Does vinyl sound better? (1 Viewer)

[Scientician 0.8]

Does vinyl actually sound better than a well encoded digital audio file?

I've just been reading a discussion on Twitter about the price people used to pay for CDs but several people said they still routinely spend €20 and more on a vinyl record. Is it worth it? Does it sound better, that much better than the digital alternatives? I get the tactile and aesthetic appeal of vinyl and a vinyl collection carries a cultural cachet somewhat similar to having a nicely stocked personal library but I sometimes feel people are codding themselves about actual sound. Thoughts, facts, etc?

 

[Scientician 0.8]

And I'm sure this has been discussed before but I can't be arsed finding older threads.

 

[therealjohnny]

My ears are easily pleased. I can't tell the difference in formats unless something is really bad. I buy records because I like the whole tactile and aesthetic aspect that you mentioned, not because of alleged or supposed sound quality.

 

[dudley]

All depends. If you can A/B it on a decent to great stereo, vinyl will win (assuming it's been pressed well), often dramatically. It really does depend on a decent system though.
On a lesser stereo, CD probably edges it.

 

[Lili Marlene]

IMHO no.

Remastered albums sound as good/bad on new vinyl as they do on CD.

My example: I have an original pressing and a remastered vinyl pressing of Electric Warrior . I'm convinced the original sounds much better but that's only because the new one sounds the same as the remastered cd. I think people confuse and conflate the fact that something is on vinyl with how it's mixed/mastered etc.

Aside from being nice to look at I don't see much point in buying vinyl made after CD's became the dominant medium.

Maybe if you have a super high-tech system it makes a difference though?

 

[Lili Marlene]

There's probably exceptions for people who actively seek out ancient equipment to record things though (e.g. The Breeders – All Wave Recording

 

[Scientician 0.8]

I haven't done it in a long time but I recall putting MP3s through a soundsystem and some of them sounded incredible. Differences in bitrate though were far more noticeable than on a shitty pair of earphones or a cheapo stereo.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I haven't done it in a long time but I recall putting MP3s through a soundsystem and some of them sounded incredible. Differences in bitrate though were far more noticeable than on a shitty pair of earphones or a cheapo stereo.

Well lets work on the assumption that your mp3's are CD quality or thereabouts. A 96kb mp3 is going to sound very different to a 256kb mp3 on even your standard earbuds and mp3 player.

It's when people start talking about the limitations of the Redbook Standard on CD's versus vinyl that I want to start seeing definitive proof that it's the CD that's the problem and not how the music is mixed/mastered etc.

 

[therealjohnny]

Aside from being nice to look at I don't see much point in buying vinyl made after CD's became the dominant medium.

Artwork! Gatefold sleeves! Intriguing messages scratched into the centre by bored workers! The smell! The hiss and crackle!

 

[hugh]

I'm no expert on this stuff but my gut feeling is that a lot of it does indeed have to do with mixing/mastering (in particular whether the thing has been specifically mastered for vinyl or not) and whether it has been pressed properly, on good quality vinyl or not etc. I'm pretty convinced that when vinyl is done properly (e.g. Shellac records), and played on a decent system, it sounds better than anything. But then I also own plenty of vinyl records that sound like shit. I far prefer it to other formats (this is also partly to do with the aesthetics/packaging/physical product stuff) but a lot of the time it's prohibitively expensive now.

 

[Anthony]

Look, I just want it to sound as close to what the band were hearing in the studio (or wherever). I'm pretty sure they didn't intend it to sound like it's lashing rain in the room, which is what my record player sounds like by the end of a side.

 

[Jerry Twig]

but a lot of the time it's prohibitively expensive now.

In relative terms, apparently vinyl has never been cheaper.

 

[dudley]

Look, I just want it to sound as close to what the band were hearing in the studio (or wherever). .

Oh, I think Neil Young may have just the product for you....

 

[pete]

In relative terms, apparently vinyl has never been cheaper.

when i used to buy my albums from tommy tighe they were £10 a pop. the CD equivalents were £12 or £13.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

when i used to buy my albums from tommy tighe they were £10 a pop. the CD equivalents were £12 or £13.

CDs were fucking outrageous.

 

[pete]

CDs were fucking outrageous.

good times

 

[therealjohnny]

I saw the same Motorhead LP I got for a few quid on sale in HMV for 35 euro recently

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

My memory is that during the CD changeover era that vinyl got flimsy as fuck and scratched easier.
I was constantly bringing records back in.

 

[MilanPan!c]

The shortest answer is it doesn't and can't sound inherently better as it's only able to reproduce 8-12bits or so of dynamic range, has very specific limits when it comes to bass, and typically adds some "pleasing" eq.

So better not at all.

But many people prefer it's "worse" sound.

And that's ok too.

Here's a pretty spot on quote from another forum:

"Not a silly question at all. To determine the effective bit rate necessary to fully capture the information on a vinyl LP, you need to know the bandwidth and the dynamic range. A typical vinyl LP has a bandwidth of about 18kHz (when it's brand new, it might get up to about 22kHz). There is certainly some audio stuff above that, but it generally bears no relation to meaningful programme material (ie. it's noise and distortion). So let's be generous and assume a bandwidth of 22kHz: you'll need to sample this at 44kHz. The dynamic range of a beautifully pressed LP on virgin vinyl can get to about 65-70dB on a good day with a following wind, which equates to slightly less than 12 bits. So the bit rate required is 44,000 x 12 x 2 (for stereo), giving about 1030kbs. A more typical LP (18kHz bandwidth, dynamic range of 55dB) needs a bit rate of about 650kbs. For comparison purposes, the CD bit rate is 1378kbs."

What is the effective bit rate of vinyl? - Hydrogenaudio Forums

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I don't really care what format music is on but I do like vinyl to look at and i also like that listening to it is completely unconnected to computer which i have to turn on to listen to CD out mp3s. For me this makes it a better listening experience. It sounds perfectly good for the most part.