What is your preference, Records or CDs?

Psag,

Is that the dynamic range limit of analog tape used to master the best lps with the best dynamic range out there?

Sounds surprisingly low to me for that but dunno the details.

If so, then the tape used to master is always the bottleneck regardless of what one might be able to squeeze out of a turntable and records otherwise.

Wouldn't surprise me if production of many records out there over the years, especially those produced in the more mass production later years of the "golden age of vinyl" which extended into the 1980s fall into this category, but it would surprise me if the case with all.

Mapman, interesting reading!

I was referring to playback rather than mastering. The average analogue tape deck playback system has a dynamic range of about 60 dB. I'm not sure about mastertape and mastering equipment, but probably comparable.

Given the disparity in dynamic range between high resolution digital and analogue, it becomes difficult to argue that a high resolution digital remaster could ever be had from an analogue master.

Of course, you could say those numbers are theoretical numbers. When you listen to a digital recording it often sounds compressed compared to how analog sounds, in actual practice. Even when CD first arrived on the scene there was the specification of 90 dB Dynamic Range and 90 dB Signal to Noise Ratio. As far as achieving those dBs in one's room, I'd opine that was all mostly part of the Compact Disc marketing strategy, you know, the Perfect Sound Forever thing.

The events related in that article and their effects on sound quality of most CDs produced since the early to mid 90's compared to before as related is consistent with what I have observed in practice, FWIW.

Most CDs since the early to mid 90's sound pretty good, though few if any are perfect still, as is typically the case. The exception is newer "loudness war" type CDs where waveforms are clipped in the interest of a "louder" sound, usually for pop/rock type CDs. But there are many others that are done quite well and are quite competitive with better vinyl done well also IMHO.

I prefer both really. As others have said both have their strengths and weaknesses. LPs sound excellent overall, and noticeably better imo, but the occasional loud pops annoy me. On my rig, records play pretty quiet overall. There's more variables with vinyl playback as well. CDs can sound very good too, but half of them sound "canned." That's the drawback, imo. My cd player (Onkyo DX-7555-now out of production,) though inexpensive in relation to high end players, measures well and has low jitter as well as a high s/n ratio. So it's probably not the player at fault here. Also, channel balance seems more stable with cd as well. But, man does that vinyl sound sweet and seductive! Despite the technical flaws!