Vinyl , why in todays world?

invalid

Everyone knows that open reel is the best sounding format.

msg

Emlyn wrote: »

I listened to Steve Winwood’s Back in the High Life on LP and 16 bit PCM upsampled to DSD yesterday. The vinyl was so much better with a more natural sound. A fuller and more engaging sound especially in bass performance. The digital was pristine and clear but thin sounding and not really as engaging. The LP is a run of the mill original pressing version but still in mint condition after all these years with very little surface noise.

When I began to realize that new records were at best a 50/50 crap shoot, I started looking for original presses instead of reissues of my favorite albums. These general pressings on old 80s and 90s flexy vinyl were cleaner and better sounding than modern issues. Not only that, but dirty old ones cleaned up better.

I do have some great sounding modern pressings, but in these cases, it's been due to direct artist involvement to see a special realease issued properly, and/or that the album has been through two or three poorly pressed issues.

mhardy6647

invalid wrote: »

Everyone knows that open reel is the best sounding format.

NOW we're talkin'!

invalid

mhardy6647 wrote: »

invalid wrote: »

Everyone knows that open reel is the best sounding format.

NOW we're talkin'!

Studer made some of the best.

tratliff

mantis wrote: »

Iron Maiden , I don't think they have 1 great sounding album but yet if you go to their concert, it's one of the very best sounding Rock concerts you can go to. They are totally anal about their sound which is strange it doesn't reflect on the CD's anyway. Not sure about LP's or streaming compared if these versions are all of the same or different. Ether way Maiden is awesome and yes it sucks when you have a higher end system and can't stand the way things sound.

Not sure I agree. I can play you a version of Piece of Mind LP that will blow your mind. Not sure what you are considering high end. But on my system, that is documented on this forum, I feel would change your mind.

mantis

tratliff wrote: »

mantis wrote: »

Iron Maiden , I don't think they have 1 great sounding album but yet if you go to their concert, it's one of the very best sounding Rock concerts you can go to. They are totally anal about their sound which is strange it doesn't reflect on the CD's anyway. Not sure about LP's or streaming compared if these versions are all of the same or different. Ether way Maiden is awesome and yes it sucks when you have a higher end system and can't stand the way things sound.

Not sure I agree. I can play you a version of Piece of Mind LP that will blow your mind. Not sure what you are considering high end. But on my system, that is documented on this forum, I feel would change your mind.

I'm gonna have to look for that. That is a great album. I have CD's and cassettes of their stuff. I grew up on them.

bcwsrt

Because no one gets tats of CD players or streamers.

mhardy6647

probably no t-shirts, either...

displayname

I skimmed some of this thread, but I grew up in the CD and mp3 era. I remember selling off my CDs in college to pay for a traffic ticket. It was heartbreaking honestly.

Aside from all the sound arguments for/against vinyl, I truly love going to record shops and hunting for certain pressings. Album art used to be important, and I think vinyl has helped bring that back.

On the gear side, I often compare it to watches. No one needs a wrist watch anymore. But the luxury watch market is booming. Some people (myself included) are simply drawn to and mesmerized by precision mechanics. And vinyl is precision mechanics that makes music, what more could you ask for!

It remains my favorite format, but I keep a decent CD player and streamer on hand as well. Believe me, the thought of selling off all our vinyl and having likely several thousand dollars to dump into the system is tempting. But I think back to when I had to sell all those CDs. I think about how many of those I have repurchased since then. And the few that have made it with me since my teenage years. I won’t make that mistake again.

engie490

Putting aside the question of whether the CD or vinyl mastering of any particular recording is superior, I generally feel that vinyl gets me closer to the event. I've noticed this on both of my systems. I just want to listen when an album is on.

To be fair, my digital front end is not nearly as pricey as my analog setup.

audioluvr

displayname wrote: »

I skimmed some of this thread......I won’t make that mistake again.

Welcome back.

smglbrth

Didn't I just see that vinyl outsold CD's for the first time in, like, 30 years or something?

TroyD

All things being equal, it costs more time and money to get acceptable sound from vinyl. It isn't, IMO, a superior format. A cheapie $150 turntable will sound worse than a 150 dollar CD player. IMO, the price of entry for a good vinyl setup is $1K. A 50 year old table with a cartridge of unknown pedigree and an arm that hasn't been setup (or if you know is setup properly) is probably not going to do you much justice....and with an turntable, setup is a BIG thing.

That said, it's my preferred format for when I want to sit down, uninterrupted, and LISTEN to music. I enjoy the whole process.

Larry nailed it. There are some things that sound better on vinyl and some better digitally. I've got a batch of RCA Living Stereo SACD's that I think sound better than the vinyl versions. I've got some MFSL SACD's that sound better than the vinyl versions. I have a vinyl copy of Steve Miller's Fly Like and Eagle that is absolutely astounding (this is a different pressing from the standard....I just can't recall the specifics). DSOTM, I've got a German LP that is superior to the SACD that I have.....

Now, if I'm just looking for background noise or just hear music (while doing other things)...that's what streaming and digital is for. Especially streaming.....but, when I want to really connect? LP is my jam.

SIHAB

My hot take is, why would anyone ride a horse?

DarqueKnight

For a very long time, I needed to keep a turntable in my rig because some of my favorite music was only available in vinyl format. I knew that some of my 7 in and 12 inch 45 rpm records would NEVER be released in digital format. Then there were the cases where the CD version of an LP was vastly inferior to the vinyl version. Listening to vinyl was not an everyday thing since I hated the inconvenience of it all.

In 2016 I acquired a good analog to digital converter and vinyl ripping software. I spent four months converting my vinyl collection to hi-rez DSD files. I said at the completion of the vinyl conversion project that, if I went two years without buying a record, I would sell my turntable and records. Over six years has passed and I have not bought, or even thought about, buying a record. My DSD vinyl rips turned out to sound better than the original records.

I did sell my phono preamp, but I decided to keep my turntable and records. I also kept the physical media for my CDs, SACDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays after ripping them.

In the future, when I am more dedicated to audio than I am now, and when I have a much bigger house, I wouldn't mind having a dedicated room with a retro system consisting of a turntable and tube electronics.

Good memories...being freed from the tyranny of running back and forth to my turntable.

engie490

SIHAB wrote: »

My hot take is, why would anyone ride a horse?

Maybe the horse is superior choice for where you want to go?

I have many albums that I prefer to the digital versions. The digital versions may offer convenience, but I want to hear the best sound reagrdless of media. If I can't sit through the recording, then convenience doesn't really matter does it?

StantonZ

I own vinyl because that's all that was available when I started collecting music (I made cassette "mix tapes" to preserve my vinyl, and still listen to them--but I digress). I began buying CDs when they became available; so, I have a mixture of LP/CD--because (with very few exceptions) I don't "re-buy" CDs I already own on LP. While I don't "spin an LP" very often (remember: they are almost all on one of my cassette tapes), I maintain my turntable and will probably have it until the end of time (I just recently had it repaired); same for my cassette deck.
If I were born today, I doubt I would be very interested in vinyl...or have a turntable. I can understand the nostalgia though; I know at least one of my sons is interested in turntable and LP collection.

Emlyn

I saw an article the other day that said it's very common for people now to buy LPs without owning a turntable. Record store owners noticed the trend from conversations they have with customers. Some said it's as much as 50 percent of buyers in their stores making purchases because they either just like owning something physical and records are cool or they plan to get a turntable at a later date and want to be ready with media for it. Some people just like to visit the stores to talk music.

txcoastal1

I have a buddy that does not own a TT but has a substantial collection of sealed albums. Over the years he has gifted me some of those albums which also remain sealed and I don't own a TT

tratliff

txcoastal1 wrote: »

I have a buddy that does not own a TT but has a substantial collection of sealed albums. Over the years he has gifted me some of those albums which also remain sealed and I don't own a TT

Ron you should gift me some of those sealed albums. They won't be sealed long. Bring them to LSAF....

jbreezy5

I have a cousin just out of college and all he will listen to is vinyl.

Someone mentioned the mechanical aspect of it; I think there is something about the cause-and-effect relationship of playing music this way that is fun.

Also, that it makes me slow down and be more intentional about listening to music.

msg

Yeah, I used to work with a guy who did this. But he was dumb in other ways, too. I mean, not like Ron.
Crap, that didn't sound right.

Emlyn wrote: »

I saw an article the other day that said it's very common for people now to buy LPs without owning a turntable. Record store owners noticed the trend from conversations they have with customers. Some said it's as much as 50 percent of buyers in their stores making purchases because they either just like owning something physical and records are cool or they plan to get a turntable at a later date and want to be ready with media for it. Some people just like to visit the stores to talk music.

txcoastal1 wrote: »

I have a buddy that does not own a TT but has a substantial collection of sealed albums. Over the years he has gifted me some of those albums which also remain sealed and I don't own a TT

Clipdat

I recall reading that it's actually not good to leave the cellophane on as it can actually warp the record over time.

txcoastal1

msg wrote: »

Yeah, I used to work with a guy who did this. But he was dumb in other ways, too. I mean, not like Ron.
Crap, that didn't sound right.

Emlyn wrote: »

I saw an article the other day that said it's very common for people now to buy LPs without owning a turntable. Record store owners noticed the trend from conversations they have with customers. Some said it's as much as 50 percent of buyers in their stores making purchases because they either just like owning something physical and records are cool or they plan to get a turntable at a later date and want to be ready with media for it. Some people just like to visit the stores to talk music.

txcoastal1 wrote: »

I have a buddy that does not own a TT but has a substantial collection of sealed albums. Over the years he has gifted me some of those albums which also remain sealed and I don't own a TT

Hey Scott...

pitdogg2

🤣🤣🤣🤣

msg

LOLOL

txcoastal1 wrote: »

msg wrote: »

Yeah, I used to work with a guy who did this. But he was dumb in other ways, too. I mean, not like Ron.
Crap, that didn't sound right.

Hey Scott...

SIHAB

The real answer to the vinyl question is to hang it on your wall.

engie490

SIHAB wrote: »

The real answer to the vinyl question is to hang it on your wall.

Comparing my use of vinyl against CDs, I would say the latter would be my candidate for gathering dust on the walls.

skipshot12

SIHAB wrote: »

The real answer to the vinyl question is to hang it on your wall.

Funny you mention hanging on the wall…
Am looking into shelves that mount on the wall for my tt’s.
The cool factor is sweet….

StantonZ

SIHAB wrote: »

The real answer to the vinyl question is to hang it on your wall.

Laserdiscs have that same quality; I have several LPs/LDs in (LP) frames on my wall.