Is a vinyl rig only worth it for oldies?

My answer to the OPs question: "is vinyl only good for older pre-80s music when mastering was still analogue and not all digital?"
I switched from vinyl to CDs in 1985 but at the start of 2012 I purchased a new TT/cart and started buying a lot of vinyl again. Some old used 50s to 80s stuff, audiophile reissued LPs and many others.
From what I have experienced so far I have to say it is much like CDs in that each record has to be taken on its own merits and no generalisation can be made. Some newer recordings on vinyl are very good and have that nice open sound while others have that dense digital feel to them. So it is a gamble. Shelby Lynne “ Just a Little Lovin’ is a 2008 vinyl release which is an example of a newer recording on LP that sounds really good, and only cost me $12.99USD new from Sound Stage Direct.
What I have noticed is that many older recordings (that have not been digitally fudged) sound great.
As far as the vinyl vs. digital debate I have found that in general vinyl is just nicer to listen to. When doing an A/B comparison of the same music, initially the CD sounds more impressive, clearer and more detailed in the short term, but lacks the warmth and bottom end of vinyl.
For example I have Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” on 2009 reissue vinyl and 2001 Japanese SACD. The SACD is very clear and detailed but the vinyl just sounds right and I prefer to listen to the vinyl than the SACD.
Vinyl definitely has a different sound and feel to it and I think it comes down to personal taste as to which is “superior”.
If you have not heard of Speaker’s Corner Records you need to check out their reissues. I have purchased many of them and they are spot on. I am amazed at how dynamic some of these older recording sound. Ella Fitzgerald “On The Sunny Side of The Street” is a gem, the horn hits are explosive and Ella’s vocals are great. Another beauty is Perez Prado “Prez”, a snappy Latin LP recorded in 1958.

"Vinyl definitely has a different sound and feel to it...."

Rockpig ,apparantly you are not bothered by the inaccuracies of vinyl,and acknowledge that there is something going on that is missing in the digital domain.

It's the "different sound" from the same master tapes that gives vinyl the edge, the certain something that only a good vinyl system brings to the table.

There are roadblocks to good vinyl replay, like worn out stylus, improper cartridge set up, mismatch of arm and cartridge,poor speed accuracy, vibration induced problems from the TT or it's proximtry to vibration inducing gremlins, not to mention poor quality control at the time of pressing,and poor hygene in storing and handling of lp's.And a host of other things that Mr.R would like to add I'm sure.

So many things that can go wrong singularly or all at once can make for a less than pleasing vinyl experience, and make the novice run for cover without ever trying it, or just give up when less than satisfactory( "my cd still sounds better")results come from dipping one's toes into the black licorice discs for the first time.

If you don't know what you're doing or have inferior sources, even the best original or re-issues will perform worse than digital.

But that's the way with everything in this hobby.

Loudspeakers of any stripe can only perform at their best when care and attention is taken to place them properly in a room and strap them to a compatible amplification device, which also has to have it's special needs addressed.Let's not forget about room treatment or the lack of it,in most cases.

There are very few free lunchs in this hobby.

To get better than "good enough " sound you have to work a bit.
Some folks stay on the merry go round , buying and selling one perfectly good system after the other, and never being satisfied.Then out of frustration they give up, blame the high end for ripping them off for selling them snake oil, and retreat to the safety of cheap shoddy gear under the guise that "it's all about the music afterall".

Well it's always been about the music.
That's why the good stuff is out there at all price levels.

But if it's not set up properly or you don't work at finessing it,then it is just a waste of time and money afterall.

This hobby is what "you" make of it.
It's all your fault, don't blame the gear or the reviewers or the mags or the manufacturers for your displeasure.
Cancelling your subscription to TAS or Stereophile isn't going to fix your problems.

Speaking of problems,there's a lot of things that a cd player needs to make it sound as good as it can.It's not exempt from the benefits of better fuses, power cords, balanced power and separate dedicated line.CD players are also not immune to vibration issues.They need a proper stablized platform to work their best.

The chances however of getting decent sound from a basic cd set up are much better than they are with first attempts at a vinyl set up.However some modern companies do have excellent entry level ,plug and play systems that have done most of the heavy lifting for you.
You may pay a bit more than what you would pay down at the thrift shop, but you'll get a sound that is closer to what some of us vinyl lovers are talking about, with a lot less frustration as a bonus.
The gap narrows in this instance.

People have tried to write off vinyl since 1984,( a coincidence?)yet it's still with us and will be for some time into the future.

I upgraded my turntable from the Rega P9 to an SME 10, SMEv,in the last few months.

Both are fine set ups , not the world's best, not even as good as my friend's vinyl set up,yet the sound is just so pleasing that whatever distortions or inaccuracies there are , they aren't noticeable , and none of us are deaf.
If I were deaf, both tables would sound the same,yet they don't to my ears or those of my audio friends(one of which purchased my Rega as an upgrade to his older table).
I didn't move backwards or sideways, only upwards in sound quality.That was the concensus.

Perhaps the SME system has more distortions, and that's what thrills us so about it?
I'm starting to like distortions the more I get of them.

As long as those distortions are the ones that were there at the time of the recording and not thrown away with the bath water.
I want the baby to come out just as intact as when he went into the bath, I want the original with all the bits and pieces and not a replica.

I recently read a review of a new DartZeel amplifier, and was surprised to find out that some of my "distortion" musings, may have some merit afterall.

Vinyl recordings and replay systems may have a few things going against them, that, firsthand, would look like it's a medium to shy away from.
The folks who are fixated on the specs and not the actual sound would never give vinyl the time of day.

Which is just sad.

My visit yesterday to Capital Audiofest reaffirmed to me that the days of "digitally impaired" digital are over. There was plenty of digital and vinyl to go around and neither ruled nor came up short categorically. Did they sound the same or even similar? Mostly no, at least in the better rooms. Each had a lot to offer. And I heard nothing that reeked of inherently bad or inferior digital.

What you hear are all those LP playback distortions and not what is in the recording. Those playback added distortions never existed in the recording process. All what you are saying happen because those non-existen distortions I repeat: NON EXISTEN DISTORTIONS COLORATIONS DURIN THE RECORDING AND CERTAINLY NEVER IN A LIVE EVENT°!!!!!!!!

I've been out of town the last week. Raul, I have to take you to task on this one. Before saying that vinyl is so distorted, especially in the bass, how about compare it and the resulting digital to the original master tape??!

If you ever get the chance to do so you may well change your tune. Both the digital and the analog have to be true to the master tape. On even the best digital out there, I can easily show that the superior bass of the LP is not distortion- that in fact that same bass is on the original tape, whereas the digital, while good, does not have the same resolution and fails to convey the same experience. And this is on the best digital out there (IMO/IME the Stahltek converter and transport).

So until you do this very sort of comparison, please refrain from such apocryphal remarks as they are patently untrue.

"Before saying that vinyl is so distorted, especially in the bass, how about compare it and the resulting digital to the original master tape??!"

I have heard this done once at United Home Audio in Md but tape/vinyl/CD recordings were not the same, so validity of the comparison is not clear.

Master tape won followed by vinyl then CD. Bass, dynamics, organic fullness of the recordings top to bottom was where I heard the difference.

However, since this was not an apples/apples test of the BEST of each format, I am not convinced that the CD could not have been mastered in a way that closed the gap with the vinyl.

Neither came close to the reference tape recording.

In lieu of the perfect test/comparison, nothing I have heard day to day since with either format causes me any real concern.

CD will never match top dynamics possible with tape or vinyl, that much is clear to me. Other digital formats might.