>>the 30s equipment 'looked' for a much smaller
>>frequency range than transistor-based
>>stuff.  A transistor amp will produce
>>hiss when it can't find a signal in
>>the higher frequency ranges

while i agree with the ethical/aesthetic point
leo makes it's simply not true that good modern
amps produce hiss when they can't find a signal
 . . .  rather the hiss is almost certainy there in
the original recording but was inaudible to
listeners because neither the amps nor the
speakers of the time were capable of reproducing
it . . . now that equipment CAN reproduce the noise
that's there with the signal, the entire balance, as
perceived, changes . . . and that, in turn, complicates
the aesthetic question [in a way analogous to those
involved in the refurbishing of old master paintings
in museums] . . . to wit:  do we want to reproduce the
experience of the original audience--even if it was
less than what the creators probably would have
hoped for,  or do we want to make use of modern
technology to come closer to what we could agree
the original message was intended to be

mike

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