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From: sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Digiphobes - the beat goes on, sigh.
Message-ID: <164@harvard.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 5-Jun-85 12:29:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: harvard.164
Posted: Wed Jun  5 12:29:31 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Jun-85 03:18:11 EDT
References: <2412@decwrl.UUCP> <350@moncol.UUCP> <304@tilt.FUN> <1199@hound.UUCP>
Reply-To: sasaki@harvard.UUCP (Marty sasaki)
Organization: Harvard Science Center
Lines: 54
Summary: 

rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) writes
> The fact is that there is a very good case to be made that a person just
> getting started in audio or high-fi, especially a person on limited funds
> like a student, should skip vinyl technology all together and start with
> FM and CD. (or, possibly, as you point out) Beta or VHS Hi-Fi as with the
> latter you can replace cassettes as well).

I can't help but agree, even though I still prefer LP's even on my less
than state of the art player. Music is for enjoyment and a CD player is
the easiest way to enjoy music for a large number of people. 

> I can't help wondering how you made your big evaluation of the state of
> the digital art. By listening in high end salons that think their future
> depends on retaining vinyl technology? By listening to the testimonials
> of other such folk in their communal publications (and advertising
> compendia) such as The Absolute Sound? By "hob-nobbing with your fellow
> wizards" as L. F. B. used to say? Bet you didn't do it by getting a
> known working model in your own home and using it extensively with your
> own system - with a variety of CD's, not just the stinkers.

Isn't this just a little bit cheap? The high end salons that I frequent
are being very pragmatic about CDs. They have realized that CDs are here
to stay and that they might as well sell CD players and make money. By
selling CDs they can sell systems with CDs in them which will make them
even more money.

A local dealer loaned me a CD player to take home over a long weekend,
and a pile of CDs that he thought I might like (I've been visiting him
for about a year and he knows my tastes). Three days isn't a lot of
time, and my listening was not in any way scientific, but I ended up
deciding to stick with my LP player. I can not say that LPs are better,
only that I like them better, in my listening room, on my audio system.

We audiophiles never had it so good. Almost everything is better than it
was 5 years ago. This will continue. Very soon every CD player will have
so many features that there won't be any more to be added. The only
change that can happen after that is an improvement in the sound
quality. Maybe then the pro-LP folks will be happy with CDs.

I enjoy these discussions as long as they stay above the name calling
level. An earlier discussion about accuracy of digital recording caused
me to review my signal processing and refresh my memory about the
Nyquist stuff. I learned about emphasized L-R and mid frequencies on
LP's. There has been a discussion about recording and miking that I've
learned from. Greg Paley's notes about imaging have caused me to listen
more carefully at concerts.

Both sides have made their points and I've benefitted by them.
-- 
----------------
  Marty Sasaki				net:   sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
  Havard University Science Center	phone: 617-495-1270
  One Oxford Street
  Cambridge, MA 02138