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How much tolerance do you have for distortion in digital audio?

A

AdlerW

Active Member
I was listening to a CD rip of a Vivaldi choral work when I heard horrible crackling distortion in the right channel when the sopranos would sing high notes. Re-rips and various tests confirm that this is built into the recording. I tossed the CD.

As a vinyl fan, I accept that some distortion is going to be part of the vinyl experience. But I can't tolerate it in recordings from CDs or downloads. Thankfully I own hundreds of CDs and I've only had to get rid of a very small number of recordings that were distorted enough for me to notice.

How often do you come across distortion built-in to digital recordings?
 
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Digital distortion is the worst kind. I can't stand any of it. At all. I've got some "books on tape" that someone ripped to MP3 that have that loud crackle. They are useless.
 
If it's just studio noise, some hum coming from the guitar amp, etc., It doesn't bother me. But if it was just mixed poorly, clipping, etc., I can't listen to it on CD. Vinyl does seem to be more tolerable tnough. Maybe it has something to do with frequency responce? :dunno:
 
Lavane said:
If it's just studio noise, some hum coming from the guitar amp, etc., It doesn't bother me. But if it was just mixed poorly, clipping, etc., I can't listen to it on CD. Vinyl does seem to be more tolerable tnough. Maybe it has something to do with frequency responce? :dunno:
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There is no distortion like digital clipping. It's like someone smaking a block of wood with a drumstick a few inches from your ear.
 
AdlerW said:
I was listening to a CD rip of a Vivaldi choral work when I heard horrible crackling distortion in the right channel when the sopranos would sing high notes. Re-rips and various tests confirm that this is built into the recording. I tossed the CD.

As a vinyl fan, I accept that some distortion is going to be part of the vinyl experience. But I can't tolerate it in recordings from CDs or downloads. Thankfully I own hundreds of CDs and I've only had to get rid of a very small number of recordings that were distorted enough for me to notice.

How often do you come across distortion built-in to digital recordings?
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Distortion is not an inherent part of "the vinyl experience." It is a sign of inferior quality, poor component matching and or improper set up of the playback equipment. o_O
 
darkblue94 said:
Distortion is not an inherent part of "the vinyl experience." It is a sign of inferior quality, poor component matching and or improper set up of the playback equipment. o_O
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But I can never get me enough IGD! It gives the Carpenters that metal distortion "edge".
 
darkblue94 said:
Distortion is not an inherent part of "the vinyl experience." It is a sign of inferior quality, poor component matching and or improper set up of the playback equipment. o_O
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Well it is if all of your records are used. In some records the distortion is built in probably from use or from the recording itself. But I'm okay with some because it's so easy to create distortion in a vinyl setup. Listen to any opera record and you're going to experience some.

But I expect it to be completely absent from digital recordings so I have a much lower tolerance for it then.
 
Obviously if there's distortion in the recording it's going to be present in the playback regardless of it being analog or digital.

Edit: In answer to the original topic question, I have very little tolerance for unintended distortion in a recording. I have tossed both digital and analog recordings because of this.
 
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About 15 minutes worth of tolerance, unless it's really, really bad. Then I get tired of listening.

They have a name for that, I think.
 
If I can trace the problem to the digital recording itself, CD, MP3, whatever, then I will erase / toss the offending item. Mostly though I've not had any trouble with digital, only a handful of CD's that I've disposed of.

Mark Gosdin
 
Distortion is crap, regardless of being analog or digital. Neither format makes it any more or less tolerable. I know,.. I've had no shortage of live recording efforts go to crap on me, in analog and digital, that never see the light of day.
Problem: when live, and it goes to ****, the moment is gone.
Lesson: run very conservative levels, with slamming peaks max'ing out at -12dBfs as the ceiling point. Headroom is good, and your friend.
 
ZERO! I listen at reasonably high levels >100dB. ANY distortion from CD, FLAC or Tidal has me changing the track ASAP!

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I use a decibel meter and spectrum analyzer Spectroid app while listening. I would highly recommend trying the app in the google play store. Not available for iPhone.
None of my gadgets measure distortion but it’s nice having an dB meter and the Spectroid app for a low cost visual representation of your system's performance.
 
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Lossless said:
ZERO! I listen at reasonably high levels >100dB. ANY distortion from CD, FLAC or Tidal has me changing the track ASAP!

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I use a decibel meter and spectrum analyzer Spectroid app while listening. I would highly recommend trying the app in the google play store. Not available for iPhone.
None of my gadgets measure distortion but it’s nice having an dB meter and the Spectroid app for a low cost visual representation of your system's performance.
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Agree on Spectroid, it can hear and display what I can and cannot hear, but 100dB is way too much for me.
Try Spectroid at the theatre.
 
Never test new speakers by playing "can't you hear me knocking" through them. Terrifying! Only in the right channel though. :music:
 
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