Each method of recording amplifying and playback has its own distortion. There is no reproduction system (yet) that reproduces voice or music without distorting it.

I do like the sound of vinyl, especially through tube preamps and amps. The distortion caused by that circuitry is pleasing to my ears.

What I don't like about vinyl is the surface noise. Static pops and clicks seem to build up over time, no matter how careful I am with the records and turntable.

I hated 8-tracks and never owned one. A friend had one and in the middle of a long cut it clicked a few times, changed tracks, and continued the song after that. Splitting the song in the middle to change tracks is heresy.

Cassettes have a loss of fidelity and tape hiss. I used to record my LPs on cassette to listen to them in the car. IMO, that's all they were good for.

CDs have distortion of the tone, they cannot reproduce all the harmonic overtones properly. Furthermore, they add harmonics of their own. The bit-rate isn't high enough, so the tone is edgier.

SACDs were much better, but the public didn't embrace them.

MP3s leave things out in the compression, WAV files are much better but still distort the harmonics.

So what you listen to depends on which distortion bothers you the least.

I'll listen to an LP, CD, WAV or SACD with no problem. A 192 or higher mp3 is ok for casual listening too.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks