Vinyl lovers I must be crazy

Many systems today can be highly detailed (bright) and lack warmth and texture(flat). If you craft a synergistic system around what you want, there is no doubt in my mind that you can have a great high performance system. My experience leads me to tube based system, higher efficiency speakers, and vinyl playback.

I played a CD today for first time in a long time and only because I was listening to a particular artist and didn't have that particular title on vinyl. It was good but not as great as listening to my vinyls.

Are you sure that the problem is not simply that your present high quality system is revealing deficiencies in the recordings that your 1970's system did not reveal? In which case vinyl vs. cd has nothing to do with it.

Just a thought. Regards,

-- Al

Al,

That is certainly a possibility.

I think since I started reading equipment reviews in Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, etc., that I tend to think more about how the equipment is performing and how it's affecting the sound, versus just listening and enjoying the music before I started reading these mags. Other times I just listen to music without regard to how the equipment is performing, but it takes more effort to do so. Reading hifi reviews has sensitized me more to focusing on the equipment and performance, rather than just enjoying the music. I have been into hifi since 1969, with KLH speakers, Scott receiver, and Dual turntable and I enjoyed the music without focusing on the equipment, even though by today's standards that equipment was limited in performance. This was prior to my focusing on equipment reviews.

So, I guess if one just wants to focus on enjoying the music, and not the equipment, maybe stop reading hifi mags and equipment reviews. It may help.

My first "high end system" consisted of a Yamaha receiver (forgot the model #, but it was the first year of their "digital" tuners), a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 3404 table, and Mission 717 speakers. I bought it all from Audio Breakthroughs on Long Island back in 1981. The music was sublime, and I loved every minute of listening.

My system now is considerably "better," and I really love the way it sounds. For me, it's always been all about the music. Of course, I can buy better components that I now have, but, for me, the music still sounds incredible, and I love my evening listening sessions. I love listening to music, and I don't think I ever listen to the electronics. And now, I am really, really enjoying vinyl. I still have most of the 500 or so LP's from my 1970's college days, and I've bought about another 300 LP's over the past few years. I also have about 700 CD's, and I have a computer --USB DAC source as well. Whatever the source.....the music is what matters !!!