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Re: [ARSCLIST] Fred Layn's post on the Studer list re: Quantegy
Hi Richard,
I'm a bit slow on the uptake at times so please near with me. Will 1/4"
material be available from Europe? Will wider widths be available from Europe?
Is this yet a continuation of the effort to make digital sound reproduction
the ONLY option. I am not alone in believing this will thus be the end of
high quality sound reproduction. If you've ever heard direct to lacquer
playback or the sound quality of analog master tape, you could never look
upon current digital formats as an equal to fine quality analog reproduction.
Must we stand by & watch the demise of high quality recorded sound for the
sake of convenience? The history of recorded sound makes it clear that
sound quality was never a driving force. Are we to accept this mandate?
When there is a growing market for analog gear among the young because they
can HEAR the difference, can not we be a part of making sure this
technology survives at least until a true equal is ready to take it's place?
Analog recording has never captured the entirety of live music & digital
methods are a poor second at best. Why do we bow out of the effort to
insure the quality of our archives whether personal or professional?
My 16 year old is an armature international piano finalist, now guitar
player [too much hard rock for this dinosaur], has recently taken up
harmonica & will start playing double base at school next session. He
listens to digital music all the time, but he doesn't need me to lecture
him about analog sound... HIS choice for a major Chanukah was a turntable!!
We cannot allow analog tape to disappear, regardless of the cost. Just one
person's thoughts. My business be damned, its about the music, period!
Regards,
Duane Goldman
At 02:54 PM 1/11/2005 -0500, you wrote:
Fred Layn just posted on the Studer List some interesting news. I think
this answers the question about reformatting audio archives to 1/4-inch,
and was the news that some people were wondering about.
--He just talked to Steve Smith who had retired from Quantegy October 1
--Smith continued as a consultant until December
--There were cash flow problems due to the decline of videotape sales
and insufficient funds to pay for raw materials.
--DuPont had stopped making 1.5 mil basefilm
--Flanges had quadrupled in price in the last six years
--Oxide manufacturers weren't real interested in supplying small
quantities of audio oxides
--Apparently Ampex sold 250,000 reels of two-inch in 1992. Quantegy
sold 2,500 in 2004.
--Investors apparently bought two coating lines from Emtec and are
planning to manufacture in the Netherlands.
--"Quantegy will not rise again."
------
h. duane goldman, ph.d. | P.O. Box 37066 St. Louis, MO 63141
lagniappe chem. ltd. | (314) 205 1388 voice/fax
"for the sound you thought you bought" | http://discdoc.com