Differences and characteristics between vinyl and digital change within different levels of gear quality on both sides. With a DAC like the DS, any kind of harsh, bright, analytic, flat, anemic or artificial sounding characteristics are long gone.
The lower the level, the more the listeners appreaciate a richer more pleasant sound of vinyl vs. digital. But the richer, more pleasant sound of the vinyl as well as the more unpleasant sound of digital are just symptoms of their restrictions.
The higher the level, the more, differences strongly depend on the choice of HW and the direction you want to give. The most noticeable advantage of digital being the lack of distortion especially in dynamic peaks and the advantage of analog being the more ambiance information and realism.
The thing is, it plays no big role as they don’t sound nameable different on a rough level. A change in advantage of the DAC doesn’t harm vinyl sound. E.g. even when I made a subwoofer phase or level adjustment change due to a different firmware on the DS, there was only once a situation when it was not optimal for vinyl. But the better the DS got, the more similar both sounded.
I know nearly everything of this contradicts the narrative of those (I don’t mean you) with just theoretical, superficial, low level or or no vinyl experience. That makes it so difficult to read such misleading (not wrong from their perspective) claims again and again.
As I commented earlier in the topic, I think Mofi, when they first began transferring to DSD, coined a name for the process, illustrated it in high end graphics and marketed it as a vastly superior process.
This could have backfired but, since the DSD transfer concept is so good, I’m betting they could have made it trendy.
I think trendy might be the wrong term…it’s cheaper and good enough. A trend for the manufacturers but not for the customers. Just those customers follow who ignore it and buy for the sound quality they achieve with combining the potential of their good mastering chain, their good EQ choices and their skill (several, not all AAA cutters have this, too) with their 1step process, the super vinyl formula and the 45RPM. Differences between all analog and the DSD265 step get in the background by this on their best releases.
I think we’ll later see how AAA 1step super vinyl 45RPM releases will sound like in comparison. So far no AAA release was offered with all of those features anywhere to my knowledge, just the Mofi DSD . So the time to do an apples to apples comparison is yet to come.
While we expect our members to be respectful and avoid profanity, a link to a clearly audio-relevant YouTube video is no problem even if there is a couple of examples of profanity.
Of course, there are limits where the video itself is offensive, but this is not common in audio videos in my experience. Use discretion.
And now this story has made the Washington Post - (sorry, paywalled)
I like how they say that this has “heightened the rift” between Michael Fremer and Mike Esposito but then only quotes Fremer needlessly dumping on Mike. I guess that reassures me that my mom was right that if I don’t have anything nice to say I should say nothing at all.
Great article, although in my understanding they partly confused who said, asked or discovered what first. Some get false praise, others get too negatively out of the story, but for the reason of their own hybris and bossiness.
At least now even the last follower of this story, being overly careful with them or even defending Mofi regarding the main topic of actively misleading or even lying, should have got the story.
On technology side, I bet this whole story generates the release of the one or other comparison package to really be able to compare apples to apples when it comes to analog sourced, DSD256 processed vinyl vs. all analog, maybe even vs. digitally sourced vinyl. With whatever outcome.
What some ignore is, there are already many DSD processed vinyl vs. all analog apples to apples comparison options, but as far as I know not yet on DSD256 basis.
What’s a quasi fact imo is, that DSD256 is so good, that other optimizations of the vinyl production process overrule any possible (in case it exists) negative effect of a DSD256 interim processing in comparison with AAA vinyl, using lesser optimizations of the rest of the vinyl production process.
On the one hand this is a total disaster and people are gonna lawyer up and sue MoFi. On the other hand, it proves that well mastered digital is aurally indistinguishable from pure analog because these releases were lauded for years as awesome.
I have one of the “One Step” recordings. Donald Fagen’s “The Nightfly”. Which really didn’t matter as far as transfers because the original was one of the first digitally recorded albums. And it sounds FANTASTIC. I bought it because it’s one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time and I just wanted it. I had no illusions about it being pure analog. I also have multiple MoFi SACDs and even a couple non One Step records and all sound fabulous. I truly don’t worry about it as long as it sounds good.
