Is this vinyl transfer any good?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Timeline Man, Nov 2, 2018.

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  1. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    Hello guys,

    I got a rare 1980's vinyl (sealed) transferred on digital (WAV). I went to a professional recording studio in order to get that accomplished.

    The original analogue master source has been lost forever (sadly), so this is an attempt to preserve the album the best way possible.
    The result is that frequencies don't go past 16.000 hertz.

    http://www83.zippyshare.com/v/uVj4uPT5/file.html

    http://www83.zippyshare.com/scaled/uVj4uPT5/file.html

    Is this a good/great effort?

    Thank you so much!!!!!
     
  2. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    Hopefully you will display this thread :)
     
  3. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Pictures don't tell me how good it sounds :winkgrin:
    Interesting they only did it in 16 bit
    [​IMG]
     
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  4. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Don't worry about the 16-Bit part. The bit depth only determines the maximum possible dynamic range. CD bit depth of 16-Bits is enough to handle the dynamic range of any normal music.
     
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  5. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    Yeah, exactly. I'm just asking myself: is it proper and legit that frequencies don't go past 16.000 hertz?
    In your view, has the vinyl be fully "captured" by the studio? Hopefully yes.
     
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  6. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    That would be sample rate. Most of if not all recording software would be recording in 24 bit that's why I thought it was odd. Unless they dithered it down to 16.
    Recording at 44 should at least show 22.
    But there have been cases, even a 89/90 recording being under
    Seeing this makes you wonder if they just mixed it down to a good old Maxell tape :laugh:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2018
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  7. showtaper

    showtaper Concert Hoarding Bastard

    You tell us. Does it sound like the LP?
     
  8. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    There are occasions where tapes are lost and the only source for a track we're reissuing is vinyl, in those cases we go to people who specialise in audio transfers and clean ups, not to recording studios, there may be exceptions, but generally a recording studio won't be the place to get best results, I'd also expect the finished result to be 24/96. I'd have asked what gear they were using, you don't want to lay out good money for someone who is just using a Technics 1210 and giving you a CD quality rip with no proper processing. I believe there a few US based forum members who are quite skilled at getting the best from vinyl, hopefully some of them will join in.
     
  9. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    Well, it's not like the frequencies go truncated. Rather, they quietly "roll down" after the 16.000 hertz mark and then definitely die towards the 22.000 hertz mark. As I can see.

    Anyway, the transfer sounds very fine. I love the sound of it.
     
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  10. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Well, we don't really know if the original recording had anything past 16-kHz. anyway?

    We can go back to the original wave file or the record album and find out.

    Either way, I seriously doubt that there is anything past 16-kHz. that would contribute to the recording one way or another.

    By the time you have reached the age of thirty, I doubt if you could hear anything, even it it was there.

    In a recording studio, yes, they do record original information or even A to D information at 24/192, simply because that is what they use for everything.

    When something is transferred to a CD, it has to be down sampled to 16/44.1, which is sufficient to capture what ever information is there and to have it in a form that will allow the original wave form's to be reproduced.

    This is not an original studio set. It is not transferring the original master tapes to digital.

    It is simply using professional skills and professional equipment to capture the analog information that is present on a record into a digital format.

    I believe that you have accomplished that. Anything beyond this would be even more expensive and overkill.

    People go nuts and agonize over this stuff. Your A to D file is fine, you have preserved the the original information that was there perfectly well.
     
  11. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    I personally would have done it in 24/96, with my own recording setup. Storage is cheap these days.

    Not that it's really needed, more for peace of mind and what @SandAndGlass alluded to. In the end, if the recording sounds like the vinyl then you've accomplished what you set out to do.
     
  12. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    Thank you so much for your meaningful and encouraging feedback. Mind you, I got 3 vinyl copies of the same album transferred on digital, and they each costed me 30 euros. It was a professional recording studio.

    Said that, I agree with you. People tend to overexaggerate arguments concerning digitalization of analogue material IMHO. Truth is, back in the seventies/eighties, albums were mastered in a different way just to accomodate them on vinyl format, and that's it.
     
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  13. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    If you only paid 30 euros per LP then all the studio did was record the album with whatever equipment they have lying around, a professional transfer and clean up will cost you a lot more per LP than that, there is a huge difference between a straight transfer and the sort of transfer a label would use if there was no alternative source, there is also a huge difference in the results.
     
  14. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    That's not quite fair. The guy running the studio is a friend of mine and he did use professional equipment, in all regards. He also did an accurate cleaning up and gave me either the raw material and the polished one as well.

    In truth, I don't see how a 24-bit transfer would change the fact you're using a vinyl as "reference source" instead of an original analogue master tape.
     
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  15. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I'm sure he's a professional, but not at vinyl transfers, I know people who do nothing but audio transfers and they wouldn't claim to be able to do a professional job of transferring and cleaning up vinyl, just a decent transfer, there are only a handful of people in the UK who do the sort of transfer I am talking about, they may have a selection of decks, cartridges and styli as well as other expensive gear and software such as CEDAR, it's not about "24 bit" although in my experience bit depth absolutely does make a difference, it's about the person's skill and experience in getting the absolute best possible sound from vinyl without losing anything that you don't want removed such as surface noise, pops and clicks. I have decent gear and can do an excellent transfer, there are records out there with my transfers on, but the best in the business can make transfers you would never know weren't from the master tape unless you could do a direct comparison and I've got plenty of experience listening to tapes and flat transfers.
     
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  16. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    I know where you're coming from, however.

    If you don't mind, I would like to send you the transfer (not raw, but produced) and see what's your opinion of it. I would appreciate that a lot.
     
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  17. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    That's a very valid point, I may not be giving your friend's transfer enough credit, please feel free to pm me a link.
     
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  18. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    I take it you don't own a TT ? :sigh:
     
  19. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    What do you mean?
     
  20. harby

    harby Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    I think too much is being made of the quality of transfer. If professional digital recording equipment was used, even at 44kHz/16bit, then you get the sound of the particular turntable, cartridge, and phono stage that was used. Playing back the digital copy gives you that sound again just as if you were using the same turntable setup in your home, and being digital, the recording lends itself to any number of attempts for further restoration.

    The question is whether there was a good turntable setup, or just whatever was around.
     
  21. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    With a Sealed LP, a simple transfer using a quality TT and cart should be fine. Its those beat up and wrecked vinyls that need the touch of a master transfer artist.

    While were on the subject, look what Kevan Budd did with the Elvis at Sun project. The transfers that were done from SUN vinyl are so good, its astonishing.
     
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  22. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    Proper point! It was a professional turntable setup. I will ask anyway.
    And I agree, 44kHz/16bit can be enough if the source is good/fine.
     
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  23. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    1- Yeah. One of the 3 vinyls was sealed. ;)
    2- Really? I would love to listen it!
     
  24. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    A "professional turntable" does not inspire confidence at all for me. Most professional turntables are DJ turntables, and these feature DJ cartridges which are designed for being able to scratch with and not to break, rather than for the best sound. So it would not surprise me if such a cartridge had some pretty severe HF roll-off.

    But it is entirely possible that the LP itself never contained anything above 16kHz, however I am not convinced of that.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2018
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  25. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    1- The mixer engineer who runs the studio is not a DJ, and he's 55 years old anyway. Another generation, thank God.
    2- Well, as you can see by yourself, it's not like the frequencies go brutally truncated. They gently "roll down" after the 16.000 hertz barrier. It seems to me it's a plausible scenario.
     
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