Some comparisons of digital and analogue audio recording

The purpose of this paper is partly tutorial, partly interrogative and partly speculative, the objective in each case being to provoke critical thought. Doubt is cast on common presumptions about the superiority of digital audio, and it is suggested that the most relevant properties have not been sufficiently well identified or evaluated. It is concluded that, so far, digital recording has at best marginal overall advantage over analogue, and is definitely inferior in some respects including dynamic range. Mutual competition between digital and analogue technologies is likely to stimulate improvements in audio standards during the next few years, and during this period the methods can complement each other. Digital techniques promise superior audio quality in the end, but only when formidable problems of analogue accuracy have been solved. Crucial harm may be done to the acceptance of digital sound by the assumption that digital methods are automatically better, or by a preoccupation with standardization at the expense of standards or performance. Premature standardization could stultify the development of digital audio for a long time to come.