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Why vinyl is kind of a miracle


MeloManiac

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Today I was listening to some vinyl records (U2, Songs of Experience). By chance, a light beam fell upon the vinyl and was reflected upon the wooden wall behind the turntable. The result was an enlarged image of the imperfect rotation of the vinyl record, and I found it quite spectacular. The miracle is, of course, that the sound that the turntable produces, is unaffected. (In this case, a newly acquired Pro-Ject Essential III, George Harrison special edition with a standard Ortofon OM10 needle).
This 'old' technology is at the top of its game, really, and even this entry level audiophile turntable easily works around substantial torque, push and pull, as can be seen in the video.

Turntable

 

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On 2/27/2019 at 5:22 PM, dtel said:

Your right it is a miracle, a rock sliding around a grove vibrating to make a sound from groves man put in the vinyl with the hopes it reproduces the sound recorded, yes a miracle.

 

Reminds me of Fred Flintstone

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The miracle is that we humans can tolerate so much distortion still think it can sound "real".

 

Kinda reinforces what Einstein said. "Imagination is more important" (than knowledge)

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31 minutes ago, artto said:

The miracle is that we humans can tolerate so much distortion still think it can sound "real".

 

Kinda reinforces what Einstein said. "Imagination is more important" (than knowledge)

 

I agree arrto, but I’m not trying to get ostracized by the vinyl freaks. 😊  I agree that vinyl is engaging, but I play it just long enough to rip it to a digital file, never to be touched by me again.

 

I knew Einstein said that, or did I only imagine it?

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43 minutes ago, artto said:

The miracle is that we humans can tolerate so much distortion still think it can sound "real".

 

Kinda reinforces what Einstein said. "Imagination is more important" (than knowledge) 

I'd say that one is absolutely correct. 

 

 

Chris

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4 hours ago, DizRotus said:

 

I agree arrto, but I’m not trying to get ostracized by the vinyl freaks. 😊  I agree that vinyl is engaging, but I play it just long enough to rip it to a digital file, never to be touched by me again.

 

I knew Einstein said that, or did I only imagine it?

Your probably cleaning the vinyl wrong.😊

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18 minutes ago, thebes said:

Your probably cleaning the vinyl wrong.😊

W H A T ? 

 

I'm supposed to clean that s***?

ROTFLMAO

z e r o s a n d o n e s n e e d n o c l e a n i n g

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z e r o s a n d o n e s n e e d n o c l e a n i n g

z e r o s a n d o n e s n e e d n o c l e a n i n g

z e r o s a n d o n e s n e e d n o c l e a n i n g

z e r o s a n d o n e s n e e d n o c l e a n i n g

z e r o s a n d o n e s n e e d n o c l e a n i n g

 

(that's the scratch in the vinyl that can never be cleaned)

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17 minutes ago, LeftEyeShooter said:

"Vinyl is the only consumer playback format we have

that's fully analog and fully lossless"

 

Like film in analog photography, vinyl is the only format that is truly future proof.

 

 

Then you are settled in the early format. The 331/3 is, was a revolutionary product, or as you may have discovering the ultimate. Hard to argue... future proof is saying, no other format can touch it. If true then...others may well argue the point...cheers.

Do know my eyes like analog...

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With future proof, I mean this:

In photography, you can scan a century old negative with the most modern equipment and create a the best possible digital image.

You can rip a vinyl record with the best algorithm available to create a digital file.

 

As technology evolves, you can repeat this process in the future, for even better digital files. But in order to do that, of course, you must still have access to your analog source .

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Agreed.  That a piece of rock being dragged around a vinyl disc can sound so good is indeed a miracle.  And though I don't share the view that vinyl sounds better than digital I do believe it sounds good enough to be very very enjoyable, particularly when played on a high quality table (ie. inaudible wow & flutter, accurate speed) that is  properly set up. 

 

To those trashing the format I would ask:  So what does one do with the hundreds and hundreds of records they acquired prior to digital?  Throw them away simply because they suffer by comparison to digital?  ..Not everyone has the $ resources to replace all their vinyl w/ digital and in some cases it's not available.  So what then?

 

If you're truly a music lover and not just a gear-geek, I'd think you'd find ways to enjoy vinyl despite it's shortcomings.

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13 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

Agreed.  That a piece of rock being dragged around a vinyl disc can sound so good is indeed a miracle.  And though I don't share the view that vinyl sounds better than digital I do believe it sounds good enough to be very very enjoyable, particularly when played on a high quality table (ie. inaudible wow & flutter, accurate speed) that is  properly set up. 

 

To those trashing the format I would ask:  So what does one do with the hundreds and hundreds of records they acquired prior to digital?  Throw them away simply because they suffer by comparison to digital?  ..Not everyone has the $ resources to replace all their vinyl w/ digital and in some cases it's not available.  So what then?

 

If you're truly a music lover and not just a gear-geek, I'd think you'd find ways to enjoy vinyl despite it's shortcomings.

 

I keep my 430 albums in cabinets up in the computer room with one album in the living room to demonstrate that I can still play it. The weight helps hold the house down in high winds.

JJK

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These are the very first singles I owned. I was 10 years old. They have tremendous emotional value for me. I can't imagine a similar attachment to a digital file somewhere stored on a server in zeros and ones. 2a7a5ab7c2b7cb1e6fc7c72fe0d588a0.jpg

Verstuurd vanaf mijn 5047U met Tapatalk

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22 hours ago, thebes said:

Your probably cleaning the vinyl wrong.😊

 

Marty you know better.  😉  Didn’t I send you before and after rips of that DJ audition record?  Before the Reg Williamson PVA Cyastat SN facial peel, that record was unplayable.

 

Vinyl is indeed a miracle.  Who can forget the thrill and tactile experience of removing the shrink-wrap, pulling the paper dust jacket from the cardboard sleeve, carefully sliding the disc from the paper jacket, placing the disc on the platter, gently lowering the stylus to the record surface, and reading the liner notes while experiencing the miracle of the sound produced by dragging a rock across plastic?  Part of the thrill of that first play was the knowledge it would  never sound as good again. Each trip of the rock removes some  of the vinyl.  Each play adds some contamination.  The inherent surface noise increases with each assault from the rock.  Back in the day, I would use my excellent Sony TC-161 SD cassette deck to preserve that play of virgin vinyl.

 

Vinyl exists for reasons other than sound quality.  High quality reel to reel, is and was, better at recording and replaying the full frequency range and dynamics of the original performance, but it is expensive and inconvenient when trying to play a specific song.  Vinyl was an expediency for economy and convenience.

 

Today, the best high resolution recordings ripped from the best available analog masters have better frequency range, better low frequency reproduction, better dynamic range, better channel separation, and no surface noise. It is physically impossible for the best vinyl to match that.  The stylus would leap from the groove trying to retrieve bass and dynamics that 1s and Os do effortlessly, over and over and over.

 

 I use my two turntables to play vinyl so that it can be ripped to FLAC files and preserved. One table exists only to play 78s.   To me, the miracle of vinyl is being able to go to garage sales, thrift stores, used record shops, etc., to find recordings not available to me in any other format.  Worthy finds are given the full PVA cleaning and anti static treatment before being ripped to a high resolution digital file.  They are then taken to a used record store to be swapped for new hidden treasures.  I understand that my rips to high resolution digital files do not improve the recordings, but they do preserve them in the best condition available to me.

 

Once digitally stored, individual tracks are easily retrieved, included in playlists or whole albums can be allowed to play in their entirety.  Playing vinyl is a much more satisfying experience than listening to poorly mastered and compressed CDs or mp3s but it cannot equal the best digital recordings or reel to reel analog tape recordings for fidelity to the original.

 

I applaud the love and respect behind the resurgence of vinyl.  A somewhat imperfect analogy can be made to driving.  The car in my avatar had a 5 speed manual transmission, and was minimalist in comparison to modern cars.  It could go 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds and do 1G on a skid pad on street tires.  With tube headers and SuperTrapp exhaust, its 3.5 liter Buick aluminum V8 generated plenty of surface noise.  It was fun to drive, but it was not the state of the art in transportation.

 

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1 hour ago, DizRotus said:

 

Once digitally stored, individual tracks are easily retrieved, included in playlists or whole albums can be allowed to play in their entirety.  Playing vinyl is a much more satisfying experience than listening to poorly mastered and compressed CDs or mp3s but it cannot equal the best digital recordings or reel to reel analog tape recordings for fidelity to the original.

 

 

All great points.  

 

I will add this gripe about Digital Music....

 

When all we had was vinyl people would generally hear a whole album side before either changing the record or flipping it.  ..Advancing the stylus to the next song or finding the lead-in grove to a favorite track was such a pain that people were more apt to listen to the whole album side.  This would lead to becoming better acquainted and maybe even growing to love lesser known tracks.  Case in point:  If I was given Springsteen's "Greetings From Asbury Park"  in digital-file format today I'd probably listen ONLY to Blinded By The Light, but having been introduced the LP on vinyl, I grew to love almost EVERY track on that album.  "Blinded"  grabbed me immediately, but others - for instance "Lost In The Flood"  - took several listens to enjoy.  They were less accessible but are now cherished tracks that today I might not ever listen to.

 

Witness how kids listen to music today..  The idea of buying, much less listening to, an entire album is anathema to them.  The convenience of Digital music has given them a form of musical ADD. Heck, my kids will often not even wait until a song has mostly finished before moving on to the next.  Can you imagine constantly doing that with a turntable? :)

 

..Just another reason why to appreciate vinyl even if it doesn't really sound better.

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Some put too much trust in digital files. Digital carriers will not survive the average life span of a vinyl record.

There are real threats such as disc rot (see picture from Wikipedia), bit rot, component and system failures.

Anyone who hasn't lost some important digital pictures, rips, files, documents due to negligent backup protocol... raise your hand?!

Disc_rot_close_up.jpg

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