[robertwill]

And why hasn't it improved much at all? I mean up until 1970 music sounded "black and white". You know what I mean, just listen to something circa 1968. Then go to like 1973, just 5 years later, and listen to anything. The sound is then "in color" but hasn't gotten much better, if at all. Why? What happened back around 1970? Did they discover some kind of new electronics or something? The sound can't get any or much better?

[PaulAds]

A slightly curious perspective, as we’re nearly all home recordists…and the remarkable advances in that particular (and possibly more relevant) field have been much more recent.

I think almost every technology has seen linear advancement since 1970…just as it was before 1970…with the possible exception of landing men on the moon and bringing them home again safely 😀

I’d imagine that it’s only genuinely cataclysmic global events that interrupt the advancement of science and technology.

When I look at the human species, however, I’m not always convinced that we are on a similar trajectory.

[subvibe]

Hi

Many of the older recording were done on analogue tape so the harmonics are very different
if you listen to old recordings they still sound fresh today & the people mastering them were masters of their trade
these days anyone can produce music due to the accessible technology but its mainly in the digital domain
for example most people listen to Mp3 which actually cuts out a lot of the frequencies that we can hear clearly
compare it with a old recording on Vinyl & you can almost feel the warmth
todays plugins can emulate it very well but can never replace it

subvibe     

[cowparsleyman]

@robertwill - an interesting thread, is it all linked to the quality of how it was listened…also when was true stereo listening available for the masses?

What is interesting to me is that the digital domain is perfect yet how many plugins try and get you to saturate and emulate the sort of equipment that you’d avoid like the plague if you had to make a choice due to S/N ratios, dynamic range and frequency response. How often have you seen Neumann mics saying how old the are and how they still use tubes as they did in the ‘60’s to get (rather tenously described as Warmth, mojo and other bollocks, based on the rarity and subsequently high value equipment, that were it in YOUR studio you would spit feathers over how hot, noisey and awful it was, as Stevie wonder so gloriously demonstrated with this Arp 2600, he produced such wonderful bass lines, but he said it was one of the most unreliable pieces of shite he’d ever used, worth a fortune now…

In my humble opinion today’s technology is fantastic, and one can always make it sound analog, but it’s jolly difficult to do it the other way round without add noise of some kind, how many times have you seen famous albums remastered, ever asked why or even how? Because the technology now makes it worth it. And people aren’t listening on mono dansettes anymore, speakers are fantastic for the price.