Aug
22
Written by:
masterblogger
8/22/2011 12:16 AM
BY CRAIG ANDERTON
1
Music as we
know it has been
destroyed by
[insert bogeyman
digital technology:
Beat Detective,
Auto-Tune, etc.].
No, lazy people
misusing your
bogeyman digital
technology of choice
have destroyed music
as we know it.
2
Vinyl contains
actual waveforms,
so it’s inherently
accurate and
doesn’t need drastic
digital-audio-type
filtering. Oh, but it
does: a +20dB boost
at 20Hz, a –20dB cut
at 20kHz, and a very
specific filter shape—
the infamous RIAA
curve. In fact, vinyl
requires teeny-tiny
little bass waveforms
so the phono cartridge
doesn’t imitate
“dancing shrimp” at
the sushi bar.
3
Here’s why digital
audio sucks:
because of the
stair-stepping at
the output caused
by sampling. Here,
let’s hook up this
oscilloscope. Zoom
way in. No, zoom in
more . . . more . . .
now, what do you see?
Right! That’s why
they’re called output smoothing
filters.
4
Boosting EQ at
25kHz for “air” is
ridiculous unless
you’re a dog. These
filters have skirts
that extend into the
audible range, and
can affect the highs in
subtle ways. Besides,
my dogs like listening
to music, and they’re
always asking for
more 25kHz. And for
better woofers.
5
Tape is a
more
natural way to
record than digital
technology. Yes,
if you think that
suspending a zillion
little magnetic rust
particles in plastic
and then telling them
how to line up as they
get dragged past an
electromagnet, which
has to be fed by a
high-level supersonic
signal just so the
audio doesn’t sound
like a buzzsaw, is
totally natural.