Robert Pincus weighs in on recording LP's to CDRs

Robert Pincus weighs in on CDRs

He's too shy to post himself so he asked me to it for him. Fasten your seatbelts:

"Do CD copies of LPs sound just like the LP? Fortunately for me, they do most of the time! However, to say that anything sounds exactly the same as something else either shows that somebody hasn’t a clue how to listen (quite believable!), or he’s a Julian Hirsch type who trusts his beliefs, or in other words, “My ears must be lying!” No doubt his system isn’t very good, as people who think like this always have sh*tty systems. (Of course, the humorless Humorum always assumes the system is at fault!)

"I must also make it clear that the records I transfer to CD are generally quite dynamic, and have a natural sense of ambience. If the person claiming that all of his CD transfers sound just like the LPs is copying modern pop, he’s not really challenging his CD recorder. Stereophile’s Albums-Of-The-Month are already digitally processed, and have limited dynamic range. This is hardly a challenge to a consumer grade A-D converter!

"If I could predict what the A-D converter in my Tascam 5000 is going to do every time I use it, companies like Sony, Denon, and Tascam would want me to work for them! Music has very complicated waveforms, and it’s quite conceivable, at least to me, that some of it could pass through it less harmed, or audibly degraded.. Of course, the better, the less the degradation. Yes, most of my CDs sound great, and are just like, or EXTREMELY close, to the original analog source. (So far, I’ve only made CD transfers of LPs. Reel-to-reel tapes off my Technics 1500 are next!) When my attention is called to a alteration in the sound, I am not so smart to think that I know why that difference happened! "However, as a good thinker I have some damn good ideas. I know that ambience cues are often found in the extreme top end. What if it’s something at the very top that causes recorded CDs to change the sound of the source? It makes sense to me! If that’s the case, then surface noise must have some effect. The reason I think so, is because the greatest loss of fidelity I ever heard with the Tascam was on transfers of 78s, not high fidelity LPs!!!! Perhaps somebody smarter than me can tell me EXACTLY WHY this happened! The surface noise certainly has a much wider bandwidth than the actual music on most 78s!

"Perhaps somebody has a “perfect” machine, and he’d like to tell us what it is! The Tascam is GOOD as a CD player, so maybe it’s no better than GOOD as a CD recorder.

"[Those are] my thoughts.
RP


Hey, don't look at me!

Robert runs the LP and CD division at Cisco Records. Someday he will learn how to post on this forum and then look out!

Kindly,
TP

 

Tom, thanks for posting Robert's thoughts on CD-R. It's been at least 4 years since I last heard from him - always an enjoyable experience, I might add.

Please pass on my greetings to him.

 

Thanks for the post Tom. May I say that I thought your previous avitar was great but this one fits even better. Although, now when I talk to you I'm gonna expect a lot more echo, green smoke would be good too.

 

I'm just happy to have the option to record a CDR..Heck, I was pleased with the cassette's I used to make for my car just for the convience!

 

Hey, I want MY own thread: "Angel Weighs In On Something", gosh darn it!

 

Re: Robert Pincus weighs in on CDRs

Sounds like a contradiction to me.

BTW, I use the computer for my transfers.

 

Tom,

Three cheers to you for being brave enough to pass on Robert's post. The savages may want to CILL the messenger.

I look forward to the day that Robert joins us and plays. Do you two ever get into any disagreement? Can't wait for the opening round of Mr. Better Records vs. Mr. Record at the SH Forums. Let's get it on!

 

Warning: Impact tremors!

Angel, count your blessings! The only thing I can weigh in on would be a heavy duty scale!