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It seems that at least at that facility, that the lacquer master was being produced from a digital source.

This is true of most modern LPs. The thing is that some sounds require a wider groove than others and if you recorded the whole record allowing for the maximum dynamic range, you would get a short playing side. In the old days, you would either get someone very skilled adjusting groove width manually or if they were being lazy, they would just compress the whole thing. These days, they record the master through a digital delay which analyses the sigal and determines the reqired groove width and controls the cutting lathe accordingly. I belive these system operate at higher thean 16/44 though - probably 24/96.

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I would rather go back to tape.

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You must have very unique hearing if you prefer the sound of tape to CDs.

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It depends, if he's talking about 1/4inch reel to reel on a good recorder at 15 or 30 IPS then it is a 'very' close call compared to CD or DAT. I only wish I could retrieve my Studer from under the stairs!

However if it's compact cassette then I agree with you!



Well, I was talking about compact cassette but I was being a bit flippant to make the point. I agree that in most quantifiable ways, CD is superior to cassette but for all it's flaws, it is listenable. Sometimes, I find CDs unlistenable.

I would love a 1/4 tape in the car, but I can't find a DIN E model...(I am being flippant again in case anyone is wondering)

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But suit yourself. If you've already found some vinyl rips and you like their sound, then by all means carry on!

Sorry, I wasn't very clear about that. All the vinyl rips I have are self made and uncompressed.The MP3s I have tried and liked are not vinyl rips but downloaded from legit music sites but don't exhibit the zingy quality I am trying to avoid, so my problem is not with digital audio per se but some commercial CDs.