Sound quality of Vinyl vs CD
Short answer: NO !!
At the moment, the best sound quality is HD audio formats such as DVD or Blu-ray Audio.
So now we are faced with the problems of the skeptics, like you can’t hear the difference between audio CDs and HD audio, because audio CDs can play louder sounds than anyone else, or vinyl records they sound so much better. But just ignore these people as I explain how digital audio works, which most people don’t understand.
Uncompressed digital audio has two components. One is the sample size, the other is the sample rate.
The sample size determines how loud the music can be, or more precisely, the dynamic range, the difference between the quietest and the loudest parts (you can always turn the stereo up to 11 for more volume). It turns out that people can easily hear more than 16-bit dynamic range than a 16-bit audio CD provides. What this really means for HD audio is that you can have a very quiet section (and not hear noise) and then play loud music. In practice, extremely loud sounds are just instantaneous peaks, but you can, if you wish, record something with a large difference in volume, for example, next to an emergency siren. You will hear the background sounds of the birds and then the siren. If you turn up the volume to hear the birds well enough to hear them during playback,
Another component is the sampling rate, the frequency with which you sample the sound to reproduce the sound wave. The higher the sample rate, the more realistic the recording will be. Since CDs are played 44.1K times per second, sounds can be played up to 20 kHz, which is louder than most people can hear (I can only hear up to 17 kHz), so in In theory, a CD can reproduce a wider frequency range than people can listen to. … But sadly, this does not account for all the people who can hear. People have a highly developed sense of stereo sound. We can easily determine the direction of the sound. This is the result of very small differences in the time it takes to reach each of our ears. The brain processes this and produces spatial awareness of where the sound is coming from, and that’s pretty accurate. So this is where HD (high definition) audio comes in. With a higher sample rate, you can get a more refined waveform with enough detail to reproduce these subtle differences, which make the sound more vivid and lifelike than typical CD recordings.
When it comes to analog audio sources, the main problem with all analog formats (tape and vinyl) is that they degrade with each playback (and not even playback). Vinyl is famous for the awe, the thrill, the shock, and of course the scratches, cracks, and pops when the needle goes through the grove. The tape is elastic, has speed issues, and only sounds great at 15IPS or higher. Neither is perfect.
A few things to consider when considering HD audio.
Never discuss HD audio with someone who has never heard it. A complete waste of time arguing with idiots. This is the main rule of HD audio.
Most of the commercially available audio is already compressed for CD and radio playback. They deliberately remove dynamic range so music sounds clearer and better on low-quality systems (like phones).
The higher the sample rate, the more natural the sound will be. Good uncompressed 24/192 sound sounds open and natural, like you’re in the room listening with headphones. Compare the same recording on HD and CD if you can. You want to listen to uncompressed music, not a rap or pop cut. The quality of the CD is good enough for this.
Ignore those who say you have to spend a lot of money to listen to HD sound. You can use any analog amp (most of them), a DVD or Blu-ray player (make sure it can handle up to 192), and decent speakers or headphones. Good speakers and headphones can be bought for less than $ 300 if you look around. Obviously, you can spend more, but that will get you to the door. And, of course, a DVD or Blu-ray disc. Look for full digital recordings with a sample rate of 96 or higher. 48k is not much different from 44.1 except for the dynamic range (which can be significant). I have created new systems for $ 500 and even novice listeners can tell the difference.
Answer 2:
No, but that’s more than enough if you haven’t spent thousands on a listening room / system.
