At the Corner of Heartbreak & Vinyl…

Lots of audiophiles say that when it comes to sound quality, nothing beats vinyl. These purists wonder if digital files can really give you that analog sound of our youth. For the rest of this hour, we'll be talking about the science of audio, what all those bit rates and sample frequency terms mean, and we'll find out how your perceptions could affect what you hear. First, though, lets cut straight our experts...

LAURA: I prefer vinyl. It's - listening to music is an experience, and a full experience includes putting on the record, moving over the needle and sitting back and rocking out.

DANKOSKY: OK. We know what she thinks. She works at a record store. Let's find out from our guests, Sean Olive, director of acoustic research at Harman International, and Scott Metcalfe, director of recording arts and sciences at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

SEAN OLIVE: Welcome, John. Thank you for inviting me.

SCOTT METCALFE: Thank you, John.

DANKOSKY: So, first of all, I'll ask you, Scott: vinyl or CD?

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

METCALFE: I enjoy both formats, but my preference is definitely CD.

The debate is on... Also available as a transcript here

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=146697658

February 10, 2012