Hearing and Sound Machines

Sound recording sure has come a long way since the wax cylinders of Thomas Edisons's days.
But just how far away are audio engineers from creating the perfect recording and replay system for domestic use?  And who really cares?
Human hearing, though not as acute as some animals you could probably name, is far superior to the average home stereo, and especially mp3 type players!
The first stereo recordings on vinyl L.P.'s ( Remember them? ) appeared in shops in the late '50s/early '60s.  Believe it or not, some of the best ever recordings came from that era and are being re-released on L.P.'s and SACD/CD discs.  Only 2 or 3 microphones were used in the sessions, feeding 2 or 3-track tape recorders with no noise reduction.  No racks of equalizers, compressors, limiters, boutique microphone preamplifiers, etc., etc. were used in recording and mastering, just basic mix-down if necessary at correct levels to produce the master tape for the disc cutting lathe.  The result of this approach were recordings of timeless quality that have been appreciated by several generations of music lovers.  Sometimes keeping it simple is the best approach, along with attention to detail at every stage and the use of the highest specified equipment available at the time.
Human hearing is analogue, and so were these recordings.
Then, at the close of the '70s, along came digital recorders and digital players.  The CD was born, and was touted as "Perfect sound for ever!".
I don't think so.
And, as for the lossy formats of music downloads from the internet.......convenient, but compromised.  Any audio information lost or altered to reduce the "file size" of the musical performance will, of course, detract from reproduction realism and over-all quality.  But does it really matter to listeners to modern pop and rock music?  The vast majority of non-classical music recordings have been greatly reduced in dynamic range (soft to loud) and have suffered much in the way of signal modification in any case.
So, is digital recording and replay the way to go for high quality ("realistic") enjoyment of recorded music?  Or is analogue to be preferred?  In my, and also the average Project Studio operator's situation, a professional level multi-track tape recorder is financially out of the question.  Digital is the only option for recording and replay.  Thankfully, immense advances have been made in recent years in high quality digital equipment.  More on that later.
If you have a collection of LP's, don't throw them away.  Treasure them, and perhaps one day invest in a new record-player so you can enjoy them for many years to come.  Vinyl is not dead, and has been experiencing somewhat of a "renaissance" in the last 10 years or so.  Some artists are now releasing their music on multiple formats: CD, LP, DVD and downloads in various formats, including high resolution options.  High resolution re-releases and new releases are available from several sources on the web:  check them out.

Next time:  the beginning of a recording - microphones -  the "ears" listening to sounds around them.