I’ve often spouted off about why vinyl sounds so different than any other medium. In those gushing (isn’t that what happens at the output of a spout?) I have said many times over that it’s the mastering that mostly makes the difference.
While that may be true for many vinyl releases it certainly isn’t true for Octave vinyl. When we release an album to vinyl it is a direct output from the same master you download from us.
And yet, identical master or not, vinyl sounds remarkably different. Many (most) would tell you better.
A lot better sounding.
When it comes to the sound of vinyl I will certainly own up to different and will even go so far as to agree there is an inviting lushness to vinyl playback that is missing in listening to the DSD masters.
So if Octave vinyl is a direct reproduction of the DSD master what makes it different?
My simple answer (which I open up for lively debate) is the phono cartridge. Like a speaker transducer, the phono cartridge is a collection of wires, magnets, and suspension that together color the sound.
Just like no two tweeter types sound the same, I would dare say the same applies to cartridges.
Is the cartridge the main source of sound quality between vinyl playback and the vinyl masters?
