And the fatiguing is a valid phenomenon, I am not making it up. It is a known fact at the school, at least with their particular machines and setups. Granted I’m sure there are those that can listen to mp3’s all day, and those who can listen to Britney Spears singing the national anthem all day, but unless you have compared them both extensively you really don’t have an argument.
B-r-i-t-n-e-y S-p-e-a-r-s is censored as “mother theresa”? WTF?
britney spears
Yep…it’s a forum secret Apparently, there was a spam bot ages ago advertising B.ritney S.pears porn, so a moderator changed it to Britney Spears.
Oh, that was the other unfiltered37 who started the DX7 hate thread.
Well no, we had the usual “analogue is the only pure medium” that we always get from you.
And please stop mentioning mp3s. We all know they’re crap - we’re talking about full resolution, uncompressed data digital recordings.
Britney Spears! 
I didn’t know that, that’s really fucking funny.
Ricky Martin… Nop. Not censored yet…
You’re really going to mention the DX7 in an analog/digital discussion? The DX7 represents digital a whole buttload less than MP3’s. And more putting words in my virtual mouth. That’s why threads get deleted.
I don’t care whether he’s recorded digitally or analogue, it’s going to be painful to listen too.
And yet look what Eno did with it. Of course you probably think he’s crap too.
I’ll just give my password, and you can post under my name, since you are intent on thinking and speaking for me.
What was the initial post that started this thread again ? Oh yeah, what is the best audio interface for Moog analog synths ? Well, I say record it with extreme digital precision to capture every nuance in every little detail and have a perfect record of that performance for eternity, then record that back to analog tape to listen to it without growing fatigued. Best of both worlds. How’s that for a solution ?
OK, so far about digital you have said that it fatigues the ear, doesn’t record instruments as well as analogue, isn’t as loud as analogue etc. OK you didn’t explicitly use the word ‘sucks’, that was just shorthand, not a quote, for all the negative things you have said about digital.
Mr Arkadin, let me point out that unfiltered37 did write, and I quote him: “Digital is more convenient, easier to distribute, and more editable… I agree digital does do a better job with dialogue, and certain instruments like piano… Technically digital has a larger dynamic range…”
I didn’t necessarily agree with him, however, when he also wrote, and I quote him again: “…as far as sound and fidelity, high quality [analog] tape can’t be beat.”.
But he’s entitled to his opinion, and I respect that.
I said some instruments are better recorded with analog, and acknowledged that some aren’t like the piano. Did you not read that? And you agreed that tape sounds louder, since you suggested that you put a compressor on the digital track to even out the comparison. And the fatigue thing is not my idea, it is a real thing, I didn’t make it up. You can disagree with it, but I have perceived it myself, not sure how else you want me to say it.
Just a quick reminder: compressor and compander are two different things.
Usually a compander (dynamic compressor/expander combo) is used on analog tapes to get an even higher dynamic range than the media allows, and lower the noise floor. A compressor only, is usually used as a limiter to remain within the maximum dynamic range allowed by the media before distortion appears, and will not affect the noise floor level nor the dynamic range of the media.
companders are used in noise reduction units, good machines with wide tracks and modern high level tape don’t need NR, which is good because they degrade the signal. The Dolby SR (spectral recording) is okay, but you lose the “tape sound” with them. The compression from tape stems from the magnetic medium itself, which tends to round off the signal when the ferric oxide particles are all charged, or saturated.
Did I mention that Hi-Fi VHS tape is comparable to hundreds of inches per second? 
Yes, but let’s not get carried away here. There are important drawbacks to the Hi-Fi Stereo AFM recordings of VHS tapes. The most important one being the tracking, and the second one being the way the tape dropouts are being handled (or ignored in this particular case). The analog delay line, that holds the last good horizontal video information used to correct momentary video dropouts, isn’t used for the FM carrier containing audio information. Resulting in very audible static glitches in the sound when such an event occurs.
As for tracking, if the playback unit has problems tracking the recorded video synchronization information, or if tape speed cannot match the original recorded one (ie: worn-out drive belts or slipping clutches) then the video embedded Hi-Fi audio content will be unusable and garbled.
It works very good, with excellent frequency response (flat 20 to 20,000 kHz) and excellent dynamic range (70 dB), with a VCR in top shape mechanically and electronically, AND with high quality VHS tapes. But over time, inevitably, those tapes will become harder and harder to playback correctly from start to finish without uncorrected dropouts.
edit: which is not a problem with DAT, since the CIRC algorithm is used to recover missing digital data, with 100% accuracy. However, there is no such way to recover missing analog audio information. When it’s gone, it’s gone!
I understand what you’re saying, and I respect it. However, I must say that ALL tape loss audio quality over time. The tapes from 1964 I have of my deceased grandfather’s voice are archived on my father’s Mac. It took a lot of work to get the dying Revere to play those acetate tapes into the computer, followed by hours of adjusting for tape stretch and reel speed. (The machine slows down as it gets hot, due to the belt being on its last leg.) So not just VHS tapes have problems. But, having said that, I rarely record unless it’s for a soundtrack for a haunted house, at which point, degraded audio quality is somewhat of a moot point…it all depends on your needs and budget as to what you use to record analog gear. That’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it? Correct me if I’m wrong.