Wayne Parham Messages: 18688 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
I think maybe what some have heard about the bass limitation in vinyl is the problem of the size of the groove, but that is a problem that was solved by the RIAA equalization curve. That has been done since the 1950s. Even before then - like in the 1920s - the earliest recordings had equalization applied too, it just wasn't standardized. Every manufacturer had their own filter.
One should note that this groove size thing isn't a flaw in the system - It's just an application of the laws of physics. Cutting the groove is constant velocity, but what we want is constant displacement. So pre-emphasis equalization is provided to create this condition.
One should also note that digital media has it's own sets of physical limitations and it's own sets of quirks that have to be addressed. After all, the recording isn't even a copy of the original. It's a sliced-and-diced representation which has to be reassembled. So we have anti-aliasing, brick-wall filters to remove stuff at and above the Nyquist frequency and a whole host of quantitative and temporal errors to live with.
Bottom line is both analog and digital recording techniques have issues. I don't dismiss either way - both have their strengths and both have their weaknesses.
As for digital media, I personally prefer BluRay over CD. My CDs are OK, but they don't thrill me. But some artists only offer CD, so that's my only choice. What really bugs me are the artists that only offer music via MP3. I won't buy their music.
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