[LAU] Pro Audio? OT rant.

Ralf Mardorf ralf.mardorf at alice-dsl.net
Fri Dec 28 06:25:01 UTC 2012


On Fri, 2012-12-28 at 15:56 +1300, Chris Bannister wrote:
> > For the sound quality you only need a good
> > pickup/needle and IMO start-up, pitching range, isn't that important,
> 
> Moving magnet or moving coil. The source is extremely important, any
> problems there, and no matter how good the rest of the gear is the
> damage is already done. 

Most amps only support MM inputs and MM IMO is ok. The cartridge's
company seems to be important. I still couldn't pay for a new cartridge,
so I'm using an Audio Technica, because the old needle for a better
cartridge gets broken. The Audio Technica does sound ugly, no bass, so I
talked to one of those Technics MK2 users and he experienced the same.

With a good cartridge my record player does sound better than my CD
player. With the Audio Technica cartridge I can't stand to listen to my
records, the CD player does sound better.

When they introduced CD players, they gouged holes in CDs and then they
demonstrated, that this doesn't effect the sound quality. They simply
were lying, as we all know today, it's more likely that a CD is visually
perfect, but anyway it can't be played any more. The reason to introduce
"better" technologies usually is to make money. It's seldom that it's
really better technology with a suitable better quality. I still own
records from my childhood and I could hand down those records. So why
buying all the I records I already own as CD, a media that won't last as
long as a record does?

Assumed the sound quality of new CDs is better, when comparing it with a
new record. How will the sound quality be comparing a 60 years old CD
with a 60 years old record? It's not important, since the top ten in 60
years are not the same top ten of today :D and the sound quality of the
mobiles in 60 years is less good than what we already need to listen
too, if we use public transport and have to listen to all those mobiles
playing crap as Madonna and Black Eyed Peas by the mobiles "speaker".

I noticed a loss in consumer audio quality and btw. consumer video
quality might be better today, but video/audio sync is out of style. A
better viewing quality with audio quality that still is ok for video
isn't an improvement for me, when there is no lips sync any more.

Today good consumer equipment is unpayable, there's no need to use the
cheapest crap, but to get a real impression if e.g. a CD or a record
does sound better, I guess we should compare an averaged good record
player from the past, with an averaged good CD player from today.
Comparing professional equipment is useless, since nearly nobody owns
professional equipment.

2 Cents,
Ralf



More information about the Linux-audio-user mailing list