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Prefer vinyls?

J

Jiggybass

Nov 15, 2005
3,047
0
37
Sudbury, Canada
#1
While sitting at home, I much prefer listening to my dad's old records, over my remastered CD's, it just sounds alot better. Plus
'The Wall' sounds just tremendous on vinyl. anyone agree? Is there really that special "vibe" that makes the records sound so much more....more?!?

While relaxing at home, what do you prefer?
 
#2
I've heard people say that and have had an audiofile friend demonstrate it to me. I think you have to have a really good stylus cartridge, quality stereo to notice. Also well-kept vinyls. I still have my vinyl collection and turntable but CDs are easier and don't pop. Strangely my computer has become more of my stero lately. HP Media Center with Sony pro headphones and I-tunes. Sounds awesome.
 
#4
I prefer vinyl. A lot of people don't know that they still make them. I have a lot of newer albums on vinyl: TOOL, Nirvana, The White Stripes, Weezer, Jamiroquai, The Black Keys, Metallica, Pearl Jam, STP, Soundgardern, etc...

Oftentimes vinyl albums (even brand new) are cheaper by a buck or more. The Franz Ferninand album I have came out a week earlier on vinyl than it did on CD. Lots of good places to get records in Seattle (Easy Street Records).

Suprisingly, http://www.circuitcity.com/ is a good source for new releases. Just click on their advanced search and type in the band/album you're looking for. Unfortunately, you can't just browse a master listing of vinyl albums, so that's a bit of a pain. E-bay is okay for finding newer albums. Some of the web sites out there selling them are a major ripoff. Some have good deals. http://www.acousticsounds.com/ comes to mind - their bargains vary from good to bad.

I had a lady at church give me all of their old albums after I mentioned that I collect vinyl. I've had a couple friends/relatives do the same. Thrift stores can be real good too, you just have to be careful assessing the condition of the disc you're buying. Some used record stores will let you listen before you buy.

Umm... keep your records clean. Read about how to do it best. Makes all the difference in the world. Buy a decent record player. There are better ones on the market now than there ever have been. Stay away from ones made for DJs. Look to spend about $400 to $2000 and you'll get the kind of player that makes you not want to listen to CDs anymore (if you've got real high-fidelity speakers to back it up).
 
#5
My philosophy is that older, analog recorded albums are better on vinyl, and newer, digitally recorded albums are better on CD. I know for a fact that my copy of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here is amazing on vinyl, but it seems to lose something when I listen on CD/iPod. On the other hand, most modern albums released on vinyl are made cheaply and don't sound very good, because they were recorded digitally. And example is Deloused by the Mars Volta
 
#6
Vinyl.

People who complain about Vinyl quality have a bad player/needle/record. That popping and crackle means you need to take better care of your stuff. A nice clean vinyl on a great player is the best sound there is.

My main preference: ALBUM ART! Vinyl's heyday is when people really gave a **** about album art. I've got some Gentle Giant stuff that folds out into a giant poster essentially. I've got a copy of Jethro Tull's thick as a brick that is a newspaper! The whole thing is a huge newspaper... haven't read the articles yet. But if an album has great art, the only way to appreciate it is BIG!
 
#7
Try this :

Take a LP you like, in good brand new condition, and record the output of your phono preamp to the computer, using a good turntable, cart and preamp, as well as a good soundcard. Burn that on a CD after having checked the levels etc.

Now go borrow / buy the commercial rerelease of that record. Listen to them side by side and tell me which sounds better.

To me in a lot of cases, I like the LP burned to CD better than the CD. But both are digital, and on was remastered on 5000$ worth of gear by an amateur, the other was done by a pro, using 10x more expensive equipment and the original tapes.

To me this shows that it is not so much "Analogue vs digital" as it is questioning the work a lot of sound engineers do to older releases when they remaster them.
 
#9
ninnlangel said:
+1 on album art.

Vynils are much more satisfying objects.

Which is why we needed CDs to prepare us for downloadable no physical media music...
Click to expand...


Which is why I still buy albums. I refuse to accept music as an abstract, as a file. Music needs to occupy space... and I don't mean on a hard drive. There is music on my hard drive, but it leads to me buying physical media.
 
#10
Im 16 and I was always bugging my dad abotu getting out his record player so I could listen to some records and now its in my room. He only has a few albums I like(The Blues Brothers' 3 albums). But I think the crackle and pops everynow and then kinda add to the listening experience. I definetly would like to hear some Pink Floyd , Hendrix , Miles DAvis , and others on vinyl.
 
#13
Matt Till said:
Which is why I still buy albums. I refuse to accept music as an abstract, as a file. Music needs to occupy space... and I don't mean on a hard drive. There is music on my hard drive, but it leads to me buying physical media.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And the quality definately varies alot. I have some records that sound beautiful, and then others that are just terrible... Deloused is a bad one, a random simon and Grafunkle album is pretty weak.

How do those that listen clean them though? I have some pretty old stuff that should be fine if I touch it up, but there's no way I'm going to buy one of those record wet vacs for a while. And what do you all use for cleaning lint/dust off? I'm in a really dry area and the static is absolutely terrible.
 
#15
I think it's a kind of romantic nostalgia - I was around at the time of the switchover and I was really glad to get rid of most of my vinyl and traded for superior CDs which have lasted every since and sound as good as the day I bought them - whereas most of my vinyl collection was unlistenable really after a few plays.

I suppose there is a sense in which many classic rock albums of the 60s and 70s were mixed with vinyl in mind - but for everything else then CD is demonstrably superior - especially SACD!!

So - I had many high quality Classical vinyl recordings - but they always distorted on extreme high volume points - like very large choirs and orchestras - same thing on CD replayed perfectly!

The other things is that Vinyl naturally compresses the recording - some people like that sound I don't!

So I was very noticable when listening to Classcial music how the highs were higher and the lows quieter on CD than the same thing on Vinyl!
 
#19
Phil Mastro said:
Are you aware that Sony dropped the SACD format?
Click to expand...

Well - I own some and they are the ultimate High Definition,High Quality medium for music!

Link Removed

There have been over 4,000 SACD releases - I am happy with CD mostly, but I think this shows that most people are not able to judge or appreciate high quality and just want what they're used to, or heard on classic recordings...

They like that sound... with all its flaws and muddiness!

Much like people prefer bass and guitar amps that distort and muddy, rather than reproducing exactly...:hmm:
 

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