Long but true

[Stovebolt6]

The one thing in that whole articlal that jumped out at me:

"Sound is the necessary medium for music"

I think some folks enjoy evaluating the sound others enjoy the music. There it is. 15pgs in two lines.

[pauln]

Thanks, Greg - just the audience I hoped would appreciate this old article.

For those that think the article was to long, those that stated they did not read the whole thing, that the writer was to long winded and rambling... it was an article, not a comic strip. But, like a comic strip, you need to at least get to the end to understand it. I like a writer to develop his arguments. I read hundreds of difficult pages each evening - reading these 15 pages was a breeze and a pleasure. I'm glad it spoke to the experience of others here.

Pauln

[Mallette]

Ok, I've read it, all of it. I am very glad I did. I found vindication and foundation for my own experiences of the past 35 years of technological change in the music industry and feel a great sense of clarification of my own practices and philosophies.

Before beginning let me state clearly: I do NOT believe "analog good, digital bad." I have come to believe that there are issues in producing digital sound recording and reproduction that can render the results measurably (by analog standards) near perfect, but musically dead and defunct to the point that even an overmixed, over miked, over eq'd and compressed analog recording on DynaWarp will be more pleasing to the soul if not the ear. However, that is not specifically what this is about.

I clearly recall the articles in Stereo Review c. 1983 presenting the findings of Dr. John Diamond, a music therapist with no horse in the audiophile race. He was more interested in the effects of music on people and very sensitive to it. He'd switched to CD immediately as it was both more convenient to carry from patient to patient and offered "perfect sound forever." However, it suddenly seemed music therapy didn't work anymore and he blamed it on digital vs. analog, more specifically, PCM digital. Without going into to details, he was totally laughed off the audiophile stage by myself and and the audio world in general, then forgotten. I was ready to leave the world of pops and ticks for the wonders of the future and no idiot music therapist was going to stop me. Dr. D's words began to come back to me in the mid-90's as I went through precisely the same process Sauer describes in his article.

"One couple of Ackermann's acquaintance used to be very interested in music and hi-fi. When CD was introduced, they bought a good CD player and a substantial number of CDs. Gradually, they stopped listening to music in their home. When asked why, they said that they just didn't find the time anymore. Yet their concert-going had increased."

PRECISELY my own experience.

"I'm 58 years old, and I couldn't go through the rest of my life selling expensive equipment just to make a buck when the sound itself is horrible. We need to fight the physiological and sociological effects of all the PCM sound that engulfs us." Mark Levinson.

I believe both Mark L. and John D. were partially right. However, I believe they both blamed the wrong culprit, Dr. Diamond because he was in the wrong field and Mark Levinson because there is no way he could accept that transistor-based amps might deliver less than a near-perfect musical experience unless something esle was amiss.

So, we have pretty solid scientific evidence that non-audiophiles react very differently to analog and digital sources, and that the difference increases as you move from a pure analog, all-tube system to an all digital pure transistor system. I suspect there will be those that disagree with this unless they are familiar with the many other experiments and experiences that support this over the past 35 years as well as the thousands of posts on this forum I've seen over the past 4 years that point that way as well. So be it.

I am a deeply religious individual. A glorious sunrise can reduce me to tears. I can almost never get through the processional hymn in my parish as by the time the torch bearers and thurifer passes and the crucificx is near I've already lived through the years of baptisms, funerals, weddings, Easters, Christ Masses yet again and am overwhelmed with sounds, smells, bells, and chants. The same holds for great music. How many times have I been exposed in a high-end audio store to an excruciatingly expensive system flat from DC to light with distortion unmeasurable and come away with not a tear stain on my cheeks?

"On the other hand, for musical enjoyment, all of this should be irrelevant. In terms of the evolution of man, the part of the brain responsible for the recognition of sounds is relatively new, being located in the cerebrum. The part responsible for emotions is comparatively ancient, being located in the brain stem. With this in mind, researchers have conducted the following experiment (footnote 6). "

Therein lieth the truth, IMHO. A portion of us listen primarily down there in the brain stem. I resemble that remark. Others listen primarily in the cerebrum. I CAN do this, but only rarely when I have to troubleshoot or analyze a recording. I don't much care for it.

As for the TRVTH, I suggest that the brain stem's reaction to those issues we are only beginning to understand about the digital process is profound, and because of where it is, not open to the logic that resides in the cerebrum. Those of us operating on our ancient instincts and emotions cannot be swayed by ANY scientific argument whether it is about the existence of God or the superiorty of the latest and greatest loudspeaker, amplifier or whatever. I am reminded of an early experience whose significance I now better understand. I was a freshman in college the year my Dad passed away in 1967. He left me what he'd called his "hunting car," a 1952 Chevy. It had a HUGE vacuum tube radio in it with an 8" speaker. On the road I'd spend endless hours DX'ing and enjoying that thing, especially the live broadcasts that could still be heard from the Blue Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. The sound was very rich, musical, and satisfying. At the time, I had no clue why this thing seemed to sound so much better than the state-of-the-art SS radios that had already taken over the market. Now, I think I understand. I get the same experience listening to my 1936 RCA console. It doesn't just sound OLD, it sounds GOOD!

So, while I am not saying analog good, digital bad, I will go so far as to say transistor bad, tubes (and now class T) good. Transistor plus certain digital, measure great, sound soulless and dead.

There are a couple of variations on the Ackermann experiment I'd like to see. I'd love to through a Class T amp into the mix both with analog and with digital sources.

"Footnote 1: The presence of music can make as much as a 30% difference in a store's turnover."

I'd also like to replace the background music in a store with all analog and tube amps and measure the result. Wouldn't it be fascinating if the turnover went up directly proportional to the Ackermann's study responses?

OK, I've meandered on long enough and undoubtably kindled a few fires along the way. Hope so, otherwise the Forum isn't much fun. Emotion, donchaknow. And, speaking of the Forum, it is the only place of it's type I've ever been exposed to where two camps so fundamentally separated by beliefs and motivations get along with remarkable peace and harmony.

Dave

[laurenc319]

Hi Mallette,

Thank you for your great post.

It says many things I have experienced also. I grew up with

analog ( mono and then stereo ) switched to digital and then came

back to tubes and a digital source for most of the time and to

LPs some of the time.

The emotional experience of music is, I suspect, why most of us are on

this forum. The play back system we use to achieve this is to some

degree not relevant. Some in the study did prefer digital while

most favored the analog. My concern is that too many audiophiles

listen with the cerebrum to their systems whether analog or

digital in a critical fashion, chasing the measured audio nirvana

and thus they miss the real soul satisfying experience of the music

itself and the emotions it can evoke.

good listening

Larry

[steamer]

Greg, I find Stereo@#%$ quite handy. I leave it in the lav open to pages with $10,000 amps or $45,000 speakers for the wife to see. That way when I tell her the amp or Belles I want to buy for a grand are a bargain........

Rick

LOL,now thats thinking!

Greg