I think good analog with tube gear (and tube saturation) sounds the best.

I have a couple of SACDs that I think sound noticeably better than regular CDs.

But I think that's also impractical for consumers.

My engineering mind says the higher the bit rate of digital, the better reproduction you should get, as long as everything else in the chain is the same.

But (and it's a big but), there is always a point of diminishing returns where the same amount of technical improvement offers less and less perceptible improvement. And that varies from one listener to another.

Another consideration is who are you recording for? If you are recording for the general public, it doesn't matter much. Since I was a child I see the general public's choice was 45rpm records, 8 tracks that sometimes even changed tracks mid-song, cassette tapes, early CDs (which IMHO sounded terrible on the systems of the day) and finally mp3s.

And they listened to them on systems that didn't have the bandwidth to reproduce the highs, lows, and dynamic response. Players with narrow bandwidth circuits, and either tiny, tinny speakers or low-fi earbuds.

Adequate resolution is all you need for that.

On the other hand, we have audiophiles who listen on high-end systems, have trained ears and listen for the sonic quality as much as they do the beauty of the music. You need to get as high up the path of diminishing returns for these people as you can afford to. But admittedly they are a small market.

These are the two extremes, there are many between those points.

And after all that, two sets of ears are not the same. Even if a person's hearing hasn't been damaged, some people just hear better or worse than others. Better frequency response, better perception and so on.

I guess it seems like I'm drifting off topic here, but the point I'm trying to make, is that there is no definitive best for everyone. You need to find what is best for you and your audience.

Insights and incites by Notes

Last edited by Notes Norton; 10/10/17 02:55 AM.
Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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