2. analog
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Is a vinyl rig only worth it for oldies?

I have always been curious about vinyl and its touted superiority over digital, so I decided to try it for myself. Over the course of the past several years I bought a few turntables, phono stages, and a bunch of new albums. They sounded fine I thought, but didn't stomp all over digital like some would tend to believe.

It wasn't until I popped on some old disk that I picked up used from a garage sale somewhere that I heard what vinyl was really about: it was the smoothest, most organic, and 3d sound that ever came out of my speakers. I had never heard anything quite like it. All of the digital I had, no matter how high the resolution, did not really come close to approaching that type of sound.

Out of the handful of albums I have from the 70s-80s, most of them have this type of sound. Problem is, most of my music and preferences are new releases (not necessarily in an audiophile genre) or stuff from the past decade and these albums sounded like music from a CD player but with the added noise, pops, clicks, higher price, and inconveniences inherent with vinyl. Of all the new albums I bought recently, only two sounded like they were mastered in the analog domain.

It seems that almost anything released after the 2000's (except audiophile reissues) sounded like music from a CD player of some sort, only worse due to the added noise making the CD version superior. I have experienced this on a variety of turntables, and this was even true in a friend's setup with a high end TT/cart.

So my question is, is vinyl only good for older pre-80s music when mastering was still analog and not all digital?
solman989
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Pops and clicks are the fault of teh owner. Learn how to clean LPs if you want to stay with vinyl.

No, records made today are no more or less susceptible to poor mastering than records made 30 years ago.

Pick up one of the Music Matters Blue Note releases. If that sounds like a CD to you then you've missed the boat with your vinyl setup.
slikric3000
638 posts
 
Superior in what way, because you can hear the scratches on vinyl that you cannot hear on cd ?? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,172 posts
 
Uh-oh, the cat's out the bag!

Personally, I would agree with the OPS premise and would think it applies to most except perhaps some of those who like turntables just because they are turntables. I fall into that category. I gre up with and love turntables but am realistic and practical about their advantages and disadvantages. I don't easily get all romantic and gobbly-goopy about them except when the right vintage recordings are playing.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,172 posts
 
"I don't easily get all romantic and gobbly-goopy about them except when the right vintage recordings are playing."

BTW, the right vintage recordings sometimes includes even old 78's that I occasionally purchase, play on an old Admiral ceramic cat table with 78 stylus hooked to my main rig when needed and recorded to CD for playback moving forward. The CDs sound just like the 78s and are a lot of fun and even quite musical though obviously imperfect in many ways.

WOuld love to own a properly restored Victrola someday!
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
I would say that there definitely was a "golden age" for record cutting. About 1970 to 1990...tube equipment evolving to transistors, state of the art cutting machines, and experienced engineers who loved their craft. (they even engraved their initials into the records they cut).
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