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From: karn@petrus.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Re: ... (actually CD vs LP)
Message-ID: <371@petrus.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Jun-85 13:55:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: petrus.371
Posted: Fri Jun  7 13:55:38 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Jun-85 03:49:40 EDT
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Organization: Bell Communications Research, Inc
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> There is no question that CD players have a lot of advantages over LP players.
> But musicality is not one of them. 

OK, so now we understand what "imaging" and "dimensionality" mean, although
I remain convinced it depends far more on concert hall accoustics, microphone
placement and speaker characteristics than on minute differences between
digital recording systems. But now we have a new term: "musicality". Care
to explain what it means?

> I was as impressed as hell. The dynamic range, the lack of surface noise,
> the deep bass -- all contributed to an impressive sound.

How true. My first experience with a CD player on good headphones brought
tears to my eyes. Certain pieces still occasionally do.

> But try listening to a CD player at concert levels. Not to Van Halen, but
> to music played on strings, or brass, or piano. Will you turn the volume
> down after a half hour? You sure will. The CD sound causes fatigue.
> Then listen to a good LP on a high quality turntable at concert level.
> I think you notice the difference.

What can I say? I attribute my current obsession with classical music to my
having acquired a compact disk player; before, I just couldn't stand to
listen to classical music on LPs. Now, almost a year later, I still listen
to symphonic CDs almost constantly when I'm home, awake and not watching TV.
In particular, I've developed a real liking for piano concertos. Since the
piano is a particularly "fragile" instrument (i.e., even more susceptible
than most instruments to the distortions of LPs) concertos and sonatas are
excellent demonstrations of the vast superiority of CDs.  On those rare
occasions when I do listen to a classical LP (because I don't have a CD
copy) I find I can't listen to it at anything approaching the volume that I
could listen to a CD, and headphones are out of the question. With CDs, I've
had to calibrate my amplifier VU meters in order to protect my hearing.

Phil