these but i don't mind the odd pop or click, the high quality of sound produced by vinyl will come through, but sometimes i get no background noise at all as i keep my lp's CLEAN - though as John Peel famously said "Surface noise? ..life too has surface noise..".

btw placing the wrong capacitors in your crossovers can cause damage to the speakers...be very careful!

let battle commence....

Edited by mystic fred - July 02 2009 at 01:23

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Mr ProgFreak View Drop Down

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Posted: July 01 2009 at 10:23

I consider myself to be an audiophile person ... I love to listen to music on good equipment that brings out all the details of the music. The difference between me and typical audiophiles is that I not only embrace digital formats, but also MP3 (at high bitrates). There have been many studies that show that even on very good equipment it's often not possible to tell the original (CD/FLAC) apart from high bitrate MP3.

And to make it even worse, I also use low-cost Logitech 5.1 speakers most of the time ... they sound magnificent at lower volume and/or if you sit in front of the computer in the optimal position.

mattmcl

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Joined: April 08 2008
Location: Erie, CO
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Points: 25

Posted: July 01 2009 at 09:32

Just wondering if there are any folks here with this obsession. I've started to put my toe into the water and have found myself dragged into the deep end.

Do you agonize over LP or CD? The depth and warmth of the LP can't be denied, but the clean crackle free CD is pretty sweet too.

How many times in the past year have you swapped out capacitors in your crossovers?

Lacking the funds for commercial equipment, I've started building my own. I'm working on a pair of transmission line speakers, then two monoblocks, a pre amp and DAC, probably in that order. I listen to most stuff digitally as FLAC files.

Anyone else out there?

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progkidjoel Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: March 02 2009 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 19643	Posted: July 02 2009 at 02:56
	I'm the child of a poor audiohpile


mystic fred Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 13 2006 Location: Londinium Status: Offline Points: 4252	Posted: July 02 2009 at 02:20
	frequencies - dynamics brings in the arbitrary subject of "loudness", many remastered cd's have enhanced dynamics which trick the ear in thinking it is louder and clearer - sounds great in the car but a bit overwhelming in the living room, unless you want to annoy the neighbours! on the distortion front, i have listened to distortion-free sound analogue sound for most of my life (except for live gigs!) and my hearing is still pin-sharp, i pass every test at the doctors, though constant exposure to ipod would probably not be a good thing in years to come.... wait and ~~see~~ hear...! listening to some recent vinyl albums i suspect they have been recorded digitally and the inherent digital characteristics (pinched, compressed high frequencies) have been transposed onto the vinyl recordings, they just don't sound like those old 60's lp's - for years recording studios have been longing to ditch their expensive unreliable 32 track tape machines and cans of Ampex gold master tape and i guess they may have done it - a sad blow for the analogue fan, but "progress" is inevitable i suppose.. btw to return to the thread subject of audiophiles, i am not an audiophile because a real audiophile would not be seen dead using cd's.. Edited by mystic fred - July 02 2009 at 02:27
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Mr ProgFreak Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 08 2008 Location: Sweden Status: Offline Points: 5195	Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:34
	^ I'm not sure what you mean by "wider frequency response" ... are we talking about dynamics or frequencies?

mystic fred Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 13 2006 Location: Londinium Status: Offline Points: 4252	Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:33
	i did do some experiments some time ago using a computer program that measures frequency response, and the cd had a very even bandwidth and was "louder" but the vinyl response was so wide it was difficult to keep within the scale (i printed the results somewhere on this site but it was a long time ago, they are here somewhere!) - sorry but there are no mind tricks, vinyl has much wider frequency response captured in those grooves, but i have had many discussions on the net and it would seem religious conversion woud be easier than getting someone to change from cd and vinyl! by the way - to return to the thread subject of audiophiles, i am not one becausei know a real audiophile would not be seen dead using cd's ... Edited by mystic fred - July 02 2009 at 02:25
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Mr ProgFreak Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 08 2008 Location: Sweden Status: Offline Points: 5195	Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:23
	^ the fact remains though that vinyl has inferior dynamic bandwidth ... I'd say that a digital medium with 14 bit resolution would be a good analogy. I know that this "battle" can go on endlessly, without any progress. My hope is though that with each generation people will look at the difference between vinyl/analog and CD/MP3/digital with less bias and more emphasis on the actual physical facts. BTW: I'm sure that you hear a difference between vinyl and CD, and that you prefer the sound of vinyl and - by your subjective perception - vinyl has more dynamics than CD, or CD is more "compressed" than vinyl. Well, sometimes our ears play tricks on us ... just have a look at the thread about optical illusions. Eyes, ears ... they supply us with data which is processed by our brain, and that's where things can go terribly wrong as far as accuracy is concerned.

mystic fred Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 13 2006 Location: Londinium Status: Offline Points: 4252	Posted: July 02 2009 at 01:14
	i hate being labelled an audiophile , i haven't got a £20,000 system with a £5,000+ cartridge - i just enjoy getting the best out of my lovely records, many of these miniature works of art have been painstakingly produced from state-of-the-art recording equipment (even the old 50's records sound amazing) and justify some respect, not played on a tin-can sounding ipod, MP3 or the over-eq'd and compressed cd that sets your teeth on edge! ...that out of the way, my modest mid-range setup has been assembled through many years of auditioning and matching many makes of components, after much testing i can say even a budget system can sound good if set up properly, but investment can produce even better results. As for the vinyl / cd thing, both have their pros and cons but i prefer the sound of my vinyl records over cd generally, cd's are boringly convenient, but i have come across a few cd's that have been startling - the SACD and DVD-A 5.1 surround sound is very good, and i would recommend the 20 or 24 bit stereo recordings over the standard 16-bit ones, vinyl is still superior over these but i don't mind the odd pop or click, the high quality of sound produced by vinyl will come through, but sometimes i get no background noise at all as i keep my lp's CLEAN - though as John Peel famously said "Surface noise? ..life too has surface noise..". btw placing the wrong capacitors in your crossovers can cause damage to the speakers...be very careful! let battle commence.... Edited by mystic fred - July 02 2009 at 01:23
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Mr ProgFreak Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 08 2008 Location: Sweden Status: Offline Points: 5195	Posted: July 01 2009 at 10:23
	I consider myself to be an audiophile person ... I love to listen to music on good equipment that brings out all the details of the music. The difference between me and typical audiophiles is that I not only embrace digital formats, but also MP3 (at high bitrates). There have been many studies that show that even on very good equipment it's often not possible to tell the original (CD/FLAC) apart from high bitrate MP3. And to make it even worse, I also use low-cost Logitech 5.1 speakers most of the time ... they sound magnificent at lower volume and/or if you sit in front of the computer in the optimal position.

mattmcl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: April 08 2008 Location: Erie, CO Status: Offline Points: 25	Posted: July 01 2009 at 09:32
	Just wondering if there are any folks here with this obsession. I've started to put my toe into the water and have found myself dragged into the deep end. Do you agonize over LP or CD? The depth and warmth of the LP can't be denied, but the clean crackle free CD is pretty sweet too. How many times in the past year have you swapped out capacitors in your crossovers? Lacking the funds for commercial equipment, I've started building my own. I'm working on a pair of transmission line speakers, then two monoblocks, a pre amp and DAC, probably in that order. I listen to most stuff digitally as FLAC files. Anyone else out there?