Optical Vs Analogue Recordings.

[Michael1980]

Hey,

When recording from the same exact source (and into the same codec, be it lp2, 256atrac3+ or PCM), how big is the difference going to be between using analogue out and optical out? I am deciding whether to spend some money to get me a new digital TV box which offers digital out instead of my current analogue version. The Digital TV offer some nice 192kb radio stations, and I can leave the recorder overnight to record a few good hours of music.

Upload into SS does not matter to me, I looking to get the best quality possible.

I even use my XBox (which does have optical out) to copy audio cd's to MD lol.

Thinking of copying mp3's to a cd, playing it back on the XBox and then recording them digitally. Figure this way is better than Net/HiMD and much slower.

Regards

Edited February 14, 2005 by Michael1980

[KJ_Palmer]

I'd always use digital recording wherever possible.

I'm not sure if you can quantify the difference, but a digital connection will give you a cleaner, hiss-free recording. An analogue recording will be noisier and have some hiss - it's usually not too noticeable and may be filtered, but it will be permanently on your recording. An analogue recording (ie digital recording of an analogue source) may sound 'warmer' or more vinyl-like than a digital one, however, which you may prefer.

Recording levels from analogue sources may also be somewhat unpredictable, which may prove incovenient.

[pmvn]

I'd always use digital recording wherever possible.

I'm not sure if you can quantify the difference, but a digital connection will give you a cleaner, hiss-free recording. An analogue recording will be noisier and have some hiss - it's usually not too noticeable and may be filtered, but it will be permanently on your recording. An analogue recording (ie digital recording of an analogue source) may sound 'warmer' or more vinyl-like than a digital one, however, which you may prefer.

Recording levels from analogue sources may also be somewhat unpredictable, which may prove incovenient.

←

Sure digital is easy. But I have to say that now when I'm recording from a great FM radio station, even when there is hiss is far better than to wait for mp3 to come in from the internet and you don't have nasty mp3 compression or track-gaps (when you have one-mix CD's you know what I'm talking about, horrible), it's creative too because you can cut tracks with the MD unit, quite precisely even, for instance I have cut the Chemical Brothers Come with us CD (every working day they broadcast a whole CD (when it fits in one hour, otherwise the cut it off : ( ,) ) at different track times that freedb.org gives just because I liked it better to let those tracks begin and end differently.

Just my 2 cents : )