CD vs LP

[ClaudeJ1]

I got my first CD player in 1984. Finally gave away my TT's in 92 after having them in storage for a while. For people that are happy with vinyl, more power to ya. For me, I"m not going back.

Got lots of vinyl, Thorens, decent cart. I will play all my vinyl one more time, to turn it into bits of hight resolution, then's it's off to Ebay.

[whell]

CD Guys: You're absolutely right. LP's suck. They are a pain in the @$$ to maintain, sound like crap when dirty, skip, and you need to be tweaking your turntable constantly to get the most from it.

LP Guys: There. I hope you consider this my contribution to keeping the cost of LP's at the thrifts down.

Now, back to spinning that nasty vinyl.

[Wardsweb]

Not all sources or equipment are created equal. So trying to get a
universal answer to this question is next to impossible. Its kind of
like "x" as it approaches infinity. Not only must you know the equation
but which variables to watch.

For me, I like them both. Although
I must admit I do have a personal preference for vinyl. Many factors
come into play to get the right synergy for each system or at least to
get the sound that I like. So, the tube output on my Shanling CDP
sounds better on my horns, while the DAC in my Krell CDP is phenominal
with headphones or on my electrostats. Either of these would kick
my old Pioneer PL400 turntable to the curb and give my old Rega Planar
3 a run for the money, but my Clearaudio Champion II with it's
SME 309 arm fitted with a Benz Micro Glider leads the pack. Think
of it like pitting a Ford Mustand against a ZO6 Vette and then bringing
in a Murcielago. You wouldn't expect them to match up because the deck
is stacked.

Bottom Line : The only person who has to like your stereo is you

<>

[oldtimer]

I was thinking about that conundrum Luther. I believe that (yeah I said believe because I have not been there and done this) if you took the best turntable and the best cd player and played the best piece of vinyl and the best cd you could get your hands on and all other things being equal, that the lp would win, but it might be pretty close. Now when you go down the scale of affordability, the diference would become greater and greater in favor of the lp. Only when you get down to a really crappy turntable versus a cheap cd player might the pendulum swing back. This is my personal theory, and keep in mind all the way down the line one would use the same source material to test this. It would be fun to try anyway.

[jheis]

After listening to folks raving about the wonderfulness of vinyl vs. CDs, I dug my TT out of the audio closet and drug my LPs in from the garage.

Set everything up and listened to lots of music I hadn't heard in years. Most of my LPs are in pristine condition, having been played once, taped & put back on the shelf. After about a week, however, the TT went back in the closet and the LPs are back out in the garage.

I liked Pat's "tea ceremony" analogy. For me, cleaning the record, getting up every 15 minutes (it's amazing how little music there is on some LPs!) to turn the record over and then cleaning the OTHER side, the surface noise, clicks & pops, etc., was just too much of a PITA to be worth the hassle. And, of course, there is the fact that my musical tastes have changed a bit in the 20 years since I've purchased a LP.

And with a local FM station that plays commercial free REAL jazz 24/7, I, frankly, don't spend that much time listening to CDs either. YMMV.

James

[oldtimer]

Yes, mileage does vary. I have found that surface noise, clicks and pops are avoided for the most part by buying quality vinyl in the first place. This usually means no US mass market releases but instead British, German, or Japanese imports which are made with better vinyl and pressed with more care. MFSL pressings are also very nice.

[wallflower]

I've got pretty decent equipment for both CD and LP (Rega Saturn CDP and VPI Scout TT). Compared to my Technics or Sony CD players the VPI is clearly superior; no question. However, compared to the Saturn, the Scout can not compete. Listening to Redbook on the Saturn will make anyone a believer in the CD format.

[DrWho]

The fun thing about vinyl is that all the people I've come across claiming that vinyl is free of displeaing distortions is that they always demo their rig with vinyl that is quite the opposite of what they might describe in some of these threads. I've lost count of people saying "this is a great piece of music but I apologize in advance for the hiss and pops". I'm sure every vinyl lover will claim that's not true of themselves and I would have to believe it, but sometimes I wonder if the vinyl thing isn't more about the search for a theoretical perfect vinyl than it is about every single piece of vinyl being absolutely pristine.

Personally, I would much rather go with reel to reel than vinyl...the only problem is finding source material. The fun thing about reel to reel though is that I've done side by sides with digital in the studio and really you can get both to sound exactly the same if you wanted to. To get a bit more hiss and tape head saturation on a CD, you can simply just run your mix through a tape machine as if it were an effects box.

I have to wonder though if some of the attraction towards vinyl doesn't have something to do with the fact that it sounds different everytime it's played?

[oldbuckster]

Hey Guys, CD vs. Vinyl, interesting answers, kinda' fun to read this thread, but here's the bottom line, in my twisted view, ....... It's all re-production anyway, and the best, most accurate sound is..............LIVE MUSIC................it's the music, not the equipment...............I try to keep an open mind, but I sometimes fail........PULL !!!!

[dbflash]

cd vs vinyl

no right answer here in overcast bham,al.

i have lucinda williams on both cd and vinyl, but i saw here live in concert last night and she sounded so much better live.

this morning i put on four play "yes,please" cd, because i didn't want vocals,and i didn't want to flip an album over while i read the paper and drank coffee, lots of coffee. way to many barely pops last night.

next put on joni mitchell "court and spark" on vinyl,sounded really good. after that was over i put on joni mitchell "hits" cd that i bought yesterday. again it sounds really good.

now to add a new twist. i'm tired of buying both the cd and album. all because i bought a freaking ipod. the ipod has replaced the cassette tape for me. i listen to an ipod at least 6 hours a day, between the car and work. i'd buy the vinyl and really like the music so i'd have to go buy the cd so i could put it on the ipod so i could listen to the music while i was driving or at work.

yesterday i bought "toast 8" to solve my problem, i hope. i think now i can hook up my mac to tape out on my pre. i can burn my album to the mac, use the toast to covert it so i can put on my ipod. no more having to buy both formats.

i know this is not the right thing to say, but i like both formats. don't know why, but if i have the artist on vinyl i'll listen to it. if i have it on cd i'll listen to it.

to me it all comes down to whats ON the format. IF THE MUSIC's good i don't care how i get it, as long as i get it.

kind of like the blonde, redhead or auburn hair with green eyes.

well off to the coffee shop to get 5 shots of expresso so i can take my 3 advils.

hope you enjoy what ever you listen to today no matter how you get it.

danny

[Tarheel]

Interesting thread but don't think anyone has captured one of the reasons I like vinyl and reel to reels. Listening to music is a passive activity....little to do...little to see. Cleaning lps....watching the platter turn and the arm compensate for slight warps in its up and down journey as well as watching those big 10" reels turning is visual stimulation. Its nostalgia. It's more involvement in the process. I do not enjoy noisy lps and very few cds from the 80s (prior to 24 bit technology). But when vinyl gets it right....there is little as pleasing to me.

I like what DrWho said about running digital through reel to reels to add a little of that analog sound.....been doing that for a while now. Surprising what a well recorded cd sounds like on Maxell tape. Listened to a Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Baby Face Willette compilation on my reworked 35 year old Teac yesterday.....made from lps and cds....very fine sound.

[Wardsweb]

Well mdeneen in that case, give me vinyl and Barbie's mom. []

<>We agree to disagree. There are many roads to audio nirvana. Enjoy the ride.

[Mike Lindsey]

Not meant to hijack this thread, but Luther, have you heard the Cisco pressing of Aja yet? I know you have all the others.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=39750

Mike

[oldtimer]

Interesting mixed reviews Mike. I wish I had a MFSL of this lp, but even my standard release sounds pretty darn good.

[mowntnbkr]

After listening to folks raving about the wonderfulness of vinyl vs. CDs, I dug my TT out of the audio closet and drug my LPs in from the garage.

Set everything up and listened to lots of music I hadn't heard in years. Most of my LPs are in pristine condition, having been played once, taped & put back on the shelf. After about a week, however, the TT went back in the closet and the LPs are back out in the garage.

I liked Pat's "tea ceremony" analogy. For me, cleaning the record, getting up every 15 minutes (it's amazing how little music there is on some LPs!) to turn the record over and then cleaning the OTHER side, the surface noise, clicks & pops, etc., was just too much of a PITA to be worth the hassle. And, of course, there is the fact that my musical tastes have changed a bit in the 20 years since I've purchased a LP.

And with a local FM station that plays commercial free REAL jazz 24/7, I, frankly, don't spend that much time listening to CDs either. YMMV.

James

I am willing to help you out. I am willing to free up all the space your lp's are taking up in your garage and have them take up space in my music room. Send me a PM if you want to sell your collection. The more lp's the betta!!!

[Wardsweb]

Not meant to hijack this thread, but Luther, have you heard the Cisco pressing of Aja yet? I know you have all the others.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=39750

Mike

I've started a thead for this

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/967096.aspx

[garymd]

Interesting mixed reviews Mike. I wish I had a MFSL of this lp, but even my standard release sounds pretty darn good.

OT - You've got a PM.

[musiclover]

I always get a chuckle when reading some of these threads when someone states one format is better than the other. To me its the music and the energy that was put into it, no matter what format I listen too. I listen to 45's on my 1959 Seeburg Jukebox, 78/s on old Victrola, albums on VPI turntable with Denon Moving Coil Cartridge, CD's, DVD Audio discs and SACDs on Denon Universal Player (also movies & music concerts) and cassettes on Denon player. I don/t have reel to reel or 8 track player. I could listen to reel to reel with no problem, but 8 track players were worst invention ever, lol in my opinion. I read where Paul McCartney said he could listen to a scratchy Buddy Holly 45 record. Didn/t really matter to him, it was the music and the energy put into it. I will never knock what format or equipment music lovers use to listen to their music. If it sounds good to that person, then it is great. Don/t get me wrong, I like good sound and equipment, but can listen to scratchy 45/s and 78/s also. Just my 2 cents worth. Thanks. David.