It’s been an interesting couple of weeks that have challenged many audiophiles opinions and beliefs. There has been questioning (Many of the posts in this thread are a micro sample of the current digital / analogue debate) Authenticity, Experts, Aural Abilities, Perceived Values etc have all been under the microscope.
The response to the conundrum so far seems to be:
Anal Prod now ‘Undisputed kings of analogue’
The soul searching of some AAA audiophiles shifting position to: ‘if it sounds good, i don’t mind digital’
The First pressing brigade laughing at ‘reproduction audiophiles’
First pressings rising in value.
Predictions:
Mofi may not survive in it’s current form.
Analogue productions market share will increase
Many reviewers will be doing a lot more research prior to publishing
First pressing popular audiophile titles will continue to rise in value
I think the average bloke is more likely thinking: “Ive done my money it sounds OK, oh well, perhaps I won’t buy from them again”
A fair few ‘investor’ types are waiting to see which way the wind blows
If the current level of negative pres continues, perceived value / desirability will undoubtedly be affected.
Fascinating! I kind of knew this level of analogue purity obsession was out there, but I’ve never really thought much about it. I don’t have a problem knowing that most records I’m going to buy and play on my turntable will have been produced and mastered digitally. The analogue at the end of the delivery chain still introduces something euphonic and I’m happy with that. I don’t feel conned that that effect is introduced at the end of a chain that has been largely digital up to that point. It sounds excellent, so job done as far as I’m concerned. There’s no conflict there for me. I’m not remotely surprised about the controversial DSD conversion. Obviously implying that that isn’t the case when it is, is deception, which if such things are important to you, then one would have a right to feel aggrieved. But equally when such things aren’t important to 99% of the top mastering engineers on the planet, one has to ask, does it really matter, and if so, why exactly? All of the mastering studios at Abbey Road have a digital front end. It’s standard throughout the audio industry. Anyway, blah blah I don’t really have anything to add to the debate especially, but it’s certainly a fascinating window on a niche corner of perfectionism/completism that had almost completely eluded me till now.
Those guys who paid big money (currently c $1000++) for the vinyl edition of Mofi’s first one-step release Santana ‘Abraxas’ now wrestling with the fact it was almost certainly cut from a DSD transfer…
It’s HiFi after all so I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that there are still blowhards who claim they can hear a transparent ADC process. The nice thing is it’s one of the king blowhards who has been rumbled.
This has stirred a distant memory, think it was a film I watched where Dave Grohl bought the old mixing desk from sound city to use at his studio. Wonder if he’s thrown a digital recorder on the output of that😁
First pressings available for a twentieth the price, there’s even a sealed reel to reel for less than a fifth that price. I know it’s not the point, but the smug is bursting at the seams😁
I don’t see it as perfectionism (in a technical performance sense), they’re just clinging to the shibboleth that analogue is always >>> digital. If you base your whole belief system on that then I guess it’s terrifying to see your world come crashing down.
Digital is a swiftly moving stream, purling sweetly. But analog is a cataract bounding cacophonically off boulders and precipices, smashing into logs, and spraying drops and puddles everywhere.
I have a few. They get played (well, as much as I play any records at the moment, before @Tons_of_fun chips in). Some sound better than others. Ho hum.
The thing with a lot of first pressing very late 60’s popular title pressings ----> the oil crisis 70’s pressings & certainly many 80’s pressings is they just don’t sound very good (Multiple reasons here). Mobile fidelity had three main USP’s:
Half Speed Mastering
Pure vinyl
All analogue.
There are many very popular titles that were notoriously shit from this period (Hello thriller) that MOFI could technically and physically improve upon. In many cases they did (Not all) Half Speed Mastering is a more detailed method of extracting detail from the tape in theory - improved purity vinyl, lower stamper run pressings etc are (In theory) a step in qualities direction. The mastering itself (where things get boosted / reduced) can sometimes be where things start to sound bandy. I tend not to collect a lot from the 70’s -80’s but Mofi did have a better sounding offering than, many (Not all) of the first pressings from this period. Regardless of the method of transcription.
