Vinyl vs high def audio i.e. 24bit / 96 or 192khz

millercarbon, 

Could it be that whole lot of people are ‘stuck’ playing records cause it’s the only way they know how to enjoy their favorite tunes?

Could it be that whole lot of people invested so much money in buying vinyl, setting up their TT rig and they are just too stubborn to admit that their could be another format that’s equally good or better?

Could it be that most Vinyl lovers aren’t adventurous enough to explore other options to enjoy their favorite tunes? I mean why bother after painstakingly collecting thousands of records, most of them are probably out of print and holds sentimental and monetary value. 

And if they did, they weren’t patient enough to setup their digital rig properly and gave up quickly. One vinyl lovers openly admitted to compare his $$$$ vinyl setup with a $100 CD player. Most people can’t get their heads to think beyond ‘digital bits are just 1’s and 0’s’ 

I am sure you or anyone else just didn’t start enjoying vinyl and TT out of the box. It took countless hours of fine tuning and gear swapping. Same rules applies to CD playback and digital streaming. Those taken the time to fine tune their digital setups are enjoying their favorite artists and music just as much as the next door Vinyl lover. 

As I said before, listening music through Vinyl is a different experience not necessarily better. 

And to answer your question “Why do you play music?”

Music entertain us by reiterating certain aspect of our lives. It makes us feel or connect to our emotions. And your enjoyment of music or favorite artist should not be contingent upon the format, shape or form; you enjoy them regardless.

Let’s not get caught up in the debate as to which format is better, just enjoy the music.

Sigh...

The absolute fact-record vs digital argument will continue until there isn't an ear to listen.

New entrants should just seek advice on what to buy, and realize it's equivalent  to asking-"what's the most meaningful religion?"

“Actually its kids that are driving vinyl sales these days- not older audiophiles.”

I respectfully disagree, I have yet to witness ‘kids’ buying the vinyl.

Just go through the record bins of new LPs and look at the titles. The store is buying titles that keep them in business. Who listens to all that stuff? I have pretty eclectic tastes and love to buy current titles, but there is way more stuff out there than I have any idea about. I have a preset on the FM radio in my truck, set to the UofM radio station (KUOM), which is run by and for college kids. I have to assume they are playing things that people of their ilk listen to, so when I see those LP titles in record stores its a pretty good indication that kids are driving LP sales. Of course, anecdotal evidence on my part is nothing so go look at Billboard or the like. LP sales have been driven by kids for a very long time, even if you aren't there at the time to see them doing it :)

 Hi Fi and I mean all of it is just a tool, a tool to play music. Most of the music I listen to from a time perspective is on Sonus remote speakers in my office, garage and workshop as back ground music. I am always humming and tapping along even though I am not listening seriously.
It could be a transistor radio for all I care. 
I play records because I have thousands of them, it is tradition and it is much more of a challenge to set up and make really sing than digital. It is more rewarding. I had thousands of CDs. Now they are all happily living on a hard drive. Records make much better collectibles. Now I get Hi Def files online. I got into computer music at the onset and I really like it. It is relatively easy and trouble free. But it is all just tools, tools to keep the music going one way or another. Arguing that one method is better than the other misses the point. You can argue that when cost is an issue it is cheaper to set up a good digital rig than it is to set up a good Vinyl one but that would depend on your definition of what good is. Good is any way to keep the music going when it comes down to brass tacks. Yes, the audiophile in me wants to recreate the live experience particularly the visceral sensation you get from live music, even an acoustic guitar (Richard Thompson). Nothing beats that bass drum in Stravinski's Firebird or Dave Weckl beating the crap out of his kit. I want to be 20 feet away from that drum kit just as I was at Boston's Reggata Bar. That is the real challenge, making music sound live. I don't care what cables you use or equipment you have if you can close your eyes, see and feel the band in front of you, you are in business.