The sounds of our time

Beautiful recorded melodies — unadulterated and faithful to the original source — are what discriminating audiophiles fall for. The argument is that, while there is no such thing as perfect music, there exists a faithful reproduction of that “imperfect music.”

Recording sound in which fidelity is paramount lies in the hands of recording engineers. These “geeks” are there to ensure that they not only capture the exact notes, but more importantly the messages or emotions that the artists wish to implant in the music — whether recording live performances or in the comfort of recording studios. After all, recording engineers are given this sensitive responsibility of preserving what could well describe a generation often measured by the sounds of our time.

But recording engineers can only go as far as pressing a vinyl or recording a CD album of our favorite artist. Playing the vinyl or CD back with precision is now the job of modern-day turntables and CD players. Now, sound signal passes through a gamut of electronic devices to recreate what was embedded in record grooves or encoded in CDs with your audio chain or sound system expressing your listening preference.

You are made to choose which among the slew of electronic brands to use in your respective listening rooms, with each brand carrying the philosophy of its creator. Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, Krell, Marantz, Cayin, Rega and those DIYs, among other successful high-fidelity audio brand, may have probably become an integral part of your hi-fi audio system.

“Recreating music is a marriage between art and science,” says hi-fi audio icon Roy Gandy, founder and owner of Rega Research Ltd., UK. Roy, who recently visited AudioFile’s listening room with Rega Philippines’ Stephen Gan and Nick Sy, says, “what is of paramount importance is how an audio system faithfully reproduces what is fed on your music sources (turntables, CD players). Garbage in, garbage out.”

In effect, he’s saying that your system must be accurate enough to reproduce the inner details of a recording. This means that your cartridges, tonearms, platter, plinths and isolation footers in turntables must be rigid and precise to ward off unwanted noise. “These noises are often so minute that we cannot hear them, but they interfere with recorded sounds, thus preventing you from hearing the record’s full potential,” Roy explains.

Continues Roy: “Music creates vibration and turntables are made of moving parts. You can just imagine how the confluence of these factors impact on your listening experience. These noises smear and degrade sound quality.”

He says that Rega engineers continue to work on developing parts measured in nano precision — bearings, platters, tonearms, DAC, among others — to ensure that every note is preserved on playback.

“We are concerned about how to get it right and not how to make business. We started that way, and we prefer to stay on course. That Rega has become a successful enterprise is just gravy or a bonus,” Roy beams.

Rega Research  is turning 41 years old this year, and things have not stopped getting better each year since the time the company was founded in June 1973. In a way, Rega benefitted from the so-called analog renaissance. It is one of the few companies that have continued making turntables even after the grand launching of the CD in the early 1980s.

Through the years, Rega has been known for making high quality products at sensible prices, from its Planet turntable (now a highly valued collectible) and its earliest glass-platter decks (Planar 2 in1975 and Planar 3 in1977) to the pioneering RB300 tonearm (undoubtedly the most popular domain audio product in history).  If all variants and OEM versions are to be included, sales of the RB300 now amount to well over 400,000 units.

Another incontrovertible proof of the vinyl comeback is the way Rega turntable sales have shot up past 50 percent of the company’s total turnover. Roy points out that turntable may not be a mass-market product like in their heyday in the ‘60s, but they corner a niche market.

“It’s an ever-growing niche market,” Roy notes, “and we’re glad to be in the thick of it.”

While Rega couldn’t have predicted the resurgence of vinyl, Roy says his company “saw an increasing pattern” which became a sudden explosion. “Commercially, it became more sensible to invest in turntable production than it was to invest in CD player production.”

When it comes to knowing the value of faithful music reproduction, no one would doubt the wisdom of Roy Gandy, whose interest in hi-fi evolved from his deep passion for music. For AudioFile, it was a great honor and pleasure to host a listening session for this soft-spoken, unassuming and charming hi-fi audio icon.

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For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com or at vphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com for quick answers to your audio concerns.