CDs are cheap but Vinyl is expensive.

I had heavy vinyl of many classic rock and classical pieces. The 1812 overture was too much for my tonearm/needle. It would jump during the finale.

I like heavy vinyl... as to half-speed... I am not sure if it's that or just the recording technique/quality that sets it apart.

I picked up my last vinyl from mobile fidelity, telarc, (IIRC Sheffield labs) from a store called "Ameobas" in California.

I think classrooms should demonstrate Pink Floyd's DSOTM on quality vinyl vs the cd. That illustrates a difference that will raise hair on your arms.

There is one online source in the USA for vinyl and LP supplies, it's in a credit card commercial as well. (I forgot the name)
 
Well I have DSOTM on vinyl at home, but our copy is shot to Hell so it barely plays. The funny thing is, we have two copies of WYWH because the first one doesn't play at all it's been worn out thoroughly. Our vinyl Sergeant Pepper's jumps on the run-in groove! That's obscene!

I always try out new kit to my CD version of DSOTM, followed by my vinyl copy of 'In Rainbows' by Radiohead. There's definitely a noticeable difference there as well (and some of the songs have been subtly varispeed'ed to fit onto the vinyl...!)
 

Actually, they've been forecasting this for about ten years. But when you think about it, most music technolgies have only had about a twenty-five year life. Cd's were new and convenient. Now mp3 fills that void. But I can't see them fading away any time soon. I've got about 3,000 CD's. The production vs. cost factor for Cd's has always been a big sell. You can get a good sound out of a system for $700 bucks; whereas with vinyl, you would spend several thousand. They had those laser phonographs for a short time before vinyl faded. I heard that they are at the Smithsonian. That was a good idea.

I find that the downloads often deteriorate, and I am not ready to spend my prcious album $$$ on something I can't see. :)
 
I can't see how downloads deteriorate...! It's just a collection of 0's and 1's - file corruption doesn't happen as it's a non-write entity, unless you decide to compress it. That's why we have nice lossless formats like FLAC.

If I had the money, I would glady pay thousands on a nice stereo system. There's nothing like holding a record and putting it on a turntable - it's a physical thing as much as it is an audible thing. This is why downloads to me are kind of missing the point to some extent. I love buying albums - usually CD admittedly, but there's a physical presence and tactile sensation of vinyl that CD cannot replicate. The same goes for the artwork. With all that said and done, however - for sheer quality of replication, it's going to have to be a high-quality digital format. If you want accuracy - say you're going for a test tone - then nothing can beat high-quality digital.

If you want something nice to listen to - vinyl. The little imperfections are what makes it such a pleasure.
 
I find that the downloads often deteriorate, and I am not ready to spend my prcious album $$$ on something I can't see. :)

That's a bit of an odd statement because compared to records, cassette tapes or even CDs downloads don't deteriorate at all. That's one of the best things about them. Also MFB i know what you mean about records, they are very nice to hold and play and the charachter is good. However just because of the convinience and the accuracy of it i think i'd rather just listen to digital.
 
Yeah, 'deterioreate' is really not the right word. I am saying that as compared to CD's downloads can sometimes get corrupted.
 
So am I to assume that within the next year CD's are out, vinyl is the new HD and I should get a new needle for my technics record player?

There has been a ton written on mp3 vs. vinyl vs. CD lately. The forecast is good-bye CD. Vinyl for spendy hipsters; mp3 for everyone else.

Actually, they've been forecasting this for about ten years. But when you think about it, most music technolgies have only had about a twenty-five year life. Cd's were new and convenient. Now mp3 fills that void. But I can't see them fading away any time soon.

So you asked the original question in jest? I'm confused.

It seems to me that restrictionless mp3s from iTunes is a sign of planned obsolescence for CDs.
 
So you asked the original question in jest? I'm confused.

It seems to me that restrictionless mp3s from iTunes is a sign of planned obsolescence for CDs.

There is already a rom-chip product that they want to shift to instead of cd's.

Those huge, bulky cd's had to go...
 
So you asked the original question in jest? I'm confused.

It seems to me that restrictionless mp3s from iTunes is a sign of planned obsolescence for CDs.

It was asked in jest from the point that it was ironic shopping for music and seeing vinyl at Best Buy for $20.00 while I've been finding $5 CD's, 50% off CD's at Virgin and 3 for $10 in clearance bins. For people who have come to like CD's, this is a feast.

I think it is somewhat silly that folks are now paying $20.00 for vinyl, esp when it is recorded in digital format. Technolgy is funny. It needs to continually change to keep the market moving. I never needed to repurchase all my music on CD, and now I am not going to repurchase all my DVD's on Blue Ray. Remember Laser Discs? I sold mine for a good buck about six months before DVD's came out.

I do not like downloads. The compression sounds like you are listening to music in a box. It is nice to know that there is a new technology that will allow for high quality, non-compressed downloads. I can see that this is moving forward because quality downloads was the hinderance to the elimination of the CD. But I still don't know that I want to listen to music through my PC, and take it on the run to listening parties.
 
It was asked in jest from the point that it was ironic shopping for music and seeing vinyl at Best Buy for $20.00 while I've been finding $5 CD's, 50% off CD's at Virgin and 3 for $10 in clearance bins. For people who have come to like CD's, this is a feast.

I think it is somewhat silly that folks are now paying $20.00 for vinyl, esp when it is recorded in digital format. Technolgy is funny. It needs to continually change to keep the market moving. I never needed to repurchase all my music on CD, and now I am not going to repurchase all my DVD's on Blue Ray. Remember Laser Discs? I sold mine for a good buck about six months before DVD's came out.

I do not like downloads. The compression sounds like you are listening to music in a box. It is nice to know that there is a new technology that will allow for high quality, non-compressed downloads. I can see that this is moving forward because quality downloads was the hinderance to the elimination of the CD. But I still don't know that I want to listen to music through my PC, and take it on the run to listening parties.

Yeah well i guess tastes change, i mean 50 years ago everyone wanted to live in a "new" style house and people would put wood veneers over their victorian wood doors and get rid of fireplaces to put electric or gas heaters in to make it more "modern". Nowdays people spend tons of money on "period features" that the people before them had spent time taking out.

So things change, first they are the standard or required technology, then they become replaced by something new and are seen as "obsolete", such was the case when CDs actually first came out for most people, then if something is actually any good, it goes back into fasion again and they become higher in value as more people start to use it again. We're starting to see "phase 2" for CDs, where they become seen as obsolete as there are more accurate/higher quality formats and more convinent formats too but maybe they will come back into vogue again one day (then again perhaps not ;))

As for listening to music on your pc, you can plug your hifi into a computer and it's pretty much just like listening to a cd player but with your entire song collection on one album. You can actually buy pcs these days that are like specialised media players.
 
I was in the business for 18 years and I am almost strictly a vinyl listener, I and many others find it a warmer sound but you need a good table and tone/arm cartridge combo to reap the benefits, your audio system is only as good as the weakest link. If you have a Technics 1200 the Stanton & Pickering are a good choice or my favorite, Ortofon. The same principal in theory applies to CD players as well, a cheap one really makes the music harsh and and don't have good error correction. Vinyl is making a come back so I would say go for it. If you want any other advice on this topic just email.


Cheers,
 
I still have about 1000 vinyl albums that I just cannot part with. I was getting them on to CD using my old Thorens belt drive turntable with a Shure V15 Type 3 cartridge but that finally died. I was getting some pretty good results that way since my albums are in great condition.
I recently got an Audio Technica USB turntable for $100 and have been using that but the wav files need a bit if tweaking. My Thorens/Shure combo was much better. If done right though it's not bad for $100 if you don't mind tweaking the files.
I pretty much avoid buying MP3's online because I like to rip songs to MP3 myself. I don't know if I can get back into buying vinyl again or if the stuff I like will even be available on vinyl.
 
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