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Do You Prefer the Sound of Digital or Analog Audio Media?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 24, 2010

Graphic courtesy Steve Guttenberg

Here’s an old chestnut for you. These days, analog recordings are available almost exclusively on vinyl LPs, whereas digital audio abounds on CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, and multitudinous online sources. (Okay, "abounds" is probably an overstatement for DVD-A and SACD, but you get the idea.) And music lovers have strong opinions about which sounds better.

Steve Guttenberg cleverly explored this debate in his Audiophiliac blog with two separate entries—"Why does analog sound better than digital?" and "Why does digital sound better than analog?"—though in both cases, he clearly states that he prefers the sound of vinyl, at least when played on a good system. Of course, as Guttenberg points out, digital beats analog hands down in terms of measureable distortion and noise. But he maintains that analog has a certain je ne sais quoi that reaches the human psyche more deeply, which is why vinyl survives and encourages people to actually sit and listen to music rather than playing it in the background as they do other things.

So which sound do you prefer, the technical "perfection" of digital or the ineffable character of analog vinyl? Keep in mind that I'm talking about uncompressed digital audio here—CD specs or better—not MP3 or other compressed formats.

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice; I look forward to reading your thoughts on this one.

Do You Prefer the Sound of Digital or Analog Audio Media?
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The American (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 24, 2010
While on a romantic retreat in Sweden, master assassin and gunsmith Jack (George Clooney) barely escapes with this life but his lover isn't so fortunate. Emotionally scarred from the experience, he retreats to the Italian countryside and accepts one last assignment from his handler to construct a deadly weapon for a mysterious contact. The slow-paced country lifestyle starts to grow on him as he becomes friends with a local priest and falls in love with a beautiful woman, but can he escape his past and forge a better future?

My wife and I are both George Clooney fans and I was really looking forward to watching this. While it isn't a bad film, per se, its measured pacing tried my patience and I couldn't form an emotional connection to the main characters, especially Clooney.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
David Vaughn  |  Dec 24, 2010
Young owl Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess) marvels at tales of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, mythic winged warriors who battled to save all owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. When he and brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) fall into the talons of the Pure Ones, it's up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave owls and seek out the Great Tree, home of the Guardians.

The marketing for this film wasn't very enticing, but the story has a lot of heart and is very entertaining. Director Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen) makes his animation debut with this fantasy adventure based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky.

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3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Despicable Me 3D—Universal (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 24, 2010
Vying for the title of "World's Greatest Villain", Gru - along with his hilarious crew of mischievous minions - plots to pull off the craziest crime of the century: steal the moon! But when Gru enlists the help of three little girls, they see something in him nobody else has ever seen: the perfect dad.

So far this is the only 3D Blu-ray that has been a bit troublesome with playback. While the image has plenty of punch in contrast and rich color, it has ghosting issues that are prevalent throughout the movie. I have over a dozen other titles in 3D and none exhibit anywhere close to the amount of ghosting problems I see with this disc. I even checked it on a few other 3D displays with the same results. While this doesn’t make the film unwatchable, it can be a distraction in an otherwise solid HD presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is also quite fun with inventive sound design and plenty of great surround effects.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Flipped—Warner Bros. (Blu-ray)
Kris Deering  |  Dec 24, 2010
When second-graders Bryce and Juli first meet, Juli knows it's love. Bryce isn't so sure. In the days and years ahead, Bryce does all he can to keep his wannabe girlfriend at arm's length - and the smart, independent-minded Juli continues to give him the benefit of the doubt. This tender coming-of-age romantic comedy from director Rob Reiner takes the pair from grade school to junior high, through triumph and disaster, family drama and first love, as they make discoveries that will define who they are - and who they are to each other.

Warner serves up a beautiful presentation for this heartwarming tale of young love and drama. Colors are fantastic with striking hues and great balance. Fine detail is also strong with great rendition in close ups and longer shots. Dimensionality and depth are also first rate.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Family Guy: It's a Trap! (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Dec 23, 2010
The Family Guy alliance is in for one last outer-space adventure, as Han Solo (Peter), Chewbacca (Brian), and Princess Leia (Lois) battle against the Evil Empire. Meanwhile, Darth Vader (Stewie) and the Emperor (Carter) try to recruit Luke (Chris) to the dark side of the Force with free tacos and T-shirts.

Just like its two predecessors, this parody is crude and obnoxious and occasionally funny. I would have preferred to have seen the TV version to eliminate the "F" word, which I don't particularly care for in this context.

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Test Report: Samsung PN58C7000 3D Plasma HDTV
Rob Sabin  |  Dec 23, 2010

Despite the rising popularity of LED-backlit LCD TVs, plasma has remained a favored display technology for many critical viewers who think it delivers the more natural, film-like picture. What it hasn't delivered, at least in the past, is the svelte profile and sleek styling that you get with LED-backlit LCD sets.

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Premiere Design
Constellation Altair 2-Channel Preamp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 23, 2010
With a dream team of audio engineers and designers, the newly formed Constellation Audio is bound to make some serious waves. Along with the Hercules monoblock power amp, which I profiled a few weeks ago here, the company's first offerings include the Altair 2-channel preamp, which sports one of the coolest-looking industrial designs I've ever seen.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Test Report: Onkyo TX-NR1008 A/V Receiver
Daniel Kumin  |  Dec 23, 2010

A check of Onkyo's Web site shows no fewer than 17 different A/V receivers on offer, an almost General Motors-like profusion of models. (I'm pretty certain, however, the U.S. government won't be stepping in on Onkyo's behalf should the consumer elec- tronics industry go south.) To be fair, a half-dozen or so are last year?s models, but still. C'mon, guys, 17???

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 47: Dan D'Agostino
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 23, 2010
Legendary amplifier designer Dan D'Agostino talks about how he got started in the business, co-founding Krell, the evolution of amp design, leaving Krell and starting a new company under his own name, his new Momentum amp, the demise of audio quality in the MP3 generation, his about-face on the sonic effect of cables, the poor timing of CES, and answers to chat-room questions.

Run Time: 57:09

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