Pbb,
I, at least, know where you are coming from. Sold my vinyl, my Linn, my Koetsu, my Keith Monks, et alia, years ago. Put the money into equipment that was good enough to be highly listenable but not so costly that I wouldn't be willing to turn it over regularly as the medium advanced. That philosophy still obtains and I am currently using a Rega Jupiter 2000 with a trade-up on the horizon in the next six months or so depending on the SACD/DVD-A silliness.
I've not regretted that decision, though I enjoy the occasional vinyl listening session with friends who unanimously think that I've either (1) sold out to technology, (2) suffered hearing loss, or (3) never had the right equipment/had it set up right from the git-go.
That being said, I have long been willing to acknowledge that vinyl has a warmth and liquidity that most CD systems/software lack. Some cynics say it is distortion but no matter, it sounds very nice. It is, however, a slight difference (despite what the vinylphiles say) and getting slighter with each passing month.
The point that I keep trying to make--and I think that you are trying to make--is that surface noise is every bit as valid a variable of determination in the listening experience as evanescent liquidity. The vinylphile says, "How can you give up that luscious sound?" and I reply, "How can you fail to be maddeningly distracted by surface noise?" Both are legitimate viewpoints, neither inherently superior to the other.
My appeal, as always, is for folks to quit preaching and pronouncing at each other and just go have fun.
I, at least, know where you are coming from. Sold my vinyl, my Linn, my Koetsu, my Keith Monks, et alia, years ago. Put the money into equipment that was good enough to be highly listenable but not so costly that I wouldn't be willing to turn it over regularly as the medium advanced. That philosophy still obtains and I am currently using a Rega Jupiter 2000 with a trade-up on the horizon in the next six months or so depending on the SACD/DVD-A silliness.
I've not regretted that decision, though I enjoy the occasional vinyl listening session with friends who unanimously think that I've either (1) sold out to technology, (2) suffered hearing loss, or (3) never had the right equipment/had it set up right from the git-go.
That being said, I have long been willing to acknowledge that vinyl has a warmth and liquidity that most CD systems/software lack. Some cynics say it is distortion but no matter, it sounds very nice. It is, however, a slight difference (despite what the vinylphiles say) and getting slighter with each passing month.
The point that I keep trying to make--and I think that you are trying to make--is that surface noise is every bit as valid a variable of determination in the listening experience as evanescent liquidity. The vinylphile says, "How can you give up that luscious sound?" and I reply, "How can you fail to be maddeningly distracted by surface noise?" Both are legitimate viewpoints, neither inherently superior to the other.
My appeal, as always, is for folks to quit preaching and pronouncing at each other and just go have fun.