Home Critic's Corner

Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry.

10 pounds in a 5 pound bag

A low resolution format is a weak link in the chain. It precludes the possibility of a state of the art recording. A high resolution format is a necessary condition for an excellent recording. It is, of course, not a sufficient condition. The 44/16 format is a low resolution format. It is unable to come close to reproducing the sound that can be heard off of a live microphone feed in a studio control room. By contrast the highest resolution digital formats today are almost completely transparent in sound to that live microphone feed.

I convert between formats and remaster analog recordings as a hobby. I can transparently digitize cassette tapes in high resolution digital, but when I try to do this at 44/16 the result sounds distinctly inferior to the original cassette tape, as played on the same machine. This is true for perhaps 50% of all the cassette tapes that I work with, namely the best sounding ones. This is not the result of limitations of my equipment, as I am using the same equipment for all the digital formats and the best available sample rate conversion software. It is simply impossible to put 10 pounds in a 5 pound bag.


Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.