A friend is a highly acclaimed mastering engineer who gifted me an acetate cut using a 300B amplifier of a Doobie Bros album he remastered. It was really cool to watch the cutting process.
Good news: incredible sound - as close to the master tape as one can get.
Bad news: it has limited plays so I rarely play it.
That said...
The Hi-Rez digital 24-bit downloads can surpass vinyl - it’s all in the mastering.
Vinyl does have limitations - dynamic & bass range (especially in the inner grooves) and, obviously, overall playing time.
“The Hi-Rez digital 24-bit downloads can surpass vinyl - it’s all in the mastering.”
Yep. And today so much mastering is focused on the dude listening to a 96 mbps mp3 on his phone with his $6.99 Bluetooth earphones.
Thank goodness the high res sites allow you to sample before buying.
“Good news: incredible sound - as close to the master tape as one can get”
Digital can get closer. Particularly when you consider the info from the master tape is modified before the cutting.