THE TROUBLE WITH VINYL
By Alfred Huntchcock (*)
They are prone to wear; to play the adjacent outside groove at the same time; to store the same information in varying densities as the cartridges moves toward its center; to endure the ever changing amount of elliptic stylus contact as the playing progress; to change its voice according to variables like stylus pressure, angle and leveling; to tick and pops; to the idiosyncrasies of different arm-cartridge combinations; to the rising treble response of many a moving coils; to…
But vinyl is nirvana and has been challenging the “zeros” and “ones” for a long time, no matter all the progress these “digitities” have achieved. Today, in this domain, we have a palette that can go from 14/44 to 24 by more than 780Khz; vanishing jitter; flabbergasting bass frequencies; staggering silence surrounding the music; impressive dynamics; fantastic lab measurements (as opposed to very poor vinyl numbers), all with unquestionable consequences “in the field”.
On the other side, the turntable-arm-cartridge combo has survived at the cost of minor evolutionary improvements which do not make all that more different from the best machines which were manufactured thirty years ago, no matter how striking it looks or weights. The technology is ancient and so remains to these days.
Nevertheless, its sound can be seductive and can be tailored to ones taste through a myriad of combinations that its user can do: there is a plethora of arms which can be combined with a not less quantity of cartridges and these two can be infinitely set to work according to his taste. Then he has a million types of connecting wires and preamplifiers to choose from.
At the end of all this sometimes amusing task, he gets a sound indeed pleasing, but I ask: is it true to the source? Is it real, or is it more like a charming mermaid with bewitching powers?
High-fi means great fidelity to the source. And, as far as I know, analog superiority, in the recording studios (where it all begins), is more a myth than a fact. No wonder so many master tapes intended to produce analog records (i.e. long-plays) have been made with the help of some digital mastering.
What do you think of this?
(*)a.k.a Mr.Claudio Botelho
