Does vinyl sound better? (3 Viewers)

[nlgbbbblth]

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.

LPs got longer [60 mins + on one record]
The major labels started to refuse to accept returns which meant that shops would be cagey on what LPs they'd order in.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

Lol.

Well, I can get you a surface noise generator, EQ, and bit crusher for your CD player if degradation is your bag... And I say this as a huge GBV fan.

I much prefer collecting GBV on CD rather than vinyl.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

CDs are basically dead. The only thing keeping them alive is the fact that there's no agreement on what should replace them, and in the vacuum, so called streaming is becoming the new choice for the majority.

But it's quality is dependent on many factors unrelated to file format... Making this whole discussion kinda so 2009.

CDs accounted for 69% of new album sales in 2013. Falling but not dead yet.

 

[Jim Daniels]

I'm none the wiser

But, I do know that MP3s/ downloads sound awful to my ears

I also remember how disappointed I was with the cd version of The Velvets third album compared to the vinyl.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

Obviously very attached to vinyl. For a start a lot of stuff I like is simply not available on CD [60s and 70s 45s / mid 80s chart and failed pop / easy listening LPs and assorted psychedelic bits]

HOWEVER

I said this before -

"As time goes by I become more and more convinced that early CD releases [1983 - 1989] were nailed right first time i.e. perfect sound forever"

Examples
Prince and The Revolution - Parade
Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night
Various - Miami Vice Original Soundtrack

 

[MilanPan!c]

I'm none the wiser

But, I do know that MP3s/ downloads sound awful to my ears

I also remember how disappointed I was with the cd version of The Velvets third album compared to the vinyl.

Well... the thing is this... if you could take a CD, and then rip it to WAV and MP3, and then compare the two and get it right over dozens of iterations, then you might be on to something... no one ever has...

Now, as far as "downloads" are concerned, not all MP3s are made of the same stuff, insofar as bit rate, etc., so yes, low bitrate MP3s sound worse than CDs, obviously - in most cases.

As for vinyl, well... like I said earlier, it's just different, mostly, and if you prefer that difference, grand

But technically vinyl is much less robust than CDs... meaning it does a worse job of capturing the original recording, as a rule... but if you prefer the one, then by all means, listen to it!

The other thing, and this is pretty obvious, but sure I'll say it anyway, is that often the mastering for vinyl is different to CD, and often because of the limitations of vinyl. So some records DO sound very different, but better... well... maybe to you... and that's great... I do own a lot of vinyl, and prefer the experience.

 

[MilanPan!c]

CDs accounted for 69% of new album sales in 2013. Falling but not dead yet.

Oh I don't mean as far as sales are concerned... I just mean that the way we all experience music has moved past CDs, for the most part... and so... it's dead in that sense.

 

[MilanPan!c]

I much prefer collecting GBV on CD rather than vinyl.

well... I can't help ya there

Saying that alll my GBV - and that's way way way too much - is archived on FLAC.. so I mostly listen to it that way these days...

 

[MilanPan!c]

It must sound like I'm having a go at you at this stage but I fucking hate when people declare things "dead".

You can have a go if you want.... I explained a few posts back what I meant, and I stand by it... we're not headed towards a future where CD players are going to suddenly be jammed into millions of more things, like phones and cars; on the other hand almost everything plays mp3s/streams music these days... it's all going pretty much one direction - that's what I meant... but sure, I'm game, have a go

 

[nlgbbbblth]

well... I can't help ya there

Saying that alll my GBV - and that's way way way too much - is archived on FLAC.. so I mostly listen to it that way these days...

Tend to stock on GBV/Pollard/offshoots once a year as to avoid putting myself under pressure with trying to obtain the vinyl which is variably pressed in low numbers. I'll buy the 7"s or LPs only if they have exclusive tracks; otherwise the CD does fine.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

Milan is back with a vengence

 

[Kermit McDermott]

DVDs seem to be held in the same contempt as CDs. They're almost seen as worthless now. That's the vibe I get....

 

[MilanPan!c]

According to good mastering engineer Brian Lucey (http://www.magicgardenmastering.com) "Vinyl is generally released sans limiting so it has more transient punch [than CDs]".

Ah that guy is talking out his arse honestly... I master for a living, including for vinyl releases and most small labels won't spend on two masters so most of the time small bands are using the same master for everything... obviously many big bands do things differently, but...

sure, here's another link which goes into much greater detail:

Vinyl Mastering - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase

Note that not everything about what you have to do to get a record onto vinyl is inherently better (mono summing of bass, for example)... and

And by the by, lots of music we all love is hard limited, on all formats, so... claims about the magic awesomeness of transients (especially on a format with less possible dynamic range) is a bit hyperbolic IMO.

 

[MilanPan!c]

Tend to stock on GBV/Pollard/offshoots once a year as to avoid putting myself under pressure with trying to obtain the vinyl which is variably pressed in low numbers. I'll buy the 7"s or LPs only if they have exclusive tracks; otherwise the CD does fine.

So much of my GBV was only on vinyl when I bought it... though since then I have gotten the boxes, etc., so digital copies are now easier to come by... but still, still... the Fast Japanese Spin Cycle 7"... that's the dope shit right there...

 

[MilanPan!c]

DVDs seem to be held in the same contempt as CDs. They're almost seen as worthless now. That's the vibe I get....

Of course... once we all went media server/netflix/download mad, all those scratched and inconvenient plastic discs became redundant... I mean, extras are nice, as are super HD bluray copies, but as always, if you don't have the proper playback equipment, do you care?

 

[Jim Daniels]

Well... the thing is this... if you could take a CD, and then rip it to WAV and MP3, and then compare the two and get it right over dozens of iterations, then you might be on to something... no one ever has...

Now, as far as "downloads" are concerned, not all MP3s are made of the same stuff, insofar as bit rate, etc., so yes, low bitrate MP3s sound worse than CDs, obviously - in most cases.

As for vinyl, well... like I said earlier, it's just different, mostly, and if you prefer that difference, grand

But technically vinyl is much less robust than CDs... meaning it does a worse job of capturing the original recording, as a rule... but if you prefer the one, then by all means, listen to it!

The other thing, and this is pretty obvious, but sure I'll say it anyway, is that often the mastering for vinyl is different to CD, and often because of the limitations of vinyl. So some records DO sound very different, but better... well... maybe to you... and that's great... I do own a lot of vinyl, and prefer the experience.

Interesting! I'm actually fine with cds. I just avoid the jewel cases, but that has nothing to do with the sound obviously. Just the sheer awfulness of how they look.

 

[MilanPan!c]

Milan is back with a vengence

They finally turned the wifi back on in my cell.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

Are you not a rockstar yet?

 

[MilanPan!c]

Interesting! I'm actually fine with cds. I just avoid the jewel cases, but that has nothing to do with the sound obviously. Just the sheer awfulness of how they look.

I am also fine with them, but... I have a heard time believing that kids born today will ever understand why we'd choose the inherent limits of CDs... like why we'd put up with them...

Car stereo, with people talking and windows down, am I or anyone concerned with transient detail? No... Earbuds on a subway? Do I care if I am listening to a 320 MP3 of an ALAC file? Nope.

But... Do I care if I can only care - what - 10 records with me at once... when my phone can carry 100? Or 1000?

What's the benfit?

And say I don't like downloading and tagging (and paying) for MP3s.... for less than 2 CDs I can have the largest music collection in the world streamed to my phone... Sure I can't hear all the GBV bootlegs, but I can put the rare stuff as MP3s if I really want...

ad nauseum...

It's going one direction...

 

[nlgbbbblth]

I like jewelcases but I love fatboxes.

Pity about DVDs fall from grace but if it makes 'em cheaper then I don't mind.