Vinyl May Be Final Nail in CD's Coffin »
Posted By monte-g 11 months, 2 weeks ago in Arts & EntertainmentAs counterintuitive as it may seem in this age of iPods and digital downloads, vinyl -- the favorite physical format of indie music collectors and audiophiles -- is poised to re-enter the mainstream, or at least become a major tributary.
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GrainOfSand11 months, 2 weeks ago
I love it! LONG LIVE VINYL!! You can't beat the pops and crackles of a 45 RPM record playing on your turntable!
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joeblowe11 months, 2 weeks ago
I strongly suspect that MOST people who claim that vinyl sounds better can't really hear the difference. With a high sample rate, the noise generated by an average turntable and amplifier are probably more significant than the "missing" elements of the digital stream. Unless you have a pretty high end setup, you are likely deluding yourself. And, better than going BACK to big, easily scratched disks, why not go FORWARD to analog disks that can be read with a laser instead of a needle. You realize that the mere process of reading a disk with a needle assembly (that has a variable mass and efficiency) colors the output, yes? I also note that the practice of compressing the stream to boost loudness is an OPTION exercised by record companies - because it SELLS BETTER. One more item: if the recording studio uses digital recording devices, just exactly HOW does anyone expect the analog pressing to be accurate?
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OncejesterwasI11 months, 2 weeks ago
Vinyl has one major advantage over all of the others. Even the mighty CD is prone to oxidation of the aluminum on which your data is stored. But vinyl is rather timeless. And laser readers are available to scan old vinyl without ever touching your records. Those get a little pricy, however.
On a cheaper note, needle type record players are available all set up to convert your old music to MP3 so you can play your vinyl once and put it up for safe keeping.
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joeblowe11 months, 2 weeks ago
You must be buying crappy CDs. the aluminized layer is embedded and shouldn't be subject to oxidation. CD-R media can degrade as it is "burned" a different way, but professionally made CDs shouldn't have a problem. Contrarily, I never saw an LP that couldn't be scratched pretty easily. At least with a CD, if you somehow scratch it, you can probably buff it out and it'll still work OK. I'll agree - put it on your hard drive and drop to other media as needed - that way it'll ALWAYS be OK.
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Coneywoney11 months, 2 weeks ago
You need to remember that music is analogue so even with really high sample rates vinyl will retain the analogue nature of the sound wheras digital will be 'clipped'.
IMHO vinyl sounds better, more human and realistic, I played the same track simultaneously and my wife switched between them on the same hifi and Vinyl was warmer and richer and was the one I picked. It's the difference between a modern desk and and antique oak desk - I would work better on the latter.
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joeblowe11 months, 2 weeks ago
I wonder if you might be confusing "warmer and richer" with sloppier and less accurate? I don't really have an axe to grind either way as I don't sell either technology, but my strong suspicion is that the playback mechanism has a lot more to do with it than the media. For example, if you play back -- oh, say Pink Floyd - on an inexpensive system with insufficient dynamic range and output power - not to mention efficient speakers capable of rendering those nuances, it isn't going to sound right no matter if you are feeding it analog from vinyl or digital from an MP3 player. To really get it RIGHT - you would need sound reproduction systems similar to the equipment the sound was originally played through. Not really practical. And, quite frankly, it's NONE of it really going to have the range and nuance of a live performance. Although if you can get a couple of giant Klipsch corner horns and a really clean 600 watts, it sounds REALLY close to live.
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MacR11 months, 2 weeks ago
Actually I do not find it hard to believe. For one thing for the price of a CD. How much of the space on that CD is being wasted? Most albums had 4-8 songs depending on the band and if they wrote tunes that were over the average radio air time for a single. You could not get that many 5 minute songs on on LP. The Early bands that had only 4-8 songs that were under 3 minutes in length were usually put onto an EP. Either a 45 rpm or a 7" record. In the ending of the vinyl era they were also put onto 12" records but that was a waste of vinyl.
So I see this as a viable thing for the artist that only has a couple of songs. Or feels it a better deal for the consumer that gets enough material for a Disc that can not have anything else put onto it. Rather than having a CD that is not fully used and the consumer gets ripped off.
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afoaf11 months, 2 weeks ago
I started collecting records in college and haven't really stopped since.
Record shopping is the modern day hunt; It is incredibly rewarding to find yourself sitting on the floor flipping through dusty bins and finding that one album you've been searching for for months or even years.
Nearly all of my new music purchases are of the vinyl variety...more and more labels are issuing limited pressings of new releases which means you have to be on the ball or hope to god you can get it in the used bin a few months down the line.
I can rip stuff to mp3 for playback in the car and whatnot, but I prefer the record to say the CD or the cassette for home listening.
There is something far more tactile to the record...you have to care for them and be ginger when putting them on the plate...it's very ceremonious.
I do doubt that it will ever outpace CDs or the next generation format, but it still has a very viable niche.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7788/p1000809t...
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afoaf11 months, 2 weeks ago
speaking of which, if anyone has Off The Wall by Michael Jackson, send me a message!
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joeblowe11 months, 2 weeks ago
OK - I see what's happened here. You have taken on vinyl disks as a HOBBY. That's fine. Me, I just like to listen to the music. I stick a couple hundred CDs into the big Sony disk changer, crank up the big Yamaha, and the half dozen Klipsh boxes and the big 'ol Sunfire subwoofer go ahead and present me a live performance quality presentation. Usually the neighbors don't complain. My wife, on the other hand, does. {;>D)= I still maintain that a LOT of the quality of the final output depends on the equipment you use to produce it. If your amp/speakers don't have the power and/or sensitivity to reproduce the dynamic range of the performance, you are bound to be disappointed. When I've got -- say, the Eagles on, I can HEAR Joe's fingers moving over the strings and every harmonic those strings produce. Maybe someone with a really, really sensitive ear could tell some difference in a side by side - hell, maybe I could - but it isn't that important to me. Not my hobby.
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FirePro91111 months, 2 weeks ago
Well since they can't put a copy right infringement on vinyl I guess ripping one would be easier.
Not that I would do that to the poor music industry.
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dirtyfratboy11 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm convinced everything just gets recycled every few decades.
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