Re: [ARSCLIST] Analog Masters

["Steven C. Barr" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Konrad Strauss" <konrad.strauss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> But do analog copies really make sense anymore? It is a dying format, most
> tape manufacturers are phasing out their analog tape lines, the same is
true
> for tape machines. 2 questions come to mind: what guarantee do we have
that
> present-day tape formulations are robust, and second, what are we to play
> these tapes on 40 years hence?
Correct, in the sense that magnetic tape has a finite lifespan. However, the
same is true of digital file formats...we have no guarantee that there will
exist hardware and software to read them 40 years down the road...and, given
the complicated algorithms used with them, this specialized hard/software
may be necessary.

However, since the best digital sound is an imperfect (though not audibly
so)
approximation of the original analog waveform(s), having a copy of the
analog
original would mean that if more accurate digitization is perfected in the
future, it would be possible to make better copies of the originals...and
that would be impossible if our sources were state-of-the-current-art
digitizations!
Steven C. Barr