Why vinyl is still king
When people ask me why I purchase albums on vinyl instead of from iTunes or on CD, I always think of this Bob Dylan quote:
You listen to these modern records, they’re atrocious, they have sound all over them. There’s no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like –- static.
Beginning in the early ’90s, audio engineers started using “hot” mastering to make albums sound as loud as possible, but at a loss of dynamic range, and thus fidelity. This resulted in a “loudness arms race” between record labels that still exists today. Luckily, vinyl records of new albums still retain a respectable amount of dynamic range:
At present the loudness war tends to only affect audio CDs and consequently any MP3 or other digital music files produced from them. Recent recordings released on vinyl do not undergo the same kind of loudness-based mastering. This is partly due to technical limitations of the format and partly due to vinyl now being a niche market product favoured by a small number of hi-fi enthusiasts — similar to the CD’s role in the mid-1980s.
Some SACD and DVD-Audio releases are affected as well. However nearly all DVD-Audio discs also contain a Dolby Digital (AC3) or DTS soundtrack to allow the disc to be played in a DVD-Video player that does not have DVD-Audio playback capability. Dolby Digital has a defined and calibrated reference playback level and the DTS track will also follow this. It therefore is beneficial that the high resolution DVD-Audio soundtrack will be produced at the same reference level – and this indeed is normally the case.
As these new high resolution formats are marketed largely at audiophiles, attempts to apply loudness mastering to them would almost certainly be counterproductive as the target audience is likely to be highly critical of sound quality and dynamics.
Recently, I have purchased some 5.1 remasters in DVD-Audio format, but for new releases I stick with the trusty old LP. Great warm, dynamic sound with better packaging and no digital rights management.