dsj@rabbit.UUCP (David S. Johnson @ ) (08/31/84)
I haven't heard the recordings Doug Paley mentioned in his posting, but I too have compared Revox CD versus LP (although admittedly not on so pricey a system) and occasionally found CD wanting. However, so far this has been traceable to the recording/performance. Alicia de LaRocca on LP blows away the Dutoit CD of Ravel's Piano Concerto, even though it has to be heard through a veil of surface noise, but that's because the performance has so much more rhythmic drive and passion. This greatly colors my perception of how "realistic" the sound is. The best test would be direct comparisons between analog LP's and CD's made from the same master tape (or at least same performance). AUDIO (I think) just had a review of two Sheffield CD's, comparing the to the direct to disc LP's. The reviewer detected differences on the the CD made from an analog master, but not on the one made from a digital master. My only comparison has been on the CD of the DOORS first album. The LP sounded a bit brighter (it was also worn out) but overall the CD sounded better, although the absence of surface noise gave it a slightly less "open" sound (turning up the treble just one notch worked wonders). David Johnson, AT&T Bell Laboratories