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Why do YOU love Vinyl/or hate vinyl

I just responded to the thread on how many sources do you have ( shotgunning tonight) and got me wondering why I love vinyl so much? Have a very good digital side on both my main system and my headphone system as well that was set up for Redbook playback (headphone system) only utilising my vast 1,000 CD collection, enjoyed it for about a year, added a turntable and haven't used it since. My love of vinyl has been with me for 55 years, buying and playing, setting up my tables , matching preamps and enjoying the fruit of my labor. I believe my love of vinyl is a simple one, it stemmed from the hands on, need to tinker and adjust that I was born with, it's a very physical attraction that I just can not resist, it satisfies a lot of needs for me and in some way is that mistress that I maintain. My turntable is massive and so easy to look at, I can touch it and get more out of it, I can read about the artist and get info while I listen to an album, I can swap out a cartridge and change the tone and in the day the album covers served as a rolling tray to roll a joint. I love vinyl, but absolutely understand while others don't. I also envy people like uberwaltz that have and use so many sources, wish I could. What say you?
tooblue
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,488 posts
 
Apart from all the other reasons you mentioned, my reason is simple. Original well-recorded analogue records sound better than any reissues. Warts and all, there is a see-through clarity with the originals. 
big_greg
6,561 posts
 
For me I think there's a lot of nostalgia to it.  I used to have a small but nice record collection and an OK turntable and loved listening to albums.  Not songs, but the entire creation of the artist. 

I bought a vintage Marantz receiver at a garage sale about 20 years ago and it came with a Marantz 6100 turntable.  The turntable just sat in my garage for over a decade.  I was out there one day and decided to clean it up and try it out.  After a new belt and some cleaning and a new stylus, I was able to listen to some records.  They didn't sound great, but there was something special about playing a record.

Now I have 5 turntables in 4 different systems and primarily spin vinyl.  I have  around 1,000 CDs, mostly all burned to hard drive, as well as Qobuz, Spotify, and Tidal, but prefer vinyl.

I prefer the sound of vinyl, although I have some pretty decent digital playback options also.   However for me, it's really more about the tactile experience and the ritual of playing the album and the experience of active listening, versus what is often background music when I'm listening to digital sources.  Perhaps some nostalgia also.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,082 posts
 
Oh no....another vinyl thread 😊

In all seriousness I get your passion for Vinyl and the whole ‘ritual’ of setting up the TT. Before this thread morphed into Vinyl vs Digital, many of us invested considerable amount of time tinkering and tweaking our systems regardless of the source i.e Vinyl, CD or Streaming.

I can tell you why I dislike Vinyl (hate is a strong word).

1. The setup is cumbersome for any newbie. Personally I don’t see Vinyl as plug n play source and don’t want to the hassle of cleaning my records or cartridge each time I pull a record out of sleeve. Not to mention the need for a massive storage of your prized vinyl collection.

2. I don’t want to re-invest in a brand new library of music after ‘wasting’ thousands of dollars in cassette tapes and CD’s.

Vinyl and CD’s will continue to co-exist but streaming is the future. I still spin CD’s but I find myself streaming more N more due to its ease and convenience.

At the end of the day, it just comes down to enjoying your favorite tunes regardless of the medium.
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