[78-L] Recording Quality - a relative term

[Don Cox]

On 29/06/2014, Dave Burnham wrote:

> 
> I've always felt that recording quality peaked between 1958 and 1963.
> I'm talking here only about the skill of putting mikes in front of
> musicians and capturing a realistic, (if that was their goal), and
> exciting sound. Sound carriers, (LPs, tapes etc.), still had a long
> way to go. I demonstrated my belief to a senior music producer by
> playing for him the Mercury SACD of "Poet and Peasant Overture" and
> "Light Cavalry Overture" and he agreed that the sound left no room for
> improvement. The SACD of Reiner's "Pines of Rome" is also top drawer.
> These SACDs were made about 10 years ago so they were made from tapes
> which were about 40 years old, just imagine what these tapes would
> have sounded like 50 years ago!
> 
I broadly agree. The art of recording was almost perfected in the late
1950s. The main improvement since then has been the introduction of
Sony's DSD system, and although welcome and audible (especially on piano
solo) it is not a big improvement. (Not comparable to the move from
acoustic to electrical recording.)

What was then missing was a good reliable method of copying,
distributing and archiving recordings. 

I think Blu-Ray audio provides that.

Regards
-- 
Don Cox
doncox at enterprise.net