Modern Recorded Sound

[PJPJ]

Indeed, and that's why there won't be any within a given recording. But you won't hear any sound that wasn't made in the room where the recording took place, except maybe a tiny amount from the microphones.
Digital recording indeed requires the development of different skills, which in many cases weren't in place when the first digital recordings were released. I do agree that, in terms of sound, digital recording may not be as much of an advance as stereo from mono, or LPs from 78s (for example I'm really not interested in listening to recordings made before the stereo LP era), but I wouldn't say that makes the advance "marginal".

Something that shouldn't be forgotten, though, is that in the pre-digital days making a releaseworthy recording was an expensive process requiring numerous specialised skills, while nowadays this is not the case to the same degree, which means almost anyone with a minimum of gear can produce (and mix/edit) listenable recordings. That I think is an enormous technical step forward.

Anyone wishing to try out really excellent digital recording techniques may want to have a browse here (I've think I may have posted this before) - I find these recordings, especially in 5-channel mode, have superb sound quality. These are free samples:

http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html?

I recommend the Mozart with Thorsen, Britten with the Trondheim Solisten and for piano solo, Jan Gunnar Hoff's improvs.

[Richard Barrett]

in the early days it was sometimes the case that 'digital silence' reigned between movements of some CD issues.

That is just sloppy studio work! The importance of the right kind of "silence" in digital recordings was brought home to me when working on the first CD of my compositions back in 1992. One piece is perforated with a number of 15-second silences, and it was clear that not only did they all have to be recorded separately but that this needed to be done with the musicians in the studio. It took a surprisingly long time to get satisfactory recordings of all that nothingness, what with the too-frequent interruptions by distant trams and the cellist's digestive system.

[Serial_Apologist]

That is just sloppy studio work! The importance of the right kind of "silence" in digital recordings was brought home to me when working on the first CD of my compositions back in 1992. One piece is perforated with a number of 15-second silences, and it was clear that not only did they all have to be recorded separately but that this needed to be done with the musicians in the studio. It took a surprisingly long time to get satisfactory recordings of all that nothingness, what with the too-frequent interruptions by distant trams and the cellist's digestive system.

An achievement not to be sniffed at!

[mikealdren]

Some years ago, floating earth produced a CD of John Cage's 4'33''. They had a pianist come onto the stage and record it, all the ambient sound but no notes.

Mike

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Notwithstanding RB's response re. current digital recordings, in the early days it was sometimes the case that 'digital silence' reigned between movements of some CD issues. Some of the worst offenders were Olympia CDs of Melodiya recordings. I have gone as far as to search out brief periods of ambience within movements and copying and multiply pasting such in place of the digital silences.

In the analogue era, this characteristic was around too. The Pearl Elgar pre-electric recording transfers to LP had much surface noise transferred from the original discs, but this all disappeared between tracks, only to reappear with a disconcerting vengeance when the music resumed. Later transfers let the surface noise run through, making the effect less noticeable.

[Serial_Apologist]

In the analogue era, this characteristic was around too. The Pearl Elgar pre-electric recording transfers to LP had much surface noise transferred from the original discs, but this all disappeared between tracks, only to reappear with a disconcerting vengeance when the music resumed. Later transfers let the surface noise run through, making the effect less noticeable.

Maybe you'd paid more attention to the gaps between the tracks when cleaning the record prior to playing, EA!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Maybe you'd paid more attention to the gaps between the tracks when cleaning the record prior to playing, EA!

Actually, the crackle in the gaps was MORE obtrusive, so I suppose the opposite must have been be true.