From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!eisx!pd
Newsgroups: net.audio,net.physics
Title: Digital Vs. The Audiophile.
Article-I.D.: eisx.471
Posted: Thu Dec 16 12:43:00 1982
Received: Sun Dec 19 04:42:26 1982

I have some comments on the The Audiophile vs. Digital Recording debate.

The audiophile's position, that I have heard often, is "It doesn't sound
right, so there's something wrong with it." To which the Digital enthusiast
retorts : "All audio signals can be expressed as a sum of sine waves with
frequencies up to 20 Khz; and Digital techniques can accurately reproduce 
sine waves up to 20 Khz. So Digital recordings can accurately reproduce
all Audio signals."  At which point the audiophile retreats, baffled and
beaten.

However.

Fourier Transforms attempt to MODEL a REALITY. There are merely a way of
mathematically representing a REAL phenomenon. Fourier never claimed 
(like the good Scientist he was) that his frequency domain representation
of an audio signal (for example) was a complete explanation of reality.

A real scientist attitude would be not to reject the audiophiles perception
of poor quality of Digital recordings because it didn't fit within Fourier-
and z-transform models, but to devise repeatable, comprehensive experiments
to gather data on the Audiophiles' dislike of digital recordings, and then
attempt to explain it!

Who knows. We might actually learn something!

Prem Devanbu