Wired.com article: Vinyl May Be Final Nail in CD's Coffin

[jtnfoley]

"For many of us, and certainly for many of our artists, the vinyl is
the true version of the release," said Matador's Patrick Amory. "The
size and presence of the artwork, the division into sides, the better
sound quality, above all the involvement and work the listener has to
put in, all make it the format of choice for people who really care
about music."

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/10/listeningpost_1029

[Daddy Dee]

counter intuitive indeed.

[LarryC]

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/10/listeningpost_1029

Any hope for reel-to-reel tape?[]

[BLSamuel]

And to think I know people who gave away or otherwise disposed of their record collections, but didn't give them to me [:'(] .... not me, I keep 'em all, moved 'em across country a couple of times.

Only a modest +- 500 standard issue "big music" as my now 18 year old daughter called 'em when she was 2 to 3, many purchased from the cut out bin []. (45's are "little big music")

I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them IF I wanted to as most are in good to really good shape. Zero statted, Disc Washed, and the stylus cleaned before playing, no fingerprints allowd. And they're a big part of my music collection, warts, mistakes, and all. Mostly too lazy to play and the family would rather watch TV ... guess I need a dedicated 2 channel system. I'm also intending to copy to CD and rip the CD to mp3 - maybe should consider going more direct to mp3 but our family laptop is in use most of the time as it is.

A few I've not yet opened [:$] from the record club when they were selling classical vinyl really cheap a few years ago and an Elvis album, gospel I think, acquired from my brother - I'm sure it's nothing special, he probably bought it from a record club. Or maybe he bought it at a flea market for his ex wife and it's a rare Elvis album []... yeah right, and I've got the winning lottery ticket...

[jacksonbart]

"The digital world will never get there," said Chris Ashworth, owner of United Record Pressing, the country's largest record pressing plant.

Well there is an unbiased opinion. The article points to a pick up in sales in some measure due to dance/DJ sales. Records are huge for that rap music with all that scratching. You know what I'm sayin.

[BLSamuel]

The November issue of Stereophile magazine (publishers of more than their share of [bs] )has an interesting interview with Tim De Paravicini where he touches on some of CDs shortcomings amongst other things. He's probably had some involvement on the equipment level in many audiophile recordings, maybe even some of the Steely Dan Aja albums in another thread.

[UFObuster]

In perspective, I would say that the Boston Acoustic Society's study published in the AES Journal this September has far more to say about the future life of the CD medium. I respect vinyl and I, too, held onto everything I ever bought in vinyl....but....When i want to hear "Let in Bleed" or "Thick as a Brick"...the dynamics of the CD are hard to beat. The wire.come article was interesting but unrelated to anything that I listen to. Other posters and the article noted the lack of dynamics in a lot of modern recordings but this is not the fault of the medium. The dynamics issue certainly gives the edge to CDs when comparing a lot of classical music recordings....esp when remasted from the 70's and 80's. I don't care to hype CDs but there just isn't much alternative with a clear audio edge.

[oldtimer]

The dynamics can't be beat on my MFSL(lp) copy of Some Girls I can vouch for that (American girls want everything in the world you could possibly imagine!). Yet maybe it's time for some sympathy (for the devil) I mean for cd's, now that some engineers are starting to get them right. You know, just when things were starting to get good the death knell is heard...

[oldbuckster]

With the price of oil how much will an LP cost ............... $50. .............. The LP is DEAD, has been DEAD, and will remain DEAD ....... but there are always going to be people who like them, and want them, that's their choice......... Bottom line, LP's are like high-end stereo's, only a small segment of people have them, or can afford them, and before you guys jump on me, High End gear owners are in a minority, looking at the whole big picture, the same with LP's ............... look around you at the average kid, do you really see LP's ............... Sorry, but it's true .............. Time marches on ............

[Guest srobak]

Records are huge for that rap music with all that scratching. You know what I'm sayin.

While I don't buy at all that vinyl will be the death of CD, just from a marketing standpoint (better is not always the winner, look at beta), it would be helpful to at least know what you are referencing. "scratching" as you call it - went out in the 80s. Get with the program. DJs prefer vinyl on platters for the dynamic, analog feel - plain and simple. For as many advancements as there have been in the world of digital DJing - nothing measures up to having your hands directly, mechanically on the music. Without it - there is just no finesse... think tapping buttons on a drum machine or a childs keyboard vs playing a genuine acoustic kit or piano.

[Mike Lindsey]

Vinyl is far from dead, and is still being recorded, although on a much smaller scale than cd. There are numerous places to get vinyl and it is every bit as cheap as cd, especially the stuff you listen to ob (60's and 70's rock). There are also a number of studios bringing back a lot of that classic rock, along with classical and jazz on heavier virgin vinyl, and although somewhat pricey ($30 or so) it's got it all over the cd format for the same music (imho).

Not to take anything away from the cd since I still like to play them in my car, but I rarely spin one in my living room.

Mike

[oldenough]

Oldbuckster, the LP is dead, long may it remain so, because all the time that people see that as a truth i can pick up Stones, Dylan, Beatles, You name it, hell even Delbert at 25 - 50 cents a pop. But this i can testify to, the majority of vinyl that i buy when compared to the same cd just does not bare comparison. Sure i have to suffer some clicks and pops (a lot of the time this can be cured) but the quality of the medium stands up even today. I do'nt have a ton of money to throw at equipment, but my investment of approx $500 on my Rega and a new stylus for the V15iii was money well spent. As i said i do'nt have a lot of money to spend, so i can't afford the astronomical prices of some of the "high-end c/d players that i would apparently need to purchase to get anywhere near the quality. Now your right time does march on, i'm sure you'll agree that as it marches it sometimes tramples. Any how knowing pretty much your tastes in music, which by the way also pretty much reflect mine, should you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods we could spend sometime enjoying and comparing. The BBQ always ready to fire up, theres ALWAYS a decent bottle of whiskey, and Elsie is a great cook....John

[oldbuckster]

CD's vs. LP's is a personal opinion type subject, no one is right, no one is wrong, I spun vinyl for 30 years, and don't want to do it anymore. Lp's are not coming back, they will be available, if you want to pay for them ........... Don't you think the price of oil will drive the prices up higher for LP's ? again, I hate tics, and pops, they drive me crazy, I also hate flipping LP's half way through the record, but that's just me. How you re-produce your music is up to you, CD's, LP's doesn't really matter, it's the music that matters, just enjoy your LP's..............

[Fish]

Vinyl may be the final nail in cd's coffin.That's the craziest thing I've ever heard,the cd is what pretty much killed vinyl.The cd is threatened by lotsa other digital media but not threatened by vinyl in the least.The dvd audio and sacd are superior to vinyl in every way except you don't have the fun of working to listen to the music.

[Mike Lindsey]

The dvd audio and sacd are superior to vinyl in every way except you don't have the fun of working to listen to the music.

Yes, but they are dead too. []

I have a number of both and much prefer the DVD-A format, but for plain old 2-ch listening I'll take vinyl over the redbook cd any day of the week. The problem with vinyl is it takes someone who is capable of setting up/tweaking a tt and most people don't want to bother.

Mike

[jacksonbart]

Records are huge for that rap music with all that scratching. You know what I'm sayin.

While I don't buy at all that vinyl will be the death of CD, just from a marketing standpoint (better is not always the winner, look at beta), it would be helpful to at least know what you are referencing. "scratching" as you call it - went out in the 80s. Get with the program. DJs prefer vinyl on platters for the dynamic, analog feel - plain and simple. For as many advancements as there have been in the world of digital DJing - nothing measures up to having your hands directly, mechanically on the music. Without it - there is just no finesse... think tapping buttons on a drum machine or a childs keyboard vs playing a genuine acoustic kit or piano.

What program can I get with? If touching and handling vinyl is your thing, then ok, I can understand that. I know many on this forum prefer vinyl and if they do its good. LPs have large nice covers that offer great artwork (usually) and the act pulling the LP from its cover and the motion of queuing up a record would certainly have many different sensory sensations that perhaps would be missing from digital music. While sales are up again the article says much of sales are to DJs/ hip hop, which again many on the forum seem to enjoy it for personal listening. In terms of sounding better.. well, there are poorly recorded CDs/ digital files out there with out a doubt. I would also agree that some recording engineers over compress recordings. But because there are some rotten apples in how some CDs are created it does not mean the format is inferior to the LP and its RIAA equalization.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I would say as OB and others have mention, that the LP would be the final nail in the CDs coffin is absurd, its MP3s, WAVs, FLAC and all the other handy digital ways to store music is causing the CD/PCM format to loose sales. I for one am fine with that. I am all for WAV and FLAC on a single music server and doing away with CDs, CD players, changing CDs and storing CDs. Of course this is also the being of the end of the traditional "Album" concept. That is the grouping of songs put out traditionally for release to the public. That depresses me some. Really just listen to format you enjoy.

[oldenough]

Ok, have a nice day OB.

[Fish]

The dvd audio and sacd are superior to vinyl in every way except you don't have the fun of working to listen to the music.

Yes, but they are dead too. [

Mike

I hear ya Mike,too bad.Vinyl is great too,some of the best hi-fi I've ever heard was on on vinyl.

[synthfreek]

The $50 a pop LP blurb is just insane and misleading. I buy TONS of NEW records for $9.99-$14.99 many of which include a free album download as well. Yeah, there are 2/3 LP sets pressed on 200gm audiophile vinyl that cost $50 but not every LP that comes out. In many cases the LP at my local store is cheaper than the cd. It also drives me nuts when people say that they don't like the clicks and pops, etc. Well that's like me saying I don't like to listen to scratched cd's that skip. Well no crap...who in the hell likes that? It's not a fair judgment on vinyl when you're listening to dirty/scratched vinyl on an inferior setup. And you don't need a $5000 to get great sound. A $350 Rega P1 will smoke MANY $1000+ cd players any day of the week.

[synthfreek]

I also don't agree that hip-hop is a major part of that percentage. Anyone in the know can tell you that it's indie-rock/punk that has kept vinyl alive for the past 20 years. I'd bet that a lot of that stuff never even gets reported as sales to Soundscan.