In summary:
When listening to music, there is a sound stage. All instruments / musicians interact in a stage of sounds. The space in which they appear in the sound stage can be more or less well defined. With my setup, with a good recording, be a CD, SACD, vinyl, DVD-Audio, even master tape (I've listened to them too, from Swedish label Opus 3), I get a very clear picture of how the sounds are placed. I hear singers breathing, sheet music turned, feet stomped on the floor, and sometimes conversations between musicians when they play, but most of all, I get a fabulous musical presentation that makes me appreciate the music. This is regardless of the medium listened to, but it requires a decent recording.
Now, a bad recording sounds bad no matter what medium, and a 16 bit redbook CD can sound awesome. A lot depends on the mastering. But, comparing 16 bit to SACD or vinyl is just not even in the same dimension when it comes to these spatial relationships in the music. Both of these mediums, if done well, will slaughter a normal CD, and especially when the music gets complex it becomes even more audible, where I can no longer hear the sound stage even remotely as well defined. Texture in the music, timbre, and tone become less well pronounced, and to me they are essential ingredients to the experience. The CD medium also adds components to the music that's not there in the master tape, in the form of white noise in the high frequencies that further extends the same problem. That's what listening fatigue comes from.
Don't get me started on MP3s...
The funny thing is, I have heard systems costing well over $100k that does this poorly. I have heard $2k systems that do it brilliantly. It's about component matching, and can be compared to your favorite film/devloper combination. Some of them you find just work and 'sing' while others don't.
I thought I'd add that piece in an effort to explain where I came from before. I really didn't want to get into the discussion in the first place, but I felt it was important to explain why.
One thing is for sure. CDs today sound a lot better than they used to, and I certainly don't sit around thinking about how bad they sound. No I enjoy music in kinds of ways, and a CD is a valid medium as it can sound astonishingly well, and it's only when compared to higher resolution mediums that it falls short. SACDs and DVD-Audio discs are all nice, but I don't think there's a lot of mass appeal. I doubt they'll stick around for long. I hope I'm wrong. I think vinyl will stay around for a long time, because some people actually care about them, are passionate about them, and are willing to pay the price. I hope I'm right about that.
In the same breath I really hope film stays around for a long time. I am willing to pay a premium for film and paper. I'll just shoot less and print more selectively. There is one distinction that sets the audio market apart from film though. Second hand. Sure, you can buy cameras and lenses, but film and paper you use once. While an album will stay virtually the same for 50 years, (it's more archival than CDs), film has to be used when it's fresh for optimum results.
- Thomas
