the final absurdity is the amount of money it would take to produce the "best regardless of price" playback equipment for each medium at the PRESENT LEVEL of technology; and then choose at least 100 listeners based on the best random selection process statistically possible. it just might not be worth the time, effort, and cost of such an experiment. some might STILL question the methodology and the meaningfulness of the results. so, like good scientists, the experiment would have to be repeated several times, perhaps even in differing cultures, latitudes, genetic factors, etc.
or you can take my word for it. records on my vpi aries sound good. the same recording on cd on my levinson redbook gear sounds very good also, just slightly different.
i spent more money on the digital equipment, but it is 10X more convenient to use, and is actually superior to the record in certain respects- a little less distortion, tighter, more controlled (but less expansive) bass. records stage better in some instances but not always. my vinyl copy of surrealistic pillow (jeff.airplane) is absolutely AWFUL.
NYPhilharmonic on Columbia-360 is wonderful, but the re-masters are thin and tasteless like diet-cottage cheese.
archiv cd's (trevor pinnock/vivaldi/handel/bach)-no sacd,hdcd, 4D, 20 bit, or 24 bit, sound almost as good as anything out there to my ears. check out the brandenburg concertos on archiv- the ONLY problem with this recording is there is (perhaps) too much information on the disc- Bach went crazy writing a separate part for almost everybody. you'll have no trouble hearing every note on a decent cd player, which might also give you an intense headache. i would LOVE the vinyl copy of this masterpiece as well, but it's torture sorting out all those woodwinds going their separate ways inside of various string parts. i really don't need to challenge my limited intelligence any more than i already have with the digital copy.
well, since i'm not an expert on this subject, my diatribe here amounts to little more than someone at a party who's had too much to drink and won't shut up. until i pass out on the sofa, which is right about now...
