CD's or Vinyl?

Kind of funny that Von Karajan was quoted as saying that Cd sounds better than vinyl. Ray Charles once said that digital kills the music. Both of these men would likely have very keen hearing. Ironically, any Von Karajan recordings that I have are on vinyl and are very well recorded and pressed. I do not own any Ray Charles recordings but I'm sure he was a stickler for quality recording. 

In the last year, I changed my preamp from SS to tube, likely a bit of an upgrade from what I used for the prior 20 years or so. My phono preamp has been a tube unit for about the same 20 years. During that 20 year period, I would have said that Cd was a big step down from the vinyl. With the addition of the tube preamp, it is a much smaller step. I'm able to enjoy Cd's a lot more than I used to and with all the tube rolling that I've been doing, in and out, I have found a great deal more detail in at least some Cd's. Most of the ones that were made in the beginning to replace old worn records, were terrible. Not so anymore. It's getting closer.

All that said, I still prefer vinyl 80% to 90% of the time but it is getting a lot closer. I do not stream and maybe I never will. Like a lot of other old timers on here, my collection and my setup is heavily geared toward LP's. I do see a lot of guys who are like myself in listening tastes and many are now streaming. I'm sure there is something to it but I really don't care. Like many here, I have a pretty extensive collection of Cd's and vinyl and will probably never stop buying more. Cd's are practically being given away and so is some old vinyl. As long as people think they can live without them, I'll be happy to buy them up. I've never sold a single album and do not regret that in any way. 

Look at the old rock stars vinyl collections. There is something to it. I and many others have amazed many listeners over the years. It never gets old. 

@niodari “If the cracks, dust cleaning and demagnetizing does not bother you….”

All the above don’t bother me. As regards to the demagnetising, l never do that, never had a problem with static at all. I use new plastic liners on all new records if they have paper or cardboard inners. I would estimate that half of the LPs are 40-60 years old as l specialise in a certain genre and type of music. Most have not altered at all in this time playback wise.
 

Too much worrying about a little bit of noise seams to be an all time consuming nonsense for some people. The music itself drags me away from any of that. I compare it with driving. Do you look at the windscreen and any dirt or blemishes on it continually when you drive? Or do you view ahead and look through the windscreen and focus towards the business end…at the traffic ahead of you?. There is no difference in my view with playing and enjoying music.

The secret for me is not accepting a poor pressing, return it. I only ever consider keeping a less than perfect copy unless it is collectable or rare. Live with the imperfections.
 

My type of music l have is spread between LP, Reel to Reel, CD, SACD or DvdA. I never bother to stream but I’ll take whatever physical medium is available for the music l want. LP or CD are the two main contenders, but l find that LP reproduces the more emotional end product.

CDs normally fill the gaps for me when l can’t source a reasonably priced LP, or the music has never been released on LP.

@billpete Love your comments. Keep up the education. Never sell those albums.

@mylogic , I like your remark to "live with imperfections" (I am often envious of a stamp whom I see in the street). The less we depend on our environment, the better for us. Though, if the windscreen of your car has too much of dirt, you won't be able to drive, or you will need to lower your speed to an inconvenient level.  

When I miss the analog sound, honestly, I prefer to use of type deck, which sounds really nice on many of the cassettes that I have. I can't really say that the LPs I have sound better on the turntable that I have. 

@niodari ”When l miss analogue… l prefer to use a (cassette) tape deck”

An interesting subject and your  comments should not be overlooked.

l did not include a cassette deck in my choices as l do not own many pre-recorded tapes. l also agree with its potential as a source of enjoyment if you purchased a lot of pre-recorded music. Cassettes in the 80s actually took over market share from LPs. It would be a shame to loose that tactile memory of youth and all the memories that can add so much to the music.

l have a couple of Tandberg cassette recorders. The TCD330 was a 3 head and the best l could afford in the 80s, which was a golden era in the format. The best it got for most brands before CD broke through. The 330 had the facility to set the tape head azymuth. A signal was generated, recorded and played back simultaneously so that adjustments could be made to optimise each tape before recording. 
 

One thing l did notice was that some pre-recorded cassettes were not up to “scratch” so to speak. I believe cassettes were recorded at high speed to increase productivity, so sonically there was some loss in sound quality. I remember a friend of mine wanted a better recording of the “Live and Let Die” soundtrack as the cassette sounded “dull”  I covered the anti recording slots and recorded from LP over the original programme. It was noticeably better.

I used my cassette recorders for compilations, live radio shows and one off TV programmes. Cassette had its day and was a very useful convenient medium that was capable of realistic playback, and for a relatively small cost. The nostalgic qualities it triggers should you have sufficient recorded material can not be ignored.

@mylogic Thanks for the encouragement. No worries, I will never sell my vinyl collection. I give away Cd's now and then, extras or ones that never get played.

@niodari Cassettes are a great medium. As mylogic posted, with 3 head decks, can be very good indeed. I used to record all of my new records onto cassettes and then play the cassettes most of the time to save my records from wear. I gave up on that idea when cassette decks started eating the tapes. My son still has a cassette deck in his system and has a lot of tapes. My wife has one in her office system. I do not have one in mine. With a good operating deck, it is still a very fine way to listen to music. 

I really don't understand all the talk about the inconvenience of playing records or owning them or for that matter, owning any media like Cd's, tapes or whatever. I'm old and retired and I am not so busy that I can't take time out of most days (evenings, normally), to spin some records or put on a Cd or two. Having thousands of records and hundreds of Cd's, it's hard enough to decide what it is that I want to hear. I think I'd be lost with streaming. Having too many choices might not work for me, don't know and am not likely to ever try. I do find things on Youtube now and then, listen on my computer and if I like it, I'll buy it on Cd or vinyl or both. Anyway, just a few ramblings from an old time avid listener. Enjoy the music, no matter how you choose to listen. It's all good.