Analog vs Digital Audio: More Than Just Sound Quality

The analog vs digital debate is constantly evolving as new technologies come out. Listen to some of my thoughts from a different perspective than simply "what sounds better".

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[AnandaJermin]

Have always loved music produced from a hybrid setup of analog and digital. But digital has really helped new musicians spur to the scenes through simpler studios. Budget and workflow will decide the direction and tools used. Great insights Alex 👍

[AnandaGarden]

Aaah, Alex is back. I always enjoy your explanations - so clear and informative.

[TheInstrumentsAcapella]

I had to pause at 3:30 to marvel at that studio space! Beautiful and very overwhelming to a beginner 😂. Thanks Alex for your insights. Always informative!👌

[rhoten]

It’s the imperfections of analog that is desirable. In the box is too perfect in my opinion. Sounds very sterile. There maybe a day where algorithms can simulate the imperfections accurately, but it’s not right now.

A/B tests if one channel isn’t as noticeable. It’s more apparent when you have 20-30 tracks that are summed. Almost night and day.

[drakecassidy]

I will never get rid of my Avalon M5. After 20 years, It still makes almost any worth mentioning Mic sound better IMO.

[gaanokibaraat]

I love analog quality... Digital ruined the essence of music.... By ruined I mean, when I used to listen to the songs back in the 80s, I felt mesmerize, but after the advent of the CDs, those feelings vanished away, as a result, I reduced to listen to the same songs that I used to listen almost every day in the 80s.

[codylander]

As a beginner a lot of this went over my head. Crazy those voice over recordings still hold up over all of this time! I enjoy learning from you. Excited to see what’s next!

[fivesparrowstudio]

This was great! Very key and true the point. Thank you for your professionalism. God bless you

[ralphbullis]

Great as usual. Here's a purely theoretical thought. At the end of the day (which might be decades into the future) Theory tells us that all sound, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a bunch of sine waves through Fourier Transformation. A Fourier Transformation is simply a mathematical formula. Formulas are what computers love. So eventually all will be digital. However, your analysis of dedicated speaker tuning seems to be part of my theoretical analysis. I'll have to work on this some more.

[hildemora]

I have to ask, what mic are you using?

[krawieck]

one befefit that digital stuff has is that you can pirate it. While you can steal a physical compressor from a store it's much more of a hassle 😅

[brazickofficial]

Nice

I have to ask one other thing though
Can you please make video about gate/expanders and how to properly use to suppress noise in dialogs
Thanks a lot for your videos love them! They basically got my carrier started about 2 years ago)
Happy new year!)

[GO-sulf]

digital for preservation and storage only. Analog is the true original, sound captured in pure sine waves, digital can never reproduce the original sound 100%

[charles.vernier]

Learned a lot from this video. Thanks!

[Sheriffvlogs]

Great video have u tried dolby-atmos specifically for music

[capybara]

Everyone :

“MacOS X” : this isn’t even my final form!

[dannydaniel]

Naww, analog is better waywayway better and you really dont need a lot. Have a tascam 8 track cassette recorder, a joe meek twin q mic pre and a fostex 1/4 inch reel to reel. The plugins never could cut it for me!!!

[itismeanttobe]

Ahh now i get it my dad has a bunch of pedals i just remembered so that must be analog and you can do the same effect on a software which digital

[MaxoticsTV]

One aspect you didn't mention, but which could be the subject of a separate video, is the short-thrift both Apple and Microsoft give to audio (and video). In Windows 11, the speaker control is now attached to the wireless control. You can't just right click and change the speaker. I can't even wrap my mind around some of the stuff Microsoft does. I thought they had learned their lesson when they removed the start button years ago. Yes, they're better, but they're still horrible. Add to that, MS and Apple fight through proprietary stuff and audio pays a price.

What that means is VST use remains in the professional or enthusiast domain. I wouldn't dream of setting up a friend with a VST EQ for their voice on their PC. Just one change from the manufacturer and it would fall apart and need to be re-configured. Even for me. I bought a DBX 286x to fool around with. The technology is literally from the tech stone age (no on/off switch). But it does the job, and, as you pointed out, is set and forget. It's no longer an experiment for me.

But it's stupid. I should be able to use a simple VST. Yes, Elgato has now integrated them in its Wave Link, but I've found that buggy. Can't trust it.

This is all a long winded way of saying you might cover the reality of using audio on PCs. Or tell me I'm wrong. I think it is a sht show and I don't see it becoming plug-n-play anytime soon.

[marcoluca]

I would like to take off a curiosity that I have had for many years: with the progress made in the last years of digital and vinyl, if I had a 1800/2200 pound budget, between a Rega Planar 8 turntable and a player in this range like the Technics SL-G700M2 for example, which one would sound better for Pop and Rock music, no classical / jazz, and no loudness war (only 80/90' music) ? Does a player in this range still sound "digital" ? Does one need a higher budget to hear "analog" like a vinyl in this range ?