No, it is the reconstruction filter of a DAC that smoothes it out. That's its job. If this reconstruction filter is implemented correctly, there's nothing a tube can do to improve it. There's half a century of experience doing this for audio. You are the wrong man to dismiss that out of hand.

EMP producers who produce in the box spend hours passing their tracks through analogue outboard gear including tubes to add harmonic distortion and rid the production of a gritty fatiguing sound. But at some point it has to be converted to 1s and 0s for digital storage and distribution ETC. The waveform is sampled at intervals and quantified. This process is not perfect and quantization errors occur which is audible an unpleasant. That is because not exactly all of the waveform can be reproduced, hence, lacking musicality.
Bullshit.

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Quote from: jdinoia on 2016-12-12 11:52:18

Tubes don't sound better, they make the music sound better. I'm a music producer / Audio engineer. Tubes are used throughout the signal chain during production and Mastering. From the microphone to the pre amp to the outboard gear in the tracking chain, right through to outboard gear used to mix and mastering. Also the market is saturated with plugins that emulate tube distortion for those who can't afford the the hardware. In the industry, countless producers / engineers try to add harmonic distortion into the production because it is pleasing to the ear.

You are talking about one particular segment of the music production market that rides the tube wave. You may think that is the whole market, but you are gravely mistaken. I know a number of professionals who wouldn't touch tube gear with a barge pole.

Listen, if you like tubes, you may say so, and you would at least be honest, even though you would be in conflict with TOS8 here. But don't pretend you are stating facts, because that makes you look dishonest and clueless at the same time.

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You would cringe if you heard some tracks I mastered using 'high quality recorded samples" being produced totally digitally.

That may well be the case, but I would blame you for it, not the digital production method.

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EMP producers who produce in the box spend hours passing their tracks through analogue outboard gear including tubes to add harmonic distortion and rid the production of a gritty fatiguing sound. But at some point it has to be converted to 1s and 0s for digital storage and distribution ETC. The waveform is sampled at intervals and quantified. This process is not perfect and quantization errors occur which is audible an unpleasant. That is because not exactly all of the waveform can be reproduced, hence, lacking musicality.

Bullshit.

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Tubes during playback is pleasant because it takes the content and smooths it out and can harmonise instruments for e.g, drum cymbals upper harmonics mesh with guitar upper harmonics giving a more musical realistic pleasing sound.

No, it is the reconstruction filter of a DAC that smoothes it out. That's its job. If this reconstruction filter is implemented correctly, there's nothing a tube can do to improve it. There's half a century of experience doing this for audio. You are the wrong man to dismiss that out of hand.

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This is why even order and odd 'harmonic distortion" produced by tubes is desirable for a lot of people including myself and a large part of the music production community. Stop wasting your time and money trying to faithfully reproduce the production because it's all about system translation not accuracy. A good system is one that sounds musical if u know what that is? That can also be solid state gear. The goal of the producer is to make the song pop in as many playback systems as possible. 'Even yours" If you want to know what the producer hears, good luck because unless you were present during the mastering of 'Thriller' or "Nevermind" ETC, you will never know, not even close.

You are contradicting yourself here, and don't even realize it. Your only chance as a producer to make your production sound good on as many playback system as possible, is to have those playback systems playing back neutrally. That means no additional distortion. If you advocate distortion in playback (whether through tubes or not), you throw your own control as a producer out of the window.

You can use whatever tube-based or non-tube-based gear you want during your production. I don't care, since it is primarily you who needs to be happy with your product. If I don't agree, I don't buy it, and I probably won't bother to tell you why I don't like it. But don't extend your unwelcome wisdom to my playback system. I know much better than you what I want and like, and I certainly have no interest in your tube crap in my system.

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If you want to recreate the production as accurately as possible, go play it in an anechoic chamber with your precious accurate solid state gear and enjoy the misery of listening to the gear and not the harmonious music.

It is you who apparently puts the gear before the music, why else would you bother to bring up the tube discussion again?

Your comment about the anechoic chamber, btw., shows your ignorance/arrogance in full glory.

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BTW the Loudness war is over! We now have LUFS standards.

Sure, but who enforces them? Do you see any authority that could prevent you from releasing a record that violates those standards?

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Documented scientific tests tell you nothing. Your ears are what you aim to please, not your P.C and you should trust your ears not data.

I usually trust my ears, but I would never trust anybody who tells me to trust my ears.

Without scientific tests, how do you know whether your potential customers hear the same way you are hearing? Whether they are pleased by the same things that please you? You may of course produce records so that they please yourself, but to assume that they will then automatically please others is arrogant at best. You are using a moronic argument to justify your own ignorance. With that, you will please nobody here.

Go play elsewhere, troll.

********************warning misattributed post******************

Is that your best?

Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on 2016-12-14 17:45:14

EMP producers who produce in the box spend hours passing their tracks through analogue outboard gear including tubes to add harmonic distortion and rid the production of a gritty fatiguing sound. But at some point it has to be converted to 1s and 0s for digital storage and distribution ETC. The waveform is sampled at intervals and quantified. This process is not perfect and quantization errors occur which is audible an unpleasant. That is because not exactly all of the waveform can be reproduced, hence, lacking musicality.
Bullshit.

Quote from: jdinoia on 2016-12-14 23:02:05

Is that your best?

Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on 2016-12-14 17:45:14

EMP producers who produce in the box spend hours passing their tracks through analogue outboard gear including tubes to add harmonic distortion and rid the production of a gritty fatiguing sound. But at some point it has to be converted to 1s and 0s for digital storage and distribution ETC. The waveform is sampled at intervals and quantified. This process is not perfect and quantization errors occur which is audible an unpleasant. That is because not exactly all of the waveform can be reproduced, hence, lacking musicality.
Bullshit.

I would never trust gear to tell me during production & I would never trust gear to tell me what I'm hearing after reproduction. A digital representation of a waveform can tell you if it's clipped but if you can't hear it with your ears, you are screwed. That is why at SAE institute for E.G, you can't see the protools rig while you track. That is how they teach their Audio Engineering students. It's away from the Neve Console. And, before you bag the crap out of them, Some of the most successful and multi award winning producers lecture there and stake their reputations on graduating those who achieve a high standard and body of work. So go ahead!

For heaven's sake, are we going to use technology to tell us how something tastes?