For me, one of the big factors between vinyl and CDs is convenience. I played vinyl from the 60's to the 90's....and that was enough for me. Besides the clicks, pops and surface noise, vinyl became a chore when trying to listen to just specific songs. That's why cassettes became so popular...you could make mixed tapes of what you wanted to hear and not be forced to listen to a certain artist or type of music. I can't remember when I actually listened to a CD or album from beginning to end....there's always songs I don't care to listen to from the artist. I do own CDs and I always rip them to lossless audio files and it's all kept on my desktop computer's hard drive. I can sit at my desk and listen to thousands of tracks in any order I choose since my audio system is in my office. I go from my computer via USB cable to a high-end DAC and then to my integrated amplifier. I also purchase music tracks online and they sound awesome when up-scaled on my DAC. Vinyl has too many limitations.
Does Anyone Think CD is Better Than Vinyl/Analog?
I am curious to know if anyone thinks the CD format (and I suppose that could include digital altogether) sounds better than vinyl and other analog formats. Who here has gone really far down both paths and can make a valid comparison? So far, I have only gone very far down the CD path and I just keep getting blown away by what the medium is capable of! I haven’t hit a wall yet. It is extremely dependent on proper setup, synergy and source material. Once you start getting those things right, the equipment gets out of the way and it can sound more fantastic than you can imagine! It’s led me to start developing a philosophy that goes something like this: Digital IS “perfect sound forever”; it’s what we do to the signal between the surface of the CD and the speaker cone that compromises it.”
So I suppose what I’m asking for is stories from people who have explored both mediums in depth and came to the conclusion that CD has the most potential (or vice versa - that’s helpful too). And I don’t simply mean you’ve spent a lot of money on a CD player. I mean you’ve tinkered and tweaked and done actual “research in the lab,” and came back with a deep understanding of the medium and can share those experiences with others.
In my experience, the three most important things to get right are to find a good CD player (and good rarely means most expensive in my experience) and then give it clean power. In my case, I have modified my CD player to run off battery power with DC-DC regulators. The last thing that must be done right is the preamp. It’s the difference between “sounds pretty good” and “sounds dynamic and realistic.”
So I suppose what I’m asking for is stories from people who have explored both mediums in depth and came to the conclusion that CD has the most potential (or vice versa - that’s helpful too). And I don’t simply mean you’ve spent a lot of money on a CD player. I mean you’ve tinkered and tweaked and done actual “research in the lab,” and came back with a deep understanding of the medium and can share those experiences with others.
In my experience, the three most important things to get right are to find a good CD player (and good rarely means most expensive in my experience) and then give it clean power. In my case, I have modified my CD player to run off battery power with DC-DC regulators. The last thing that must be done right is the preamp. It’s the difference between “sounds pretty good” and “sounds dynamic and realistic.”
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- 203 posts total
- 203 posts total