Modern vinyl?

mattcullen

Modern vinyl?

Looking at the price of vinyl these days, I’m wondering is it all a bit of a scam. If the records were all produced digitally, is there any benefit in buying on vinyl over cd (bar the ritual of using the turntable and admiring the artwork, aesthetics etc)?

For anyone who buys modern vinyl , do you find the sound is better than cd? Personally, I haven’t bought vinyl for years. Bought a heap of records in the 90s but only bought on vinyl as it was techno and played on decks. I’ve never bothered since then. I’m wondering whether I’m missing out?

fryup

mattcullen wrote: »

is there any benefit in buying on vinyl over cd (bar the ritual of using the turntable and admiring the artwork, aesthetics etc)?

no there isn't

there's a load of rose tinted bolloxology about vinyl...oh it sounds so much better than cd's, mp3's.....no it doesn't ..the hiss the crackle the needle skipping..nah give me clean digital music any day

anyway you can't carry a record player in your pocket can you?

Anesthetize

Even if records are produced digitally it doesn't mean that they will have the same sound quality as a CD. When digital masters are pressed to vinyl properly they use far higher resolution files.

That said still prefer CDs, as they strike a good balance between sound quality and convenience.

mattcullen

Anesthetize wrote: »

Even if records are produced digitally it doesn't mean that they will have the same sound quality as a CD. When digital masters are pressed to vinyl properly they use far higher resolution files.

That said still prefer CDs, as they strike a good balance between sound quality and convenience.

That's interesting. I assumed the files would be of the same overall quality but just mastered a little differently to take account of the format . Good to know I suppose. It seems to be a bit of a minefield buying vinyl in the sense that I would suspect record companies in some instances are reissuing copies in poor quality masters for vinyl just to cash in. With a cd I'd feel more confident an album was properly mastered to be played on a digital format whether that be cd or mp3 or whatever. Still, good to see the the likes of tower records have a buzz about them. There's definitely positives to the whole vinyl resurgence and I don't think it's all to do with sound quality either but 30 quid is a lot to pay for an lp unless it's actually going to sound better

NewbridgeIR

I started buying vinyl in 1981 and CDs in 1986. I still buy both formats to this day although for new releases I tend to go for CDs given the inflated prices of new LPs. Both formats have their positives and negatives. Some of the music I like hasn't made it to CD (and never will) so vinyl is the default option. The sleeves and artwork are so much better. There's less tendency to skip tracks (although double LPs with two or three tracks per side are a pain). You need to spend the money on a decent turntable though. In the 1980s I had a 4-in-1 which was just ok - it wasn't until the mid 90s when I was earning proper cash that I could afford decent separates.

CDs are great for convenience and are much more preferable for live albums, various artists compilations and multi disc sets. The second hand market has fallen sharply so there's still a few decent 1980s pressings going cheap. I despair when I see a company like Cherry Red releasing their excellent 5CD goth / indie / shoegaze box sets only for some tools to whine "Why isn't this coming out on vinyl?"

I am bemused by the vinyl resurgence and the growth of the BAVJ (Born Again Vinyl Junkie). Where were those people in 1996 when it seemed like hardly anybody was buying new LPs?
In my experience it's the BAVJs who are the elitist ones. Some of them have got it into their heads that CDs are the enemy and won't be swayed. Their obsession with owning digital recordings on vinyl seems to be driven by one-upmanship and needless anti-CD guff in a lot of cases.

mattcullen

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

I started buying vinyl in 1981 and CDs in 1986. I still buy both formats to this day although for new releases I tend to go for CDs given the inflated prices of new LPs. Both formats have their positives and negatives. Some of the music I like hasn't made it to CD (and never will) so vinyl is the default option. The sleeves and artwork are so much better. There's less tendency to skip tracks (although double LPs with two or three tracks per side are a pain). You need to spend the money on a decent turntable though. In the 1980s I had a 4-in-1 which was just ok - it wasn't until the mid 90s when I was earning proper cash that I could afford decent separates.

CDs are great for convenience and are much more preferable for live albums, various artists compilations and multi disc sets. The second hand market has fallen sharply so there's still a few decent 1980s pressings going cheap. I despair when I see a company like Cherry Red releasing their excellent 5CD goth / indie / shoegaze box sets only for some tools to whine "Why isn't this coming out on vinyl?"

I am bemused by the vinyl resurgence and the growth of the BAVJ (Born Again Vinyl Junkie). Where were those people in 1996 when it seemed like hardly anybody was buying new LPs?
In my experience it's the BAVJs who are the elitist ones. Some of them have got it into their heads that CDs are the enemy and won't be swayed. Their obsession with owning digital recordings on vinyl seems to be driven by one-upmanship and needless anti-CD guff in a lot of cases.

Most of my records are techno and electro music, reason being I was playing them on decks. If I'm honest I don't think I've ever noticed improved sound from vinyl. If anything I just noticed more distortion. I find CDs tend to be clearer sounding but maybe that's down to the turntable I had. Gonna get myself a rega planar 1 as I need a turntable anyhow to play the records I do have. May pick up the odd record but while I'd like to think a new turntable us going to impress on me that records sound way better than CDs I'm not too hopefull. Saw three tom waits records on sale recently separately on LP for full price each. When I bought them on CD the three came together as ' orphans ' . Sticker said ' now available separately for the first time ' . Had to laugh..!

NewbridgeIR

I remember buying the Orphans 3CD back in 2006 - that's hilarious re the cynical vinyl pressings. Released years after the event/

The Rega Planar 1 is a nice deck.