Analog music lovers decry the apparent loss of high-quality music due to digital audio. Digital is pretty much the only recording method that every generation after the millennials are privy to, but it’s definitely different from the analog audio format.
In this blog, we’ll be making a case for analog recording methods by setting them apart from their digital counterpart.
The Audio Format
The recording formats of analog audio and digital audio are similar to a certain extent. Digital just takes it a few steps further than its predecessor. Allow us to explain how this works.
Essentially, analog and digital recordings both involve the conversion of original sound into electric analog signals. These electric signals are considered analog as long as they’re directly imprinted on vinyl records or cassette tapes.
On the other hand, a digital recording format is formed by turning the electric analog signals into numbers that the digital software can read and recreate. This conversion enables you to burn the audio on hard drives and discs and upload them on websites for limitless playback.
Audio Quality
Bandwidth is to sound quality what pixels are to image quality. A low-resolution image loses detail when you enlarge it. Similarly, an audio format with a fixed bandwidth doesn’t translate well in higher resolutions.
While you can recreate a recorded digital signal on multiple platforms, you can’t adjust its initial bandwidth and have it sound perfect on each platform. This is not the case with analog audio because it has unlimited bandwidth.
This means you can tweak the resolution on analog audio without compromising the sound quality. This is probably what analog audiophiles mean when they say digital audio has stolen the soul of original music.
Translatability
For all the good analog audio does, digital audio is here to stay. If there’s one thing the modern format does well, it’s the ability to transfer music across different mediums, such as free music list sites, media hosting platforms, compact CDs, and portable devices.
While analog audio still has a faithful following among older and younger generations, it can only be played on record and cassette tape players. It seems that the lack of versatility has affected sales and decreased analog releases over the years.
Surf4U: A Place Where Analog and Digital Work Together
The royalty-free music playlists on Surf4U beat the limits of analog music by converting them into digital formats. Head over to the free music library for music lovers to listen to legendary artists across various genres, from space rock to jazz. Get links for free music downloads legally instead of paying for them on your phone’s Music app.
Learn more about the free music collection platform here.