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Topic: Measured resolution of vinyl? (Read 3905 times) previous topic - next topic
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Measured resolution of vinyl?

Any articles/objective analysis of the digital equivalent resolution of a record?

I have a hard time believing it even approaches 16/44...

Re: Measured resolution of vinyl?

Reply #2 –
Hmm... wouldn't that be close to the same resolution you need to use for digitalization of the vinyl without loosing information you be able to hear or measure? You can try find it by using recording software which allows you to freely set bit-depth and sample rate. After recording using various bit-depth and sample rate combinations just compare (maybe even ABX) the digital copy against the vinyl source or against Hi-Res (min 24-bit and 176.4/192kHz) recording of the same source. Maybe acoustic music would be the best type of source for this type testing?

Re: Measured resolution of vinyl?

Reply #3 –
Quote
I have a hard time believing it even approaches 16/44...
That's fairly obvious to anyone except some "audiophiles".  ;)   

Even on a very-good record, you can hear the background noise during quiet or silent passages, compared to a dead silent background on a CD (or an MP3).   Older records are even worse.   Plus, there's usually some hum & hiss in the phono preamp.   The noise limits the usable resolution.    Some vinyl lovers (maybe most vinyl lovers) are not bothered by "crackle" or the occasional "click" or "pop".    But it's annoying to me, and even back in the "vinyl days" it drove me freekin' nuts!  

I haven't listened to any modern records but on older records there was a lot of frequency response variation...   Many records sounded a little "dull" (rolled-off high frequencies).    And, every phono cartridge has different frequency response (I assume there's less variation above a certain price point).

And, then there's occasional audible distortion.



...It's sometimes difficult to compare the resolution/quality of analog and digital.    You can watch a DVD and a VHS tape, and it's easy to see the digital one is better.      If you reduce the resolution (or bitrate) of the digital version, you'll degrade the image (and maybe make it "blocky"), but it will never look exactly like the analog VHS.    We can degrade the digital 'till it's clearly worse than VHS, but it's hard to say when they have equal quality.   At some point, some viewers may prefer the VHS and other viewers may prefer the degraded digital.