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Re: The big question is ...

Posted by mikel (A) on May 3, 2006 at 21:58:01

In Reply to: Re: The big question is ... posted by Ted Smith on May 3, 2006 at 18:21:10:

Christine,

my perspective on how really top vinyl compares to any digital is well known. the new EMM Labs does do things that certainly get closer to top vinyl than other digital.

but even on dynamics the EMM cannot quite get there. when you hear a horn or guitar or piano on vinyl on the Rockport there is a sense of true-to-life microdynamics that much more resembles real life than any digital i have heard. OTOH digital can do better on really low frequency dynamics although still short of the texture and tonality that vinyl can do. information for it's own sake is different than transcending the recording chain.

there is an Lp i play quite a bit; 'For Duke'; M&K direct-to-disk 33rpm. on the first cut 'Take The 'A' Train' there is a trumpet that gets quite dynamic and very vivid and 'in your face'. there is a real life 'action' and transparency to this that simply transcends the reproduction chain and comes fully alive in my room. unless you hear it for yourself it would be hard to describe. digital can easily portray the dynamic range and PRAT of this......but it misses the natural microdynamic action and live feeling.

so to answer your question; the EMM Labs Signature Edition does great dynamics; but misses the immediacy of real life compared to the best Lps.

as Ted mentioned; as good as the EMM Labs is it still sounds somewhat lacking in fullness and depth compared to the Rockport.

for those hoping that digital is catching up i would have to say; sorry, things are going the other way. as i have improved my system this last year and particularly with the new battery powered darTZeel preamp and phono stage; my analogue has disappeared over the horizon from approaching digital performance.

i believe that vinyl playback technology has improved more in the last few years than digital. any improvement in a vinyl front-end yeilds much more of a performance difference than a corresponding change in a digital front-end. there is just so much farther to go.

those moments when i have people over to listen and i switch from digital to vinyl are consistently more dramatic than ever. mostly there is a big 'sigh' and a 'wow' and something is said like 'it's really nowhere close, is it?'

nope.

that is just the viewpoint from where i sit. i would guess that there are many that would not agree with my viewpoint......but not many that have visited my room.

btw, i still mostly listen to digital and now even more with the new EMM Labs Signature......it is fantastic and really does not need to compete with vinyl.

mikel

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