Vinyl or wait for the new stuff??

I happen to own both a very highly resolving digital, as well as very renowned analog front end. I listen through electrostats, coupled with subs. It so happened that the electronics in my Goldmund arm went bonkers and I had to wait to have it repaired for exactly a year. It was not the fault of Goldmund, but one of their distributors here in Switzerland went bonkers as well, ( no joke )so the arm had "disappeared". So I listened only to digital through the excellent Purcell upsampler and quite enjoyed it, I was even thrilled sometimes. But I was compeletely flabberghasted, when I could play LP's again: The music bloomed, the soundstage opened up, the air between instruments became alive and vibrating, not this deadly void, this black nothing, which CD presents and which is so unnatural. I could listend to big orchestral works again, which I found on CD mostly uninvolving and flat in their presentation, so for me its vinyl for sure. However I have not had the chance to listen to any of the new formats. Anyway, after a one year hiatus, I had forgotten how much better that old technology is MUSICALLY in comparison even to the best presentations which CD can offer.

I have SACD, 24/96 and upsampled CD setups. I have chosen the equipment (Forsell, Audio Logic, Purcell) based on its musicality and how close I can get it to sound like real music. But when I want to be moved fully by the music, I still will always choose vinyl. SACD comes close, but still appeals more to the logical side of my brain (I have heard it said, and think it's true, that SACD doesn't sound like analog or digital, it sounds like the master tape). I agree with many of the above that you don't have to spend a fortune on a good arm, table and cartridge to enjoy vinyl, and there are plenty of old records and excellent reissues available. I'd say go for it!

Detlof, I'm with you on this one. A live example. I have an ancient Zarathustra 4 w/ Pluto arm (both still working -- no servicing) & Clearaudio Victory exhibition model. PCM digital is Symphonic LIne Reference, exhibition modell again.
Listened to Mahler 1 on CD (Bruno Walter, NYSO) on sony: powerfull stuff. Found an OLD vinyl of same (not 1st edition...). Listened to same with mmusician friends. No comparison... to give one example: musicians picked out 2 short-comings in the string section beginning part2 on vinyl; couldnt do same on cd. Other examples abound esp on voice recordings.
Myoussif -- pcm digital is the problem. Wait till something better is standard (SACD?)

In my opinion, vinyl provides an unexplainable quality in reproducing music vis-à-vis digital. I feel that there is a noticeable “blending” of instrumentation and voices with vinyl – including much smoother transients. If your purpose, however, is instrument discrimination, digital might be your bread and butter… but, if you don’t mind a little extra attention to your “software” and simply enjoy music, then vinyl is the way to go. Additionally, I don’t really believe that one must spend excessively to reap the benefits of either vinyl or digital. I would contend that more emphasis be placed upon amplification means (I prefer vacuum tubes to solid state), speakers, quality of the LP or CD, and the inter-relationship of all your components, including cables.

I've been in analog since the intro of LPs. I don't have a vast collection---in early years, I simply couldn't afford to buy lots of records, and my taste in music is rather limited to classical, and even then, to more modern stuff (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Ravel, etc.), but it's one I still enjoy. More recently, I've become partial to piano trios, quartets, quintets, and small chamber orchestras. In brief, there is now, and always has been, a limited amount of software available that I enjoy. For this reason, I've been reluctant to get into SACD---of the few SACDs available, I've found only about six, maybe eight, that I would want. I hope that will change soon, but only time will tell.

I recently upgraded speakers, pre- and pwr-amps, phono preamp,etc., and have ordered a better cartridge to replace the BPS on my Rega P3. So it's obvious that I'm seriously back into analog. My Wadia 830 is great, but I still hear the dreaded CD grit/grain on many disks. I think SACD might be the answer to many prayers.

As far as the monetary outlay is concerned, look at what you can buy in vinyl, compared to the cost of an average CD. I know of at least two stores in Atlanta where there is a great selection of used/new vinyl at a fraction of what a CD costs. I'm sure such a selection exists in most major cities. RR, Classic, Chesky LPs are all excellent, but their prices are comparable to CDs, or maybe even higher in some cases, although I feel sonics are superior to CDs.

So I plan to keep the CDs I have, add to them when the notion hits me, and do the same with vinyl. I recently dug out some of my LPs---ones I couldn't/didn't listen to before---and with the new equipment many are better than any CD I have.

I'm gonna wait and see what happens. Certainly one, or maybe both, of the new formats will make it. When that happens, prices of machines will drop, and the selection of SACDs or DVD-As will multiply, also with diminishing prices----best of both worlds.
Vinyl is here now,it's good, and it's affordable, even if you have to start from scratch!