Digital vs. analog audio: Which sounds better?

The analog vs. digital debate has been raging for nearly three decades, and there's still no clear winner, because it's really just a matter of personal preference. I'm fine with that, but there's a lot of sniping in the analog/digital wars, and each side never misses an opportunity to put down the other side as misguided, deaf, just plain stupid, or worse. Each side claims its chosen format is superior and the opposite's is garbage.

I'm an analog guy, but I'd admit that analog's distortions, speed variations, and noise/hiss make it less by-the-numbers accurate, but digital sound can be cold, hard, and uninviting. So on one hand you might say analog's distortions are part of its appeal, but if that was all there was to it, why do so many analog lovers like higher-resolution (96-kHz/24-bit or SACD) digital, more than CD-quality digital? I think high-resolution digital goes a long way toward eliminating most of the problems I hear with CDs. It's just that there's very, very little newly released high-resolution digital music to choose from (most SACD and DVD-A titles are back-catalog releases).

The "loudness wars" and overprocessed sound common are rampant in digital audio formats, and that muddies the debate. "Bad" sound isn't inherent to digital, but there's a lot of pretty awful-sounding digitally recorded music out there. Better-sounding CD players and digital-to-analog converters can help improve the sound of CDs and digital files to some degree.

LPs have problems, too. While we have vastly better vinyl pressings from companies like Mobile Fidelity that reduce the noise, clicks, and pops associated with LP playback, a lot of LPs are noisy, warped, and have distorted sound. Like the best high-resolution digital titles, the number of high-quality vinyl titles on the market are more limited, and most of the better-sounding, all-analog recordings come from the back-catalog vaults of the record labels. New music on an LP can be great, but again, if the recording is overprocessed, pressing it on vinyl doesn't make it sound any better. Most new music LPs are sourced from digital masters; there are very few, new all-analog LPs to choose from.

Peaceful coexistence between the analog and digital faithful is the only way forward, and each side should enjoy music in its own way.

I think that analog sound is better. For example,i have a minibrute and its sound incredible!!! But...vst's doesnt the same jejeje sorry for my english im spanish!

Great thread. Fully respect the Analog lovers and all but i do believe it's a question as vague as which DAW is the best.
Always the same answer DAW doesn't matter it's how you use it. With that said, my two cents as far as Analog vs. Digital. I used analog and i'm using digital now. I find analog as warm and big sound with no doubt, but digital gives me so much more control and things to do. For example, try mimicking Dance floor standard FX techniques like all the ones you can get in D-Blue glitch in a analog realm. Not impossible, but a lot more effort. My example may count as invalid which is fine. Point still comes back to do you create easier music with Analog or Digital. Which one works faster, which can you afford and so on.

For example in DJ'ing. I can play a set on Cdjs and a fairly okay sets on vinyl but give me Digital (Software) products and i can make new stuff on the spot.

In the end, I'd like to mix both. The ease of digital with the character of Analog and that i believe, can be achieved by running your unmastered track through a Analog mastering process. Run it through a SSL or Mackie desk into some outboard gear to just brighten it up. Which still can all be done Digitally with a lot of years of experience.

That's just my two cents. Great topic Subzeroxor

It's horses for courses really! Generally, a track that has been mixed and mastered for vinyl would sound better on vinyl than CD etc, but it's also personal taste.

Also, you could have at least reworded the question rather than directly copying it from here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20055650-47.html

like stated earlier , it's a personal preference , but i prefer warmer analog to cold crisp digital.. in certain situations.

I have been mixing with both for a while now and I have no preference, they are both audio, and I can make music with both! I'm happy with both.

As the last post, and you can manipulate sound in so many different ways these days it makes little difference aurally. The main difference is price usually...

When recording guitar tracks I always record a digital and an analog track at the same time. For some reason I always end up being able to get a better mastered track when I use the analog tracks only.

Analogue all the way.

Long live analog.