Best recording

Studer at 15ips preferably (if it's a high speed deck).

Ok, I have now carried my Studer A77 Revox down from my loft, despite my prolapsis and the thing weighing a ton - and will get back with listening results.

Note my Studer only plays 3,75 and 7,5 ips. It was modded by Lauvland of Doxa to good effect ca 1990, increasing the s/n-level, more like 15 ips is my impression. Does it beat the best digital recordings? We will see. More later.

First test, Studer Revox A77 versus Korg MR1: 0-1.

The Revox recordings sounded boxed-in and faulty in many ways. The faults with the Korg were on another, smaller level. Note that, I didn't have new tapes. I found that older tapes performed worst. Possibly, new tapes and service would make quite a big difference. Yet I have lived with this machine for many years, and beyond these problems, I felt that I did recognize a sound that is inferior to what I hear from the DSD recording.

Found a great article about some high profile engineers praising DSD. Check it out here.

My vinyl recordings like Grateful Dead Terrapin station sound marvellous through DSD and the Jade otl headphone amp, that also drives my small active pc sony srs z500 speakers. Never got this terrapin / therapy feeling so close before. Jade is very much recommended. The better the equipment, the clearer the superior format advantage (here, standard DSD).