Noted Tonearm Designer, Frank Schröder, on Analog

Audio Components
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An intelligent, thought provoking interview on vinyl reproduction. I’ve rarely heard a discussion on this topic make as much sense.
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Didn’t see him as a person so far, just heard of his high class tonearm.

I found at least two of my often repeated non common experiences and assumptions mentioned.

  1. That a turntable sounds charming and digital sounds bright or harsh etc. is BS. One can make a turntable sound as desired (also brighter, leaner in bass or more detailed etc.) and also digital sounds very different among its variants.

  2. (unscientific approach): Vinyl with its benefits, flaws and colorations seems to give recorded music something back that seems was lost during the processes from microphones to produced digital medium.

At the end it’s all just attempts of explanation of what people hear.

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I watched the video, I do not understand this forum software.
It says it is solved, there is nothing to solve. For those of us who have been considered audiophiles, it is common sense info that we have learned over the years, but still interesting.
But for anyone who is thinking about adding a turntable, or if you know some vinyl guy who refuses to listen to your digital sources. This video is ideal, it could be added to a “so you want to be an audiophile” or myth buster page.
And for anyone considering a Schroder tonearm you get to see that he is a decent guy. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it.
Thanks for posting wakethetown.

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Someone checked “Solved.” I have no idea why. I unchecked it.

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Hello, could you please explain me the meaning of audiophile in American ? Thanx. Best

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An audiophile is someone who enjoys high quality sound reproduction.

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Thanks.
In France, an audiophile usually designates a hi- fi amateur but whose objective can deviate from a quest for high fidelity towards that, essentially subjective, of auditory satisfaction. It comes from the from the Latin audire (to hear) and the Greek philein (to love). That’s why in the 80s Japanese designed a blank K7 specially for westeners (guess it was OD) or that some Japanese units were tunes differently for the japanese market and the European one.
A “melomane” is an other kind of hi-fi amateur whose “Graal” is to hear as much as possible what the artists played (well, what was recorded, well what’s on the input lol) . What is on the input, no more no less. I haven’t found an English word for “melomane”.
Those are two different ways of enjoying music. I’m a melomane (sometimes I find it silly) as respectable.

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Very interesting and well written.

We have discussed in this forum the competing desire for objective purity and auditory satisfaction.

(Your phrase “auditory satisfaction” is superb.)

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Thanx @Elk.

Unfortunately, “auditory satisfaction” is just a translation from French Wikipedia. Wish I could write myself some good phrases.

I wonder if objective purity and auditory satisfaction a competing of complementary : once I’ve heard objective purity, why should I restrain myself to it and not get subjective auditory satisfaction (I guess only headphones allow those two).