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There is a difference between analog and digital. Analog (vinyl) is the original sound while digital takes snapshots of the original sound (albeit at a high ra

There is a difference between analog and digital. Analog (vinyl) is the original sound while digital takes snapshots of the original sound (albeit at a high rate). >This means that, by definition, a digital recording is not capturing the complete sound wave. It is approximating it with a series of steps. >A vinyl record has a groove carved into it that mirrors the original sound's waveform. This means that no information is lost. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question487.htm https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question487.htm

rusk 8y ago
Yes, but the "steps" are so close together that the human ear can't really discern. The typical range of hearing is 20Hz to 20kHz. Due to Nyquist aliasing [0] your sample rate must be at least twice the size of your overall dynamic range, which is why you have CD quality baselined at 44.1 khz, which is double your 20kHz and some extra to spare [1] There are a couple of areas where analogue can still claim superiority. First is in digital reproduction quality is determined by the quality of your DAC [2], whereas analogue doesn't need this at all. Second is that you may reproduced "inaudible frequencies", in particular the "sub bass" [3] that you feel with your body beneath the 20Hz cutoff. I've been informed that these are often chopped out in the mastering process however so I'm not sure if that claim is legitimate. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist_frequency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist_frequency [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio#Bit_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio#Bit... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to-analog_converter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to-analog_converter [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-bass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-bass
Yaggo 8y ago
> Analog (vinyl) is the original sound [...] In theory, yes. But practical analog systems are far from perfect, especially consumer formats such as vinyl. Just because analog system is not based on discrete samples does not mean that the original signal could be reproduced more accurately than through a digital system.

rusk 8y ago

Yes, but the "steps" are so close together that the human ear can't really discern. The typical range of hearing is 20Hz to 20kHz. Due to Nyquist aliasing [0] your sample rate must be at least twice the size of your overall dynamic range, which is why you have CD quality baselined at 44.1 khz, which is double your 20kHz and some extra to spare [1] There are a couple of areas where analogue can still claim superiority. First is in digital reproduction quality is determined by the quality of your DAC [2], whereas analogue doesn't need this at all. Second is that you may reproduced "inaudible frequencies", in particular the "sub bass" [3] that you feel with your body beneath the 20Hz cutoff. I've been informed that these are often chopped out in the mastering process however so I'm not sure if that claim is legitimate. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist_frequency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist_frequency [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio#Bit_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio#Bit... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to-analog_converter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to-analog_converter [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-bass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-bass

Yaggo 8y ago

> Analog (vinyl) is the original sound [...] In theory, yes. But practical analog systems are far from perfect, especially consumer formats such as vinyl. Just because analog system is not based on discrete samples does not mean that the original signal could be reproduced more accurately than through a digital system.