What is your preference, Records or CDs?

Mapman, you mentioned good speed control as one of the important factors for good vinyl reproduction. Do you think that direct drive as opposed to belt drive can maintain platter speed better?

My preference for critical listening is Vinyl. This is when I am in my favorite listening chair and just want to hear beautiful music and get lost in it.

For convenience and to just hear some tunes while I am doing other things, then CD's the nod.

Also, I would never say that vinyl is superior to CD's, but I will say it sure sounds different. I am able to make more of an emotional connection to a piece of music played back on vinyl than on CD. This is why its my first choice when I want to enjoy music and just not hear it.

I never understood the attraction of CDs. They only have the music on one side. How is that any improvement over an LP?

Seriously, vinyl is an archival medium. A century from now, you will still be able to play a record. (If you live that long!) Doubtful that many CDs will last that long.

"Mapman, you mentioned good speed control as one of the important factors for good vinyl reproduction. Do you think that direct drive as opposed to belt drive can maintain platter speed better?"

From my experience years ago selling many brands and models of both, I would have to say probably, by a very small margin. The biggest issue I found with belt drives was state of the belt itself. Worn belts are a problem, like in a car, and dirty belts are not uncommon and will affect speed stability if not kept clean.

I would also probably say that most people will not hear a difference between belt and direct drive when things are working well as they should. I think I am pretty sensitive to these things and personally I have no preference between the two in regards to sound quality. I have heard many cases of each sounding perfectly spectacular! There are many other factors as mentioned above that can vary widely and play a much bigger role in determining end results in practice.

Zd542, There's no doubt that CD in the 80's and some of the 90's couldn't compete with the best vinyl, but those days are over. I listened to a recent jazz CD on the ECM label last night, and the resolution and expansive lifelike soundstage could not be bettered by vinyl.
Its been shown that analogue mastertapes are lower in resolution than the highest resolution digital recordings. But I would agree that well-mastered analogue can sound better than poorly-mastered digital.