Recommendations for a jazz record which demonstrates vinyl superiority over digital
I have not bought a vinyl record since CDs came out, but have been exposed to numerous claims that vinyl is better. I suspect jazz may be best placed to deliver on these claims, so I am looking for your recommendations.
I must confess that I do not like trad jazz much. Also I was about to fork out A$145 for Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" but bought the CD for A$12 to see what the music was like. I have kept the change!
I love the jazz in the movie Babylon, which features local Oz girl Margo Robbie (the film, not the jazz).
So what should I buy?
I resolved this question by buying the same, high quality recording in both formats. The Doctor (Doc Powel) on VTL. ON MY SYSTEM (see listing), the vinyl is better than the CD. Both were excellent (thanks VTL!), yet repetitive listening confirmed that the LP was smoother, and slightly more realistic. This is one datapoint, but it worked very well. |
Without getting into a format debate, I'll say that digital has come a long way. And the cost of vinyl involves a lot of variables, leaving aside the records-- I buy older pressings- most stuff is overpriced now, and the grading is inflated. If I were starting out today, I'm not sure I'd dive into vinyl. But, I have a penchant for small and private label stuff. Good luck finding it today unless you have connections and a large stack of cash. |
Dear @richardbrand : " the consensus would seem to be that vinyl has no over-whelming, intrinsic advantage these days, despite what many dealers / magazines say.. "
Correct and not only that but has several disadvantages vs digital and this came from the last 5-10 years ( everything the same.).
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R. |
There’s no way to predict the excellence of a particular LP, in terms of sound quality. There is always an element of serendipity. But for jazz, ECM, Pablo, Bethlehem, Riverside, Contemporary, then Columbia, are pretty reliable. Perhaps best ever were Reference Recordings. I don’t like Sheffield because the artists they recorded were in general second rate, with apologies to Harry James. Case in point for serendipity, last night I picked out an LP from one of my less used storage bins: Art Pepper, “Among Friends” on the Trio label. I played it because I love Art Pepper and was curious because it was recorded in 1978 in stereo, near his death. I can only say buy it if you can find it, dead silent surface with in your face reality. I could easily imagine myself in the room. But who knew? |
