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<!-- #thumb --> <p>I have now officially been accused of “defending digital” in the face of overwhelming evidence that analog sounds better. *How dare I?</p>
<p>Let me suggest that there are three things I will passionately defend in audio – and digital isn’t one of them.</p>
<p><strong>The truth</strong>. *We may not like to look at the truth and it’s quite understandable why. *Consider that truth is only partially correct when it comes to complex issues. *We don’t know all there is about analog, digital, sound or, for that matter, anything else complex. *But we do know certain parts of the bigger truth and when I see people using incorrect facts to explain what they hear, I will reach out and set the record straight. *You should not feel threatened by this.</p>
<p><strong>The music</strong>. *If you look back over my posts you’ll notice I have consistently defended what sounds best and most like music. *I don’t care if it’s live, recorded, digital, analog. *If I am transported into the music and it is resonating with me, I am happy.</p>
<p><strong>The technology</strong>. *I know it’s fashionable to say that this or that is categorically better – like vinyl and tubes – but that is just simply wrong. *Tubes, vinyl, analog, digital are not categorically better – one over the other – and nothing gets the hair on the back of my neck up more than when people suggest they are. *They CAN be better – one over the other – and you may experience those things in your system – but you cannot point to the technology and say “therefore, this one is better than that one”.</p>
<p>Want a good laugh? *Go <a href=" https://vimeo.com/66753575" target="_blank">here and watch this very short video</a>. *My son Lon sent this to me and I cracked up. *Why? *Because haven’t we all been in this situation? *Haven’t we all been faced with the blunt truth but more than anything wanted someone just to listen to our side and understand first?</p>
<p>I think that’s what’s happening here. *When you read me saying “I can make a perfect digital copy of an analog record – and therefore digital audio technology itself is technically superior to analog” many of you jump to the conclusion that I just said “digital sounds better than analog” when I actually said no such thing.</p>
<p>If you and I are on a walk and we get lost and I pull out a map and say “we’re ok! *I have a map”. *You might jump to the conclusion that I haven’t yet agreed with you that we’re lost and you may fail to hear anything further until that very point is resolved.</p>
<p>Modern digital audio IS technically superior to analog with respect to signal to noise, dynamic range, distortion and frequency response. *It is also just as continuous a process as is analog. *That does not mean that a DAC in your system will sound better than your turntable and vinyl tube setup. *It just means we don’t have all the facts if that is what you hear in your setup.</p>
<p>Together, let’s try and honor the music and its reproduction and dig as deeply as we can to figure out what technology works, what doesn’t work, and why.</p>
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[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/confuse-facts/10723/]
<p>Let me suggest that there are three things I will passionately defend in audio – and digital isn’t one of them.</p>
<p><strong>The truth</strong>. *We may not like to look at the truth and it’s quite understandable why. *Consider that truth is only partially correct when it comes to complex issues. *We don’t know all there is about analog, digital, sound or, for that matter, anything else complex. *But we do know certain parts of the bigger truth and when I see people using incorrect facts to explain what they hear, I will reach out and set the record straight. *You should not feel threatened by this.</p>
<p><strong>The music</strong>. *If you look back over my posts you’ll notice I have consistently defended what sounds best and most like music. *I don’t care if it’s live, recorded, digital, analog. *If I am transported into the music and it is resonating with me, I am happy.</p>
<p><strong>The technology</strong>. *I know it’s fashionable to say that this or that is categorically better – like vinyl and tubes – but that is just simply wrong. *Tubes, vinyl, analog, digital are not categorically better – one over the other – and nothing gets the hair on the back of my neck up more than when people suggest they are. *They CAN be better – one over the other – and you may experience those things in your system – but you cannot point to the technology and say “therefore, this one is better than that one”.</p>
<p>Want a good laugh? *Go <a href=" https://vimeo.com/66753575" target="_blank">here and watch this very short video</a>. *My son Lon sent this to me and I cracked up. *Why? *Because haven’t we all been in this situation? *Haven’t we all been faced with the blunt truth but more than anything wanted someone just to listen to our side and understand first?</p>
<p>I think that’s what’s happening here. *When you read me saying “I can make a perfect digital copy of an analog record – and therefore digital audio technology itself is technically superior to analog” many of you jump to the conclusion that I just said “digital sounds better than analog” when I actually said no such thing.</p>
<p>If you and I are on a walk and we get lost and I pull out a map and say “we’re ok! *I have a map”. *You might jump to the conclusion that I haven’t yet agreed with you that we’re lost and you may fail to hear anything further until that very point is resolved.</p>
<p>Modern digital audio IS technically superior to analog with respect to signal to noise, dynamic range, distortion and frequency response. *It is also just as continuous a process as is analog. *That does not mean that a DAC in your system will sound better than your turntable and vinyl tube setup. *It just means we don’t have all the facts if that is what you hear in your setup.</p>
<p>Together, let’s try and honor the music and its reproduction and dig as deeply as we can to figure out what technology works, what doesn’t work, and why.</p>
<center><a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/confuse-facts/10723/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow"><img class="WP-EmailIcon" src="http://www.pstracks.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-email/images/email.gif" alt="email Dont confuse me with facts!" title="Dont confuse me with facts!" /></a>*<a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/confuse-facts/10723/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow">Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers</a></center><br /><!-- // MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE --><center><a href="http://eepurl.com/eSzBY">Get new and fresh stories like this each morning by joining the folks reading Paul's Posts. Click here </a></center>
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[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/confuse-facts/10723/]