Audiophilepure

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0326/Audio_Research_I70_DAC_MM_MC_Phono_Integrated_Vacuum_Tube_Amplifier_Review.htm

Finally, we get to the thing I am most curious about. And that is the sound of vinyl LP discs, since the I/70 has an optional MM/MC phono stage.  For continuity, I was able to employ the Acoustic Live performance from both a DSD / CD and from a super quality two-disc vinyl album [Analogue Productions APP 090 ], both made from the same master tape. My favorite song on this record is “Some Must Dream”. Now, as you listen, you can hear the subtly present live sounds of the surrounding venue. That space is, in fact, a complex mix of many small whispers of sound.

For me, and what may interest those reading Enjoy the Music.com, is a large portion of this quality is described by the word “continuousness,” which is a term coined by the late Harry Pearson. It is used in part to describe an organic live presence that exists as you listen to a complex chord that slowly decays into silence. I would like to remind you of a problem inherent in Red Book lossy CD digital recordings. As the intensity / volume of a sound fades, it is treated as a least significant bit and dropped. The major difference between this vinyl recording and the same DSD / CD version is that the entire body of sound is retained as natural. It contains a complete range of frequencies, both odd and even.

With an analog recording, those overtones decay into silence naturally, just as they do in life. I wired an RCA connection from my Denon DL-301/2 cartridge to the Audio Research I/70 adjustable moving coil (MC) input. On every track, Nils Lofgren’s presence appeared deeper in the center mix, surrounded by a halo of space, texture, and tonal depth. I have tried a hundred or more little tweaks spread out over decades. A hundred micro steps closer to a tangible reality, all of them hinting at what might be possible. I believe there exists a natural synergy between a vinyl recording and a vacuum tube amplifier that has never been adequately described. I believe even now, with all the advances made by digital technology, there is still something missing. I believe stop and start waveforms just do not let instrumental overtones have enough time to decay naturally.