Even FLAC - or any form of 16-bit digital audio for that matter - won't sound as good as a well-kept vinyl LP.
A well-produced LP with a good pickup can offer a dynamic range in excess of 120dB over the standard 20Hz-20KHz frequency range. With 16-bit digital audio, the dynamic range - ie: the amplitude of the largest possible signal divided by that of the smallest possible signal - is 65.536, or 96dB [20×log(65536)]. This mathematically inevitable difference *is* perceptible to the human ear.
While a CDDA beats the socks off a vinyl record for durability, which is why it's so popular nowadays, the vinyl LP can puree a CD (or any other form of 16-bit digital audio) as far as sound quality is concerned.
Of course, the SACD and DVD-A are a whole new kettle of fish but that's no longer 16-bit audio sampled at 44.1KHz.
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It *is* perfectly simple
Even FLAC - or any form of 16-bit digital audio for that matter - won't sound as good as a well-kept vinyl LP.
A well-produced LP with a good pickup can offer a dynamic range in excess of 120dB over the standard 20Hz-20KHz frequency range. With 16-bit digital audio, the dynamic range - ie: the amplitude of the largest possible signal divided by that of the smallest possible signal - is 65.536, or 96dB [20×log(65536)]. This mathematically inevitable difference *is* perceptible to the human ear.
While a CDDA beats the socks off a vinyl record for durability, which is why it's so popular nowadays, the vinyl LP can puree a CD (or any other form of 16-bit digital audio) as far as sound quality is concerned.
Of course, the SACD and DVD-A are a whole new kettle of fish but that's no longer 16-bit audio sampled at 44.1KHz.