I am happy with vinyl. The quality and quantity of recording that pleases me out there is enough for decades.
Records and CDs
I’ve just spent a couple of weeks exclusively going through my extensive record collection playing hardly any digital media and have come to some conclusions.
Records are fun and enjoyable to work with, but ultimately for a music lover they’re a dead end. Since very few new titles are being released on records these days I find myself going through mainly old familiar performances. Then there’s the age old problem of comparing the SQ of both media which is maddening. I just today went back to streaming (and CDs.). I clearly see, for me this is the way to continue my listening habits. Records can be used as a diversion but not the main event.
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For me one of the joys of vinyl is the 12x12 album art and the wealth of information often included with the release. Plus the provenance of the mastering is usually available, unlike with streamed releases. I find that the mastering can make a bigger difference than the format, and like to be able to seek out the work of my favorite mastering engineers. |
rvpiano OP: Maybe the new cartridge will inspire you, at least for a while. I stopped and returned to vinyl, including getting rid of my turntables and then rebuying turntables back and forth all over again 3 or 4 times over the past several years before recently giving up on vinyl altogether. I am not sure what drove me to doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, perhaps insanity, as the saying goes, or perhaps nostalgia... I am in the process of removing my turntable from the stand to make room for a laptop and maybe also an old school lava lamp. 🤣 |
As I mentioned earlier, for me records cannot be the main event; This is partly due to the maddening inconsistency in their sound quality compared to the relative reliability of digital. True, certain records do sound better than any digital on my system but, unfortunately, that is rare.. I also acknowledge everyone’s system is different in the quality of their digital and analog playback so that comparisons are difficult. |
drmuso: I used to do the same. Still have my Nakamichi Dragon tape deck in good working order, but you still have to go through the time-consuming process of recording everything, and that's if you can find a quality TDK MA series blank cassette at a non- absurd price that will inevitably degrade with time anyways. I am sticking to streaming! |
In some cases a good pressing of an LP will sound better than a CD or CD-quality file in my system. I have some digitally-recorded jazz LPs that sound better than their CD counterparts, even. But in some cases a CD sounds better than even an analog LP. In general, I find a digital recording needs to be at least 96kHz sampling rate to equal the SQ of an LP. Admittedly, my current digital front end was less costly than my turntable, but it sounds better than earlier digital gear that was as pricey as the turntable/tonearm/cartridge. I think digital gear has advanced enough that you don't need to spend as much on it as in the 1980s-1990s. But maybe the most expensive digital gear can make a worthwhile improvement in the SQ of even CDs. For playlists, the old analog method was mix tapes, preferably made on tape decks that were tuned to the specific blank tapes used. Such recordings can be nearly indistinguishable from their sources in many cases, and if you played them on an auto-reverse deck you could get 90 minutes or more of continuous, all-analog music. Cassette tapes I made in the 1980s still play on my Nakamichi decks, and those decks have rarely damaged a cassette--when they did it was because the transport system needed repair. Reel-to-reel can provide even better SQ if you have the space for the deck and the tapes. |
Speaking for myself, the only records I have that sound worthy of my time to listen to considering all of the preparation and time required are the full size 12-inch 45 RPM singles and those were never very popular and difficult to find. They hold less information per linear inch and the vastly improved sound quality is immediately noticeable. They sound very good, but still not quite as good as a CD or streaming to me even on very good turntables. Yes, records are making a comeback but that doesn’t mean they sound better. Same goes for antique cars. They are nostalgic, perhaps cool but will never drive better than their modern counterpart. So, when I consider the inconvenience of having to physically find a record, clean it, clean the stylus, having to put it away, not being able to make playlists, having to get up every 20 minutes, if not more often, not having artificial intelligence introduce me to new music and the list goes on, streaming is the clear winer for me. Oh, and all with a simple click of a mouse from my favorite recliner! As I mentioned on my previous post: I only wish that I could get back what I invested in all that media over the past few decades and just keep a handful of the irreplaceable ones. I’d be paying a visit to the local exotic car dealership! |
I feel very blessed I was very late to the vinyl game. The reason is I realized I do not need to buy tons of vinyl or everything that comes out. A lot of my friends are heavy into vinyl. That being said they mostly listen to what I call their top 100 albums and new acquisitions. So it might break out to 200. The rest sit on the shelf unplayed. I have my 200 close to my turntable. I sort of acquired for free about 400 classical albums that I slowly sort through. If it sounds dynamic I keep it. If it sounds like a lifeless MP3 then off to goodwill with it. My vinyl rig is very nice and beats the digital as long as the pressing is good. That’s what I’m saying. If your physical media does not beat Tidal or Qobuz then let it go unless it has value. Then sell it to a store or online. Life is way too short to accumulate a bunch of stuff you don’t touch. I recently just got back from a trip. I realized right away all the junk we buy: cups, trinkets, logo cloths we never wear, and don’t get me started on the shot glasses. If that’s your thing then you be you. I challenge you all to try to get rid of some stuff one room at a time. One of the reasons why vacations can be relaxing is you stop thinking about your stuff. Your brain is a hard drive. We are all running out of space. Start with albums and bar glasses you will never use. Believe me, you will sleep better. Start by putting it somewhere you can temporarily put it out of sight like a box in the basement marked charity. At the end of a month or two let it go. This helps you to let go and FOMO. |
@rvpiano - "Very few new titles are being released on records these days"? On what do you base that statement? Sales data would indicate otherwise, plus the fact that vinyl sales have been steadily increasing and new pressing plants are being opened. Will it ever be like the 'old days' again? No. But from what I've seen, just about every new release, large artist or small, is being released on vinyl.... What I don't care about are all the colored vinyl variants.... |
I only recently upped by vinyl playback game with a nice phono preamp and new cart, that took me to a new level in sound that surpasses what before was best, streaming. I’ve a modest digital system ( NAD C658 streaming preamp), but it sounds very good….but the vinyl has more life and depth of soundstage plus an “airiness” that the digital can’t quite match. |
The other day I visited a store named Newbury Comics in the Danbury Mall in Connecticut. I was astounding by the number of jazz artists, old and new, that were available on vinyl. The problem? The prices...$25, $30, $45, and higher - for records that will undoubtedly be warped due to the mishandling by twenty-somthings that have no idea how to properly store and display them. |
You would be surprised that if you are into current pop music, LPs are being released for a great many albums and sales are off the charts. I'm going to use this excuse to rant, I don't understand this at all. Vinyl is not a particularly good way to store music, as we all know it is subject to warping, scratching, and the inevitable clicks and pops. Couple that with what some believe to be an inferior form of music reproduction (digital) and you could conceivably have the worst of both worlds. I know that in theory, music that is being mastered onto LPs these days is supposed to be high resolution (as in higher than redbook CD) but I wonder. To me, the irony is that digital has never sounded better than it does today.
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I enjoy the heck out of vinyl. However, I detest having to jump up every twenty minutes to change the record. My young audiophile dream was to, ASAP, transfer all new acquisitions to R-2-R tape for playback. This is the only way to enjoy the new 45 RPM releases. Truthfully, when I'm in my preferred listening mode, format doesn't really matter with my components. |
rvpiano: You and me both!!! I only wish that I could get back what I invested in all that media over the past few decades and just keep a handful of the irreplaceable ones. I'd be paying a visit to the local exotic car dealership! |