This is a kinda weird situation, I've heard the same album, one after the other, in cd and in vinyl format, and vinyl sounded better by far.But are we really going to go back? First off, the industry would love it, it would be as close as they could get to putting the genie back in the bottle. Analogue copies sound like crap as we all know.But maybe what we really need is a digital successor to CD. I've never heard either, but I've read dvd-audio and SACD sound amazing. Cause, if you throw enough digital bits at the problem, there's no reason why it wouldn't sound as good. We're just not 'throwing enough' with the CD format. Also, they are now mastering CDs like total s**t. It's the louder is better mentality, dynamic range be damned.
Pretty much all new CD's released today suffer from the loudness war. It's why that old Black Sabbath CD sounds really low in volume, but put on a cd you bought this year and you'll have to lower the volume (in some instances) by half since it's cranked so high. I started buying vinyl this year and I'm never looking back to cd's. Plus you can rip your own vinyls to mp3, and know while doing so, you're not clipping the highs and lows to make it sound 'loud'.
I still love my old records but I don't think I ever saw a record from early in the 20th century on sale, even when I bought most of mine early in the fourth quarter of the 20th century. Are you talking about 78's?
And don't forget the agony if the record store got a bad batch of records due to a problem with the press. Nothing like having to return America's "Tin Man" five times before you got a good pressed version.
records are the only 'real' formal.. digital music is just a bunch of 1's and 0's. theres nothing like the feeling you get when putting on your favourite record and listening to it from the first to the last song.
If you like the distortion, just dub the LP to a CDR. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that CDs are transparent in blind tests as published in the AES journals. Threads on this and similar articles in professional audio newsgroups agree that there is nothing wrong with the CD format. However, much is wrong with CDs since they are mastered to be loud rather than sound good.
Wow, the comments in this article sicken me. Most people I've met who collect vinyl - about 90% of them are my friends - say that "it just sounds better," without being able to explain why. My friends and I, we grew up listening to punk rock. I love punk rock, and collecting punk vinyl is fun, but it's fun because of the novelty. I have a copy of "State of the Youth” by Pung on 6” (that’s right, 6”, not 7”) “puke green” vinyl. Do you? No, you don’t. I have a copy of “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine” by Death From Above 1979 (not really punk, but whatever), on double “ice cream pink” 12” vinyl. Do you? No, you don’t.I have these because they’re fun to collect. I don’t actually listen to them on vinyl. I’d rather listen to them on CD. Do the vinyl versions sound better than the CD release? No. The reason being is, these albums were recorded digitally, and presented on a lossless analog format. Digital recordings on vinyl sound horribly tinny. They’re too bright. There’s too much colour and distortion. There’s no warmth. Digital recordings on analog formats sound awful. On the other hand, music recorded with analog equipment sounds just fine on CD. My first CD (1991, when I was 9 years old) was Led Zeppelin II, and it sounds wonderful. One of the most beautiful sounding albums I’ve ever heard on CD is “Brown Album” by Primus. It was recorded with relatively old analog equipment. It feels very warm. It sounds “live,” as if you’re in the room with the band – and yes, I’ve seen Primus in concert. The highs are high, but not hollow and tinny, so they don’t hurt your ears. The lows are deep and rich, and they pack a lot of punch. I have SACD’s (“Dark Side of the Moon,” “Another Side of Bob Dylan,” “The Downward Spiral” by Nine Inch Nails, “Ghost in the Machine” by The Police”) and I have DVD-A’s. (“Guero” by Beck, “Sea Change” by Beck, “With Teeth” by Nine Inch Nails”), and they all sound great. But can you guess which ones sound best? The ones that were recorded with analog equipment.My point is, vinyl can sound great, CDs can sound great, but it’s all about the presentation. Any vinyl enthusiast will tell you that clicks and pops are an annoyance, and detrimental to your equipment. I have a few old vinyls that are dusty and worn down. I have them for the sake of having them. They aren’t getting anywhere near my equipment.By the way, I’m not some dink listening to my music on a Bose Lifestyle system. I use a Marantz 6100 belt drive turn table, powered by a Yamaha RXZ11 receiver, and my speakers are Paradigm Signature S8’s.
sark666Sep 3, 2008
This is a kinda weird situation, I've heard the same album, one after the other, in cd and in vinyl format, and vinyl sounded better by far.But are we really going to go back? First off, the industry would love it, it would be as close as they could get to putting the genie back in the bottle. Analogue copies sound like crap as we all know.But maybe what we really need is a digital successor to CD. I've never heard either, but I've read dvd-audio and SACD sound amazing. Cause, if you throw enough digital bits at the problem, there's no reason why it wouldn't sound as good. We're just not 'throwing enough' with the CD format. Also, they are now mastering CDs like total s**t. It's the louder is better mentality, dynamic range be damned.
4rp4n3tSep 3, 2008
Riiiight - so why do all the f**king great DJs I see still use vinyl?
dealjobberSep 3, 2008
Pretty much all new CD's released today suffer from the loudness war. It's why that old Black Sabbath CD sounds really low in volume, but put on a cd you bought this year and you'll have to lower the volume (in some instances) by half since it's cranked so high. I started buying vinyl this year and I'm never looking back to cd's. Plus you can rip your own vinyls to mp3, and know while doing so, you're not clipping the highs and lows to make it sound 'loud'.
notmtwainSep 3, 2008
I still love my old records but I don't think I ever saw a record from early in the 20th century on sale, even when I bought most of mine early in the fourth quarter of the 20th century. Are you talking about 78's?
astrotrainSep 3, 2008
And don't forget the agony if the record store got a bad batch of records due to a problem with the press. Nothing like having to return America's "Tin Man" five times before you got a good pressed version.
jonnyiselectricSep 3, 2008
records are the only 'real' formal.. digital music is just a bunch of 1's and 0's. theres nothing like the feeling you get when putting on your favourite record and listening to it from the first to the last song.
veganvelmaSep 3, 2008
Costello's albums, from my experience, sound SO much better on vinyl.
keltickalSep 3, 2008
If you like the distortion, just dub the LP to a CDR. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that CDs are transparent in blind tests as published in the AES journals. Threads on this and similar articles in professional audio newsgroups agree that there is nothing wrong with the CD format. However, much is wrong with CDs since they are mastered to be loud rather than sound good.
discorageSep 4, 2008
Wow, the comments in this article sicken me. Most people I've met who collect vinyl - about 90% of them are my friends - say that "it just sounds better," without being able to explain why. My friends and I, we grew up listening to punk rock. I love punk rock, and collecting punk vinyl is fun, but it's fun because of the novelty. I have a copy of "State of the Youth” by Pung on 6” (that’s right, 6”, not 7”) “puke green” vinyl. Do you? No, you don’t. I have a copy of “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine” by Death From Above 1979 (not really punk, but whatever), on double “ice cream pink” 12” vinyl. Do you? No, you don’t.I have these because they’re fun to collect. I don’t actually listen to them on vinyl. I’d rather listen to them on CD. Do the vinyl versions sound better than the CD release? No. The reason being is, these albums were recorded digitally, and presented on a lossless analog format. Digital recordings on vinyl sound horribly tinny. They’re too bright. There’s too much colour and distortion. There’s no warmth. Digital recordings on analog formats sound awful. On the other hand, music recorded with analog equipment sounds just fine on CD. My first CD (1991, when I was 9 years old) was Led Zeppelin II, and it sounds wonderful. One of the most beautiful sounding albums I’ve ever heard on CD is “Brown Album” by Primus. It was recorded with relatively old analog equipment. It feels very warm. It sounds “live,” as if you’re in the room with the band – and yes, I’ve seen Primus in concert. The highs are high, but not hollow and tinny, so they don’t hurt your ears. The lows are deep and rich, and they pack a lot of punch. I have SACD’s (“Dark Side of the Moon,” “Another Side of Bob Dylan,” “The Downward Spiral” by Nine Inch Nails, “Ghost in the Machine” by The Police”) and I have DVD-A’s. (“Guero” by Beck, “Sea Change” by Beck, “With Teeth” by Nine Inch Nails”), and they all sound great. But can you guess which ones sound best? The ones that were recorded with analog equipment.My point is, vinyl can sound great, CDs can sound great, but it’s all about the presentation. Any vinyl enthusiast will tell you that clicks and pops are an annoyance, and detrimental to your equipment. I have a few old vinyls that are dusty and worn down. I have them for the sake of having them. They aren’t getting anywhere near my equipment.By the way, I’m not some dink listening to my music on a Bose Lifestyle system. I use a Marantz 6100 belt drive turn table, powered by a Yamaha RXZ11 receiver, and my speakers are Paradigm Signature S8’s.
internetcowardSep 10, 2008
ugh you clearly dont get the internetz *rolls eyez*