As time goes on, and my vinyl collection grows...

comfortablycurt

I realize more and more just how much better sounding vinyl is. I've been realizing lately, that I'm listening to vinyl the vast majority of the time. The 1's and 0's of digital just have too much of an "edginess" or "glare"(SACD excluded). I'm finding myself listening to music that I don't necessarily like as much, simply because it's on vinyl, and it has that holographic, sweet sound.

Is this because vinyl really sounds better? Am I just still struck by the novelty of playing these big black discs? Is it just my way of rebelling against the digital onslaught?

All of the above?

I don't know, but I know that listening to vinyl in my rig has made me enjoy it more than ever. The more my vinyl collection grows, the more I realize how much money I could potentially dump into a TT setup.:cool:

SCompRacer

I dunno, I never made it into the only vinyl is worth it club. Still enjoy both digital and vinyl, but with optimal recordings vinyl can get the nod here. Much depends on what the digital is emitting out of.

thsmith

I think it depends. I have CDs and Albums that both sound excellent in my system.

My DAC and CDP cost a lot more than my TT, cart and phono stage.

FOr example, Poco Blue and Grey on LP sounds the best of any album I have and revivals most CDs but I have Johnny A on CD that does the same.

comfortablycurt

Don't get me wrong...I still listen to plenty of CD's, and thoroughly enjoy them. The vast majority of my collection is on CD though.

Lately anyway, I'm finding myself listening to vinyl the vast majority of the time.

I think a big part of it is just that vinyl is more personal. There's a little bit more involved than just popping the CD in and pushing play.

SCompRacer

You might really enjoy the opening minutes of Michael Fremer's It's A Vinyl World, After All.

Toolfan66

I find vinyl to have more sparkle then CD's , as you said I have CD's that I love to play and sound fantastic as well. But I would say 75% of the music I buy is on vinyl. There is a store here in Denver called Twist and Shout Records,half the store is vinyl half is CD and DVD's they even have some SACD's also if they don't have it they will do their best to get it for you.

Vinyl is better IMHO.

mhardy6647

"one word, Benjamin..."

Tape





that is all.

comfortablycurt

Yes...I've already thought about getting a R2R. But, that's an audio bridge that I'm not quite ready to burn yet. I'm currently getting into both vinyl and cassette tape(yes, you heard me right), so I don't think I need to jump to another form of media quite yet...lol



Rich-I'll have to check out It's a Vinyl World After All.:)


Larry-If I ever find myself in Denver, I'll make it a point to stop in there. I'm always on the hunt for new vinyl. Lately, the majority of my music purchases have been on vinyl.

Fongolio

I still prefer vinyl but with my most recent CD player purchase (modified Rotel RCD-885 with full tube output stage) cd is a very close 2nd. Still it largely depends on the quality of the recording and mastering. I have some cd titles that sound better on vinyl and some vinyl pressings that sound better on cd. Not all vinyl or cd pressings are created equal. I have 4 different pressings of Dark Side of The Moon and they all sound slightly different. I find most recent cd's to be too "hot". By that I mean levels set too high and way too much clipping. Vinyl tends to suffer from that problem less but I've still heard some nasty vinyl pressings.

Look for the initials RL or SH on the deadwax (lead out part at the end of the record). RL is Robert Ludwig mastering and SH is Steve Hoffman. These are almost without exception superbly mastered pressings.

nooshinjohn

R2R is sweet sounding, but finding them is very hard and expensive. Vinyl is a buck-a-piece at Goodwill.

joeparaski

Not hard to find...I'm selling one right now on ebay, check listing 150413269097. I can do a polkie price if it doesn't get sold on the bay.

Joe

mhardy6647

cassette can be OK, too.

hearingimpared

mhardy6647 wrote: »

"one word, Benjamin..."

Tape





that is all.

Why am I not surprised?:D

Curt vinyl is the bomb especially when you get up the turntable/tonearm/cartridge chain. However, since I've purchased my Raysonic tube CD player I enjoy the digital sound with the lushness of the tubes too.

Richie, I'm surprised at you!:eek:

shack

My music library is probably 60%/40% CDs vs LPs. My listening is probably 75%/25% CD/Digital over vinyl. Vinyl takes an investment in time that often I am not willing to make just for the sake of listening to vinyl. I have always been more about the actual playing of the music over a quest for SQ or tweeking the gear.

I really appreciate the sound of a well recorded LP...but a well recorded CD and/or SACD can be equally satisfying.

In the end it depends on WHAT music I want to listen to...and not necessarily the medium that determines what I listen to. I enjoy both.

shack

mhardy6647 wrote: »

cassette can be OK, too.

I have a decent library of well recorded cassettes...but I only have my cassette players hooked up to my vintage Pioneer rig. I don't get a chance to listen to it very much since right now it is boxed up waiting for a place to reside...which probably won't happen until my daughter moves out.

SCompRacer

hearingimpared wrote: »

Richie, I'm surprised at you!:eek:

What I do now?:D You know, I do recall a thread with comments from my best bud Norm (RIP). After a particular upgrade, I guess something wonderful happened that got his attention.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=701916&postcount=29

How about that opening scene from It's A Vinyl World Joe?:D

mhardy6647

A lot of cassettes turn up at the dump. Some follow me home.
I have to admit that the drop-dead gorgeous Stellavox in the bottom photo in the R2R post isn't mine. I wish it were; one of the best sounding decks I've ever heard.

Keiko wrote: »

Them's purdy.

Same deck (inside and outside).

Back to the original polyvinyl chloride topic now, 'K? :-)



Analog is cool.
DSD ain't bad,either, though.

hearingimpared

SCompRacer wrote: »

What I do now?:D You know, I do recall a thread with comments from my best bud Norm (RIP). After a particular upgrade, I guess something wonderful happened that got his attention.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=701916&postcount=29

How about that opening scene from It's A Vinyl World Joe?:D

I remember that thread Rich and believe it or not I've not heard Fremer's "It's a Vinyl World":eek: You have an email from me on the way.

hearingimpared

mhardy6647 wrote: »

A lot of cassettes turn up at the dump. Some follow me home.
I have to admit that the drop-dead gorgeous Stellavox in the bottom photo in the R2R post isn't mine. I wish it were; one of the best sounding decks I've ever heard.


Same deck (inside and outside).

Back to the original polyvinyl chloride topic now, 'K? :-)



Analog is cool.
DSD ain't bad,either, though.

I have a couple of LPs done in DSD. They sound just like SACDs to me but different than the analog copies.

shack

mhardy6647 wrote:

A lot of cassettes turn up at the dump. Some follow me home.

I assume you are talking about aftermarket recorded cassettes. I have yet to find what I would consider a good pre-recorded cassette from any of the major labels. Every good cassette tape I have was copied from a LP or a good CD on HQ blank tape.

mhardy6647 wrote:

Back to the original polyvinyl chloride topic now, 'K? :-)

On that topic, how about a quick review of that Marantz/Clearaudio table with your likes and issues (if any)? I have seriously considered getting one of those. I have heard both the CA Emotion and the Marantz on a limited basis...but really liked what I heard.

SCompRacer

hearingimpared wrote: »

....believe it or not I've not heard Fremer's "It's a Vinyl World":eek:

It has been a while and I can't recall the exact verbage but..... it opens with the camera on his vinyl storage. Fremer walks into the scene carrying a stack of CD's. He is surprised by the camera crew and drops the CD's saying "What are you guys doing here...it's supposed to be tomorrow...that's Ok, let me clean this mess up..." and he proceeds to sweep up the CD's into a dust pan or maybe a pooper scooper.:eek::D

hearingimpared

hehehe

mhardy6647

shack wrote: »

I assume you are talking about aftermarket recorded cassettes. I have yet to find what I would consider a good pre-recorded cassette from any of the major labels. Every good cassette tape I have was copied from a LP or a good CD on HQ blank tape.



On that topic, how about a quick review of that Marantz/Clearaudio table with your likes and issues (if any)? I have seriously considered getting one of those. I have heard both the CA Emotion and the Marantz on a limited basis...but really liked what I heard.

1) Both, actually. There were a few well-duplicated commercial cassettes over the years, but, yeah, primarily home-made ones.

2) Best bang for the buck by my assessment when I bought it (mine was a demo, so the price was extra-right). The newest Clearaudio-branded entry level tts look pretty nice, though, too. The VPI Scout is a nice piece as well, but the current version is gettin' a little spendy.

wayne3burk

The dollar bin at Goodwill is a great source for finding albums and discovering new music. (You have to dig through all the Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamonds albums).

If you're in Maryland and you're looking for something particular, Joe's Record Paradise is a good quality source. A very large record store with everything organized by genre and alphabetized.

The moved to Silver Spring last month from Rockville, don't know if they've opened up their new doors yet.

comfortablycurt

hearingimpared wrote: »

I have a couple of LPs done in DSD. They sound just like SACDs to me but different than the analog copies.

DSD LP's? I've never heard of such a thing. Would the 30th Ann. DSOTM happen to be a DSD LP?

wayne3burk wrote: »

The dollar bin at Goodwill is a great source for finding albums and discovering new music. (You have to dig through all the Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamonds albums).

If you're in Maryland and you're looking for something particular, Joe's Record Paradise is a good quality source. A very large record store with everything organized by genre and alphabetized.

The moved to Silver Spring last month from Rockville, don't know if they've opened up their new doors yet.

I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever in Maryland. You've gotta dig through the Barbara Streissand and Neil Diamond around here too.;)





Just got done spinning Steely Dan:Gaucho, and the 30th Ann. DSOTM. Sounds simply fantastic.:)

hearingimpared

comfortablycurt wrote: »

DSD LP's? I've never heard of such a thing. Would the 30th Ann. DSOTM happen to be a DSD LP?

Curt,

One of the DSD LPs I have is The Rolling Stones "Let it Bleed."

The 30th Anniversary of DSOTM is a remastered analog gig on heavy vinyl.

If you ever want to know if an LP is done DSD look on the back cover towards the bottom and it will list the format there.

comfortablycurt

hearingimpared wrote: »

Curt,

One of the DSD LPs I have is The Rolling Stones "Let it Bleed."

The 30th Anniversary of DSOTM is a remastered analog gig on heavy vinyl.

If you ever want to know if an LP is done DSD look on the back cover towards the bottom and it will list the format there.

Thanks for the info, I'll have to keep my eye out for that.


I was actually just listening to Let It Bleed a little bit ago, on DSD Disc though. That's the best Stones album IMHO.:)


This raises another question, and I suppose this is as good a place as any to ask it...what the hell is a DSD disc?

I've got a couple of the new Stones remasters...one of them, "More Hot Rocks:Big Hits and Fazed Cookies", is a hybrid SACD. My copy of Let It Bleed, says that it's a DSD Disc.

So, what is a DSD disc? An SACD with a different name? I was under the impression that the new Stones remasters were all SACD.

Gulfstrings

A quick note. Some back-in-the-day classical albums were digital-to-vinyl, some Spyro Gyra (sp?) work and Ry Cooder's 'Bop Till You Drop' ... one of my favs.

My vinyl collection still outnumbers the CDs but twenty minutes per side vs. a no hassle seventy minute play time means time for sitting and relaxed listening is required. Hard to find ...

hearingimpared

Gulfstrings wrote: »

A quick note. Some back-in-the-day classical albums were digital-to-vinyl, some Spyro Gyra (sp?) work and Ry Cooder's 'Bop Till You Drop' ... one of my favs.

My vinyl collection still outnumbers the CDs but twenty minutes per side vs. a no hassle seventy minute play time means time for sitting and relaxed listening is required. Hard to find ...

. . . LOL! and hard on the ears!:D:p

hearingimpared

comfortablycurt wrote: »

This raises another question, and I suppose this is as good a place as any to ask it...what the hell is a DSD disc?

I've got a couple of the new Stones remasters...one of them, "More Hot Rocks:Big Hits and Fazed Cookies", is a hybrid SACD. My copy of Let It Bleed, says that it's a DSD Disc.

So, what is a DSD disc? An SACD with a different name? I was under the impression that the new Stones remasters were all SACD.

DSD (Direct stream digital) technology and a 4.7GB disc with 2.8 MHz sampling rate is what an SACD is. They use the DSD technology in the recording process and then press it to vinyl that's how you get a DSD LP.

I remember, when I first played the Let it Bleed DSD LP, thinking it sounded like an SACD, ya know more weight to the music but less open, airy sounding than analog. Then while reading the cover I discovered that it was indeed DSD. I guess my ears are still good even at my age.:D

mhardy6647

Gulfstrings wrote: »

A quick note. Some back-in-the-day classical albums were digital-to-vinyl, some Spyro Gyra (sp?) work and Ry Cooder's 'Bop Till You Drop' ... one of my favs.

My vinyl collection still outnumbers the CDs but twenty minutes per side vs. a no hassle seventy minute play time means time for sitting and relaxed listening is required. Hard to find ...

Bop 'Til You Drop was proudly advertised as "Rock's first digital recording". The sticker is still on the shrinkwrap of my purchased-new copy :-) It actually sounds pretty good, but has a "dryness" that doesn't quite cut it. FWIW I feel the same way about Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms on Licorice Pizza.