FiveDotOne
Käyttäjä
- Liittynyt
- 12.10.2006
- Viestejä
- 242
Tere,
http://www.macmusic.org/articles/view.php/lang/en/id/91/#4
tsekatkaas tuolta tämä teksti, joka lyhykäisesti kuvaa vinyylin "ominaisuuksia" :
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The problems with vinyl
The main concern has been, then and now, of aiming to safeguard the largest possible part of the sound quality of the master tape, by navigating among the numerous pitfalls caused by the nature of the medium itself, and in trying to circumvent a sufficiently drastic set of limitations. The groove, of the thickness of a hair, carries pitch information laterally, and amplitude information vertically.
- bass frequencies therefore affect the total width of the groove, to the detriment of the length of the programme;
- while the thickness of vinyl affects the dynamic range available.
When stereo cutting makes its appearance, in 1957, the problem becomes more complicated: if the information of the two channels is out of phase, especially in the bass frequencies, the needle is confronted by a groove which dilates and contracts in width, which it obviously cannot read, unless the height of the groove, coinciding miraculously- and in inverse proportion- with the lateral topology, permits it.
The other problem of size concerns the very high frequencies, inevitably limited by the maximum speed of the cutting arm, but becoming entirely impossible to cut once the acceleration of the frequency becomes too important, in other words once the sudden jump between two high frequencies becomes too large. Transients, partly controlled by smoothing circuits, are a clear example, but the phenomenon affects equally certain consonants- s, ch, and z sounds, etc- and a whole assortment of sounds produced by- or resembling- instruments like the hi-hat or the kabassa.
The set of these physical limitations has inevitable repercussions for the quality of reproduction of the audio content:
- no stereo signal is possible beyond a certain threshold in the bass frequencies;
- filtering is obligatory as soon as percussion appears with strong high frequency content: cymbals, maracas, etc;
- control over sibilants is obligatory, by a de-esser in the best case, and if not, again by passive filtering;
- absolute limits affect the speed of transients;
- there is a compromise between maximum frequency range and the length of the programme;
- there is a compromise between the maximum dynamic range and the costs associated with the thickness of the vinyl; (1)
- there is a compromise between the longevity of the finished LP and the costs associated with the quality of the vinyl.
The current "retro" movement favoring vinyl has led to a new credulity towards the virtues of the medium. However, one should know that while the power of cutting systems has gone from ten watts in the 1950s to a maximum of almost 500 watts around 1975, which has allowed for better reproduction of transients and sibilants, the quality of audio produced has evolved in parallel, notably with new formulations of magnetic tape of higher performance with respect to high frequencies. The net effect being that the number of compromises that must be made in order to cut vinyl has stayed the same. In addition, it should be said that the last cutting system from the Neumann factories, around 1990, presented only cosmetic differences from the models produced 15 years earlier, which leaves to the imagination the meaning of affirmations about the "progress" accomplished in this area over the past while..
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1) In the interests of completeness, and understanding that this is only indirectly related to mastering, we should add to this list the problems that arise during reading of the microgroove:
- wow and flutter;
- weakness of stereo separation;
- motor noises, directly transmitted to the needle, and/or induced because of deficiencies in electrical insulation;
- surface noise, etc.
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FiveDotOne
http://www.macmusic.org/articles/view.php/lang/en/id/91/#4
tsekatkaas tuolta tämä teksti, joka lyhykäisesti kuvaa vinyylin "ominaisuuksia" :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The problems with vinyl
The main concern has been, then and now, of aiming to safeguard the largest possible part of the sound quality of the master tape, by navigating among the numerous pitfalls caused by the nature of the medium itself, and in trying to circumvent a sufficiently drastic set of limitations. The groove, of the thickness of a hair, carries pitch information laterally, and amplitude information vertically.
- bass frequencies therefore affect the total width of the groove, to the detriment of the length of the programme;
- while the thickness of vinyl affects the dynamic range available.
When stereo cutting makes its appearance, in 1957, the problem becomes more complicated: if the information of the two channels is out of phase, especially in the bass frequencies, the needle is confronted by a groove which dilates and contracts in width, which it obviously cannot read, unless the height of the groove, coinciding miraculously- and in inverse proportion- with the lateral topology, permits it.
The other problem of size concerns the very high frequencies, inevitably limited by the maximum speed of the cutting arm, but becoming entirely impossible to cut once the acceleration of the frequency becomes too important, in other words once the sudden jump between two high frequencies becomes too large. Transients, partly controlled by smoothing circuits, are a clear example, but the phenomenon affects equally certain consonants- s, ch, and z sounds, etc- and a whole assortment of sounds produced by- or resembling- instruments like the hi-hat or the kabassa.
The set of these physical limitations has inevitable repercussions for the quality of reproduction of the audio content:
- no stereo signal is possible beyond a certain threshold in the bass frequencies;
- filtering is obligatory as soon as percussion appears with strong high frequency content: cymbals, maracas, etc;
- control over sibilants is obligatory, by a de-esser in the best case, and if not, again by passive filtering;
- absolute limits affect the speed of transients;
- there is a compromise between maximum frequency range and the length of the programme;
- there is a compromise between the maximum dynamic range and the costs associated with the thickness of the vinyl; (1)
- there is a compromise between the longevity of the finished LP and the costs associated with the quality of the vinyl.
The current "retro" movement favoring vinyl has led to a new credulity towards the virtues of the medium. However, one should know that while the power of cutting systems has gone from ten watts in the 1950s to a maximum of almost 500 watts around 1975, which has allowed for better reproduction of transients and sibilants, the quality of audio produced has evolved in parallel, notably with new formulations of magnetic tape of higher performance with respect to high frequencies. The net effect being that the number of compromises that must be made in order to cut vinyl has stayed the same. In addition, it should be said that the last cutting system from the Neumann factories, around 1990, presented only cosmetic differences from the models produced 15 years earlier, which leaves to the imagination the meaning of affirmations about the "progress" accomplished in this area over the past while..
---------------------
1) In the interests of completeness, and understanding that this is only indirectly related to mastering, we should add to this list the problems that arise during reading of the microgroove:
- wow and flutter;
- weakness of stereo separation;
- motor noises, directly transmitted to the needle, and/or induced because of deficiencies in electrical insulation;
- surface noise, etc.
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FiveDotOne