Vinyl Dynamic Range Vs Cd

Vinyl s dynamic range is dependant on frequency because vinyl doesn t have a flat maximum output curve.

Vinyl dynamic range vs cd.

Pcm of any flavor has a flat response to fs. The maximum dynamic range we can put on a vinyl record is around 60 db. Vinyl has greater resolution than cd because its dynamic range is higher than for cd at the most audible frequencies the dynamic range of vinyl when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency is somewhere around 80 db. The difference between the loudest and softest sounds an lp can play is about 70 decibels db.

The cd audio is digitally encoded and read by a laser while analog vinyl audio is physically read by a needle. The digital music format of cds and increasingly mp3s is the dominant choice today for professionals and consumers alike. Cd 16bit on the other hand can achieve 96 db dynamic range. Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest signal and the noise floor.

The dynamic range of music as normally perceived in a concert hall doesn t exceed 80 db and human speech is normally perceived over a range of about 40 db. 16 bit cd digital audio has a technical dynamic range of 96 db though many argue the perceived range is higher when taking dithering into account. When i cut a master for vinyl and a cd master from the same digital master tape they sounded pretty much the same except for the noise floor. Dynamic comparison of lps vs cds part 4 by chris tham september 02 2004 yes you have heard all the arguments before and you are probably sick and tired of it.

Vinyl records typically yield 55 65 db. Yes vinyl was noisier. A theoretical lp made out of perfect diamond has an atomic feature size of about 0 5 nanometer which with a groove size of 8 micron yields a dynamic range of 110 db while a theoretical vinyl lp is expected to have a dynamic. Here lp actually wins over cd.

Lp s difference between maximum to average is around 11 56db compared against the cd recording at 11 11db and even the digital rip at 11 35db. The dynamic range of human hearing is roughly 140 db. Cds can handle over 90 db.