TOTALLY CONFUSED about analog

Pbb, Sedond did not say CDs are compressed. He said that in some poorly produced CDs the music has ben compressed. I notice this unfortunate phenomenom on a lot of my salsa CDs as well as pop Anglo music. If there's something in my list of gadgets is an expander, too.

I hear you, there is an analog cult going around...that's why they don't wanna hear that my modded 'DJ' TT really performs outstandingly. It's simply 'not possible'...you've got to 'have' this TT exactly how you described.

The manhole cover...good one!

Pbb-have you ever heard a good analog front end?
Have you ever compared a $1000 analog front end to a $4000-$5000 CDP??

pbb, my simple-to-set-up analog rig cost me yust under $2k, cartridge included. platter is a couple pounds, motor tucked snugly underneath, driven by a simple $2 belt from mcm electronics. it will provide a more musical experience than any digital rig at any price. the previous table it replaced, i had ~$350 into it, & while not up to my present 'table, it will still hold its own w/the best that digital has to offer... and, psychic has it correct - cd has the *potential* for wide dynamic range; unfortunately is is not often utilized. even tho my dbx 3bx is not always in the signal path, cuz its in the tape loop, it's always tracking the signal, & it's really easy to see & compare the dynamic range of the program material, by the the way the lights are blinking, indicating the dynamics of whatever's being played.

hey, don't get me wrong, i enjoy my digital playback rig. but let's not delude ourselves! ;~)

doug s.

btw, david99, ya gotta spend a lot more than $4k for a cd to compete w/a $1k analog rig... or ~$350 for a modified art di/o... ;~)

Sedond, any digital at any price? Analog/vinyl reproduction is a system that is flawed from the get-go. Our ears must be really different and I am not proposing that mine are in any way superior. Strange thing, my wife can be in the car while I am listening to the radio and when I comment on something tells me she wasn't listening, simply turned her ears off she says. She insists it has nothing to do with not paying attention and insists she is filtering out unwanted signals. Says she gets it from her less than happy childhood. After all these years I am stupid enough to believe her. Could we be on to something: you can actually filter out background noise and impulse noise and just enjoy the music. I, on the other hand, am devoid of such filtration which prevents me from enjoying the music. See, put this way, I don't hear any better than you, I just hear differently. I have a long spiel saved on my hard drive about my opinion on analog/vinyl. I will not post it for two reasons: firstly, it will be judged inflammatory (hardly is, I can assure you); secondly, it will probably bore everyone to tears, since I have already vented on that subject in the past. You are an avid proponent of analogue/vinyl, more power to you, nobody can take that away from you (with the real exception of the recording industry over which neither you nor I have any control). On a balance of inconvenience, to use injunction language, I am of the opinion that the clear winner is digital/CD reproduction, teething pains and all. It takes all kinds. Regards.

David 99. Please tell me what is a good analog front end and I will make every attempt to hear it. Please tell me if such a rig will give me a system where I can enjoy even the silence integral to music and delicate instruments such as solo classical guitar, without having impulse noise intrude and kill the spell for me. I am not kidding, I will take my best vinyl and will gladly give it the best, most open-minded, fairest audition I can. What I fear is that you, or someone else, will come back to tell me that the turntable/arm/cartridge combo was the right one but that it was not properly set-up, that the phono-stage was the limiting factor, that the record I used should have been wet or dry, or that too much static electricity was in the air, or the cabinet on which the turntable was placed was all wrong, should be decoupled from the room or really coupled to it, like a a monolithic concrete structure immune from vibration, etc. You see, not that my goal is to win any argument on the subject, but I cannot possibly reach a point were both you, and like-minded people, and I, and like-minded people, will be satisfied either way. If you add to that that there is a growing belief in audiophile circles that there is no objective standard against which to judge music reproduction, you can then pretty well see that we are talking at cross purposes. To paraphrase a great champion: " I ain't got no fight against them analog/vinyl guys". Best regards.