sbrock1san.rr.com Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 I have a Kenwood CD player that I bought in 1989 and it still works perfectly. If I buy a new one will I hear noticable differences in audio quality due to technical advances, and if so what should I look for when buying a new one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Depends on what model you get and the D/A converters that come with the unit. Some people on rec.audio.pro like to use an outboard D/A converter because they say that it sounds much better (not that this would be surprising...). ------------------ Ken/Eleven Shadows/d i t h er/Nectar http://www.elevenshadows.com 4 music, travel, more! http://www.cdbaby.com/elevenshadows Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 I've still got my first CD player which is a Kenwood as well. It's probably a similar age to yours. The only maintanence I've performed is about every three years it can't see some CDs so I have to go in and adjust the trim pot for the lazer and then it'll work fine for another three years or so. If I were you, (and this is what I just did) I'd get a DVD player. We just picked up a Philips dual lazer and it not only plays DVDs but also CDs and CDRWs too. It's also got a co-ax and optical digital out which might come in handy for running stereo mixes through a finalizer and back to computer for instance. I really can't hear a whole lot of difference in my Kenwood and our newer CD players. Speakers still seem to make much more difference in sound quality to my ears. I've heard endless debates over digital things sounding cold, but even my original ADAT puts out exactly what I put into it. What I don't hear is tape hiss and scratches/pops/scrapy sounding garbage like on LP records. I really don't miss that and wonder why people complain about digital so much. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonafide Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Originally posted by DC: What I don't hear is tape hiss and scratches/pops/scrapy sounding garbage like on LP records. I really don't miss that and wonder why people complain about digital so much. Hey DC, I don't think digital is a complaint so much as it is missing something. The debate can go on and on. I have gotten very used to instant rewind, cut and paste, waveform editing, flying in choruses etc. Digital has certainly saved me time and headache as well as actually space. But listen to albums like 'Yellow brick road', or Journey's 'Infinity', Rush 'Moving Pictures', or 'Yes Songs'. With all of my great 24 bit gear I wonder 'How can I get THAT?. Digital is not cold but it is certainly very clean and sometimes that red-lined analog tape compression just can't be beat. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Winer Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Bonafide, > listen to albums like 'Yellow brick road', or Journey's 'Infinity' ... With all of my great 24 bit gear I wonder 'How can I get THAT?. ... sometimes that red-lined analog tape compression just can't be beat. < I doubt "red-lined analog tape compression" has anything to do with it. Those recordings sound great in spite of the distortion and other problems of analog tape, not because of it. The real reason those recordings sound great is because the engineers who made them are excellent. --Ethan The acoustic treatment experts Ethan's Audio Expert Book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 I vote for the DVD concept. For people like us, it's great to be able to play CD-RWs. You can make rough mixes and check them out without creating a coaster every time you want to listen to a new mix. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 I'd agree with the DVD route. Just make sure that the model that you buy *advertises* that is supports recordable media since most that don't cannot play CDR's. My very nice Sony DVD player doesn't read CDR's for example ;-(. -Dylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted June 27, 2001 Share Posted June 27, 2001 Bonafide, I must say that 'Yessongs' was my fav live album until 'The Dance' (Fleetwood Mac) came out. I do believe that it's the performance mostly tho. Being a live album, it's not even recorded with fancy studio mics & pres. SteveRB, if you go the DVD route, just get one that says; "Dual Lazer" on the features list. Those will play the CD-RWs. Like Craig said, it's great for checking mixes. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonafide Posted June 27, 2001 Share Posted June 27, 2001 Originally posted by Ethan Winer: I doubt "red-lined analog tape compression" has anything to do with it. Those recordings sound great in spite of the distortion and other problems of analog tape, not because of it. The real reason those recordings sound great is because the engineers who made them are excellent.--Ethan Well hmmm. I suppose I didn't expect anyone to take that statement literally in terms of actual production, but it is always someone. Analog tape compression does have a WHOLE lot to do with it and why digital recordings don't sound as warm. Terry Brown has always been one of my favorite engineers and producers as Rush has been one of all time favorite bands. Same with Yes's Eddie Offord as well as the members Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Steve Howe are also some of my favorite engineer/producers. My respect is beyond words for these guys. I recently had the chance to hang out with Steve Howe and Chris Squire here in town (Santa Barbara Sound)Santa Barbara Ca. as they were recording a new album. Mostly talked about school and kids and the Internet. They were by the way recording on 2" and using ProTools for editing etc, At least that is what the plan was according to Steve. I certainly don't discount any one's skills or make any claims about why those albums sound how they do. They are simply some of my personal reference albums. Had those albums been made today in the year 2001 with strictly digital medium, there is absolutley no denying that the overall 'soul' or 'vibe' of the album would be different. Just a simple observation. Didn't mean to ruffle any engineer feathers. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan Winer Posted June 28, 2001 Share Posted June 28, 2001 Bonafide, > Analog tape compression does have a WHOLE lot to do with it and why digital recordings don't sound as warm. < With all due respect, that's a lot of nonsense. "Warm" is in the miking, the room, the EQ, the reverb, and certainly the player and his or her instrument. I don't know who first equated the notion of tape distortion with being warm, but it's a cruel joke played on a lot of recording amateurs (and many pros too). Unfortunately, it's been repeated so many times it's now generally accepted as truth. --Ethan The acoustic treatment experts Ethan's Audio Expert Book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonafide Posted June 28, 2001 Share Posted June 28, 2001 Hey Ethan, Well this is a debate that certainly is not worth getting into. Same as anything it comes down to the individual. I am neither an Amateur nor a Pro though I do have ears and I am a career musician/engineer/producer. I personally CAN hear a difference and that is all that matters. Nonsense?,not to me. Your ears are yours alone and there are over 5 billion other sets of ears that hear something else. This world would certainly be a dull and dry place if only one man,woman or child was allowed to produce ALL of the music. Best in all you do. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhcomp45aol.com Posted June 28, 2001 Share Posted June 28, 2001 Steve Howe recorded two of his solo albums on a Tascam 80-8. He is not a poor man or a stupid man, Some pros chase their tails with endless amounts of gizmos because they can. It doesnt make their album any better. People think by adding harmonic distortion to digital gear they have tape sound.Harmonic distortion is just one of the many by products of tape compression. It is a hangover from a good drunk without the high. We all have our personal preference but tape sound cannot be created without tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtrmac Posted June 28, 2001 Share Posted June 28, 2001 Professional analog gear has a 100KHz bandwidth. Why? Because it sounds good. Even some analog tape machines have twice the bandwidth of CD's. I agree that the music is the primary ingredient of music but things like analog tape compression really sound good and analog consoles sound better than DAW's. Only trouble is that the good sounding analog consoles cost hundreds of thousands of dollars! Man I love my (cheap)DAW! ------------------ Mac Bowne G-Clef Acoustics Ltd. Osaka, Japan My Music: www.javamusic.com/freedomland Mac Bowne G-Clef Acoustics Ltd. Osaka, Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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