Having heard most of my favourite songs on multiple formats over the years, three things become apparent: the sonic properties of each format; the pro's and con's of each; and the suitability of the music in relation to each format. Essentially, some music sounds better on vinyl than cd, and the opposite is also true, regardless of what the purists might say. I've heard music on vinyl, cassette, CD, minidisc, mp3, and through streaming, and it's fair to say that each has its uses. Vinyl purists and audiophiles might argue that ALL music sounds better on the black wax, as long as the pressing is the finest - half-speed mastered from the original tapes, 180g etc - and your high end equipment is perfectly set up and tweaked to sonic perfection. But that's an expensive business, and if you can't afford to shell out thousands then that way of thinking puts your musical enjoyment at a disadvantage. I don't have a perfect set up, although i plan to invest in a decent separates system at some point, namely when my current turntable - a 1973 Marconiphone 4353 radiogram, in surprisingly good nick given its age - gives up the ghost. I have two other CD players in the house; a cheap portable "boombox" type and a small DAB radio/CD stereo in the kitchen. So i am hardly what you would call an audiophile! And i am well aware of the limitations of all three; the CD players don't have much in the way of "range", and the speakers on the radiogram can have a fair amount of crackle and hiss due to their age. I'm no expert, but i doubt there's much i can do to remove the sibilant "s" effect i often get. Crackles and pops are par for the course with vinyl; part of its charm.
Of course, you don't get any surface noise with CD's. The sound is much more clinical, the "perfect" sound. Except for the fact that, sonically, there are details missing. As the music is converted digitally to a collection of zeroes and ones, and compressed, the dynamic range of the sound is reduced, meaning that small details are lost. You might not notice this if you've only listened to music on CD, but play the same song on vinyl and it does become apparent. After listening to Madness on cassette and CD for over 30 years i had become so familiar with every note, every nuance, that i thought no more surprises lay in store. Wrong. Hearing their music on vinyl for the first time i was astonished: details that i had never previously heard suddenly leapt from the speakers, even familiar lyrics and solos took on a new life. And it makes sense to me: music that was recorded and produced to be primarily on vinyl is going to sound perfect on that format. So surely the reverse must be true? Music that was recorded to be heard on CD must then be at its best on CD. I have noticed a negative difference on some songs upon hearing them on vinyl for the first time, mostly on music recorded after 2000. when limited quantities of Vinyl were still being pressed, but CD was the dominant format. Indie and alternative acts were still putting out singles on 7", in limited editions and often with a different mix of the A-side or backed by songs unavailable elsewhere, to make them appealing to fans. One of the singles in my 45 45's playlist is such an example: "Carrion" by the quirky British Sea Power. This song has long been a favourite ever since i first heard it on the Top 40 countdown back in 2003, but the version i've always been familiar with is the Commanders Croft mix, the album and video version featured on CD 1 of the single. The version on the 7" - of which 1,942 were pressed - is the Ridgeway mix, which sounds more "rugged" and has a different fade out. This mix is unavailable elsewhere, so hearing it for the first time was a shock. It's still a song i love, but it doesn't sound quite right on vinyl. I will persist though, as it is slowly revealing its charms. "Oh Yeah" by Irish pop-punks Ash has a different quality on 7" : the guitars seem more to the front of the mix, the strings reduced to a mere supporting role whereas on CD they seem more intertwined. Songs that i have only ever heard as an mp3 can sometimes sound completely different on Vinyl or CD - during the noughties there were many tracks only available as a download - and not always in a positive way. Today's youth largely hear music through their smartphones, songs often being produced with the sonic limitations of that in mind. Those songs probably pack the same punch as 7"s heard through a tinny mono radio speaker back in the sixties. I guess it's in the ears of the beholder.......
No comments:
Post a Comment