Should be required viewing in the Audiophile clubs.
It's unfortunate that many Audiophiles are science deniers. However, to be fair, the early CD players did sound bad because the early player designers were warmed over analog designers who didn't yet understand much of the digital science. It didn't help much if a digital person designed a player because they had no appreciation about the finer analog details, such as low level noise. If you looked at things on a scope, there was lots of trash. If you looked at a signal over 10K it was barely recognizable in the trash. I was very annoyed that the reviewers never mentioned this. And, due to the low level noise and general coarseness of the early consumer grade DAC's, the last couple low level bits did not mean much. Left-right amplitude tracking was horrid at low levels if the players used dual DAC's. And, no one wanted to use dithering or preemphasis.
Should be required viewing in the Audiophile clubs.
It's unfortunate that many Audiophiles are science deniers. However, to be fair, the early CD players did sound bad because the early player designers were warmed over analog designers who didn't yet understand much of the digital science. It didn't help much if a digital person designed a player because they had no appreciation about the finer analog details, such as low level noise. If you looked at things on a scope, there was lots of trash. If you looked at a signal over 10K it was barely recognizable in the trash. I was very annoyed that the reviewers never mentioned this. And, due to the low level noise and general coarseness of the early consumer grade DAC's, the last couple low level bits did not mean much. Left-right amplitude tracking was horrid at low levels if the players used dual DAC's. And, no one wanted to use dithering or preemphasis.
The reviewers didn't mention it because they didn't know about it until later- they preferred to try to be cork-sniffers. Also, the sound of most CDs sucked because the masters used were for LPs, they weren't mastered for CD- if they had been, the sound would have been very similar to the master, to the extent that they could be.
They didn't want to use dither until it was proved to work.
Some of the first 25 CDs released by Columbia sounded pretty good, but so much time has passed since that time that it's hard to be sure exactly why we, at the store where I worked (one of the first 50 Sony dealers to get the CDP-101), thought they sounded so good. Two of them, 'Sketches Of Spain' and 'Kind Of Blue', were recorded in Mono and the CDs were Mono, so the noise level was particularly low.
My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
The reviewers didn't mention it because they didn't know about it until later- they preferred to try to be cork-sniffers. Also, the sound of most CDs sucked because the masters used were for LPs, they weren't mastered for CD- if they had been, the sound would have been very similar to the master, to the extent that they could be.
Some of the reviewers were technically qualified and were aware of the issues, but kept quiet.
And, the early CD producers were "purists" in the sense that they didn't want to use preemphasis or dither (adding "noise" -- horror!) The LP masters were transferred directly to the CD master. This is the "pure" way to go, right? Unfortunately, these masters were much too "hot" because they were anticipating the LP pressing losses.
In fairness, the pressing plant already had negotiated rights to the LP transfer master. If they wanted a better master, there would be fresh negotiations. There was a "back and forth" period over this issue. The copyright owner was thinking "LP" and the plant was thinking "all media".
They didn't want to use dither until it was proved to work.
Some of the first 25 CDs released by Columbia sounded pretty good, but so much time has passed since that time that it's hard to be sure exactly why we, at the store where I worked (one of the first 50 Sony dealers to get the CDP-101), thought they sounded so good. Two of them, 'Sketches Of Spain' and 'Kind Of Blue', were recorded in Mono and the CDs were Mono, so the noise level was particularly low.
They brought a CDP-101 around and my comment was "if this is the way that CD's sound, the format will be a failure." Obviously, we were not scheduled to be on that 50 list. A few weeks later other players became available that sounded better.
For a (short) while, we could have the whole universe of CD's for sale from our shelves.
I've worked in high-end audio for about 15 years and have walked away from many "conversations" with customers and so-called "golden-ears" where I have tried to argue and drive home this point.
Some great videos on his channel, and delivered really well.
There goes my weekend!
Problems worthy of attack, prove their worth, by hitting back. -Piet Hein.
Some great videos on his channel, and delivered really well.
There goes my weekend!
Yes he does a lot of good videos. And his deliverance are very good. Even though he’s in his mid-20, he does have a lot of knowledge and research very well.
I don't buy it. Stock photo. Woman (child, really) is wearing makeup but has carefully, symmetrically applied totally clean tape on the bridge of her glasses. Nerd, my ass. She's a nerd like Bose is hi-fi.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything. "The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
I don't buy it. Stock photo. Woman (child, really) is wearing makeup but has carefully, symmetrically applied totally clean tape on the bridge of her glasses. Nerd, my ass. She's a nerd like Bose is hi-fi.
Stock photos rarely get it right.
Avid Stamp Collector - I really love 39 Cent Stamps
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything. "The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
I am sorry, but when we got our first CDP101 in the shop, I was in love. I was fed up with spending my hard-earned money on LPs – if you want to talk about noise, that’s where you got noise, even in a brand new record. Plus the usual warps and print through problems.
When I first demoed CD players to clients I reminded them of the crackles and pops and ticks that we were all so familiar with on LPs, then I cued up 15 seconds before the end of a popular song on a CD, and turned it up LOUD. After this song ended, the room got incredibly quiet.
There is no disputing that early discs were too hot because the masters were made for LPs and their high end drop off issues. But I would gladly trade that for the dynamic range and complete disappearance of pops and clicks.
P.S. I still have a CDP-101 in my storage unit. No, I’ve never plugged it in.
There is no truth anymore. Only assertions. The internet world has no interest in truth, only vindication for preconceived assumptions.
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