Actually this raises an interesting train of thought that dwells on the difference between the theoretical and the actual...
Very good points indeed. When I consider these things I look back to the advent of CD most of all because as I mentioned one of the big selling points was all that dynamic range. However, that’s always been more of a potential rather than a reality. One of my pet peeves is that the marketing of digital, both on the studio recording side and in regards to the end medium has been about how it’s measured by test equipment rather than the human experience. Music is after all made for human consumption not for scopes. Psychoacoustics are more important because that addresses human perception. The fact is we don’t need or use the available dynamic range in most cases, and that includes orchestral, string quartets, classical soloists, etc…. all of which I recorded on location as a young engineer. But in the studio I primarily recorded rock/pop, and still do that almost exclusively.
The 61 dB of TDK SA and the 63 dB of SA-X cassette tape is a lot of wiggle room for most music. Add noise reduction to that and you have all the dynamic range anyone could want. If you’re using dbx you can match or exceed the dynamic range of Redbook CD. And again, since our focus should be human perception we measure this on a weighted curve that is adjusted to how humans perceive sound rather than gauges and scopes. So a few dB up or down may look impressive on a spec sheet in the hands of a fast talking salesman, but the difference its actually imperceptible to the human ear.
Then we have the eternal debate on what sounds better. For my tastes that will always be tape or vinyl. In the final analysis music is for the enjoyment of the individual. This individual hears a harshness in all digital formats. I listen to them for convenience, but I also listened to music on AM radio back in the day. When I want to really sit and focus on the music for pure enjoyment I curl up with a nice tape or LP.
So in short, a lot of the hype used to pitch CD was never relevant to how people actually listened to music. Granted the CD was pin drop quiet and that impressed me too at first, but no one used the potential dynamic range, nor was it necessary.
Here’s a little secret everyone should take note: Part of the magic of recording is to shrink the dynamic range just enough so it is more pleasant to listener. Humans don’t want to strain to hear as the music disappears below the ambient noise of the environment. And they don’t want to experience pain on the other side when music gets too loud like it does in a live situation. Recording is a different way to experience music and should not have to sound in every way like a live concert. A live concert can be downright unpleasant. Recording tamed the extremes and brought a new way of experiencing music into our homes, cars, etc. However, that has now gone overboard where there are virtually no dynamics at all. That ain’t good. We can fix it, but right now it ain’t so good in the way popular music is processed.
I would comment in detail on why I prefer passive monitors to active, but I don’t want to get too far off topic. I will tell you a little story though. About the time actives first started getting popular I just happened to be in the market for a new pair of monitors. I was walking around my local well-stocked music store looking at the options when I walked behind a row of monitors to look at the inputs. The Zipper of my open leather jacket (A black jacket just like the Terminator) accidentally brushed across the heatsink on the back of one of the active monitors causing the heatsink to ring like a bell. A sales person came up to me and asked me what I thought of those monitors and without hesitation I said, “Uh… no, I don’t think so.” I then flicked the heatsink with a finger and it was still ringing as I walked away. He didn’t argue, but perhaps that’s because I was wearing my Terminator jacket, leather boots and dark sunglasses. One never knows in a situation like that.
Anyway I ended up with a pair of Yorkville YSM-1i passives (AKA ART SLM-1) and they are still in my top three of the best nearfields of all time. I still have them, powered by a vintage 1981 Yamaha P2050 Natural sound power amp. The combination is absolutely golden.
I have an Alesis RA-100 power amp as an alternate and that too makes a sweet combo with the Yorkies.
Well, at least it was only to make a joke about texting and driving.