Chris Trottier on Nostr: A studio engineer took his recording master and compared it to different formats: ...
A studio engineer took his recording master and compared it to different formats:
reel-to-reel
vinyl
cassette
Apple Lossless
Spotify at best quality (lossy)
Most people agreed that reel-to-reel sounded best, with more dynamic range and more high end.
A few said they preferred vinyl because of the emphasis on the low end—though it sounded vastly different from the master.
Cassette probably sounded worst, perhaps the most compressed. But this is probably because the recording was made with Type I, not Type II or Type IV tape.
Apple Lossless definitely preserves most of the master, but even it had changes.
Finally, Spotify. Lots of changes, as you would expect. It mostly holds up.
Personally, I think the master was on the loud side but, yes, I’d say it is typical of modern recordings.
https://youtu.be/6iohmhZWDNo
reel-to-reel
vinyl
cassette
Apple Lossless
Spotify at best quality (lossy)
Most people agreed that reel-to-reel sounded best, with more dynamic range and more high end.
A few said they preferred vinyl because of the emphasis on the low end—though it sounded vastly different from the master.
Cassette probably sounded worst, perhaps the most compressed. But this is probably because the recording was made with Type I, not Type II or Type IV tape.
Apple Lossless definitely preserves most of the master, but even it had changes.
Finally, Spotify. Lots of changes, as you would expect. It mostly holds up.
Personally, I think the master was on the loud side but, yes, I’d say it is typical of modern recordings.
https://youtu.be/6iohmhZWDNo