The invasion of unwanted vinyl records ....

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119838909#Comment_119838909

Made using backup tapes as the originals had degraded. Just as I assumed.

No mention whatsoever that it was remastered analogue (because almost definitely, it wasn't)

edit: I read 2013 as 2003. However, the 2013 remaster was also sold on CD and as FLAC. And by 2013 the chances that a remaster was done anything but digitally are close to nil - nobody had the kit anymore.

So what was actually even vaguely wrong, then?

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119835092#Comment_119835092

Isn’t that missing vinyl a Sopranos storyline?

Dyr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119838926#Comment_119838926

Nobody has the kit? It was remastered at Abbey Road. Five leaves left was done from a digital source and you can tell

It is funny though, your argument against vinyl quality is that at some stage the source has been downgraded to digital. 🤔

Albums back then were recorded in far better quality and pressed in far better quality. It's all digital now.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119839316#Comment_119839316

I'm pretty sure Abbey Road has been full digital for decades. There was nobody doing analogue mastering in 2013. (note that using an analogue mixing desk does not equal working in analogue - the recording was still going to be digital - a studio having tape ingest is not going to have recorders and a stock of blank tape. Your beloved album was digitally mastered. And all the better for it, as you've avoided tape hiss)

My argument is that your current vinyl can be no better than the CD version, and is often worse. Way way worse, due to a lack of people who know how to master for vinyl. And no matter how you make think this makes vinyl better, the likelihood that you have a pure analogue mastered record are close to nil - everything you have has been PCM on a hard drive at some stage; including your Nick Drake remasters. You need records that are over 40 years old themselves - not even just recordings over 40 - to have a good chance that the master that went on is not just the CD audio

You went all in on my claims being wrong when they were true. Drop the stupid smilies, you aren't in the right here.

lumphammer2

I tend to agree with those who answered and said the CD is the best ... it is much less fragile than vinyl and is not impersonal like streaming/downloads ... Don't get me wrong ... I am not against vinyl but they are of their place and time ... personally I think it is a myth that they are better sound ... the main disadvantages are they can be damaged v easily by scratches ... they are cumbersome ... they can melt in hot weather ...

The CD was a welcome alternative to vinyl ... worse formats than vinyl appeared before such as 8 track tapes ... plus cassette tapes were not much better or arguably not any better than vinyl ... so the CD really did solve the shortcomings of all the formats before ... my favourite singer is prob Elvis who was pre CD but I enjoy his music best on CD ...

It is fine that others like vinyl ... they should have access to it ... but not to the detriment of other formats in the shops ... last Christmas there was an Elvis Christmas vinyl in Golden Disks ... I asked for a CD version and they could not help me source one ... got it on Amazon instead ... it is this pushing of vinyl only that is wrong ...

Dyr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119839459#Comment_119839459

Course you're "pretty sure" Abbey Road is all digital, same way you were "pretty sure" no-one can do analaog mastering, and "pretty sure" the masters were digital.

There's lots of things you're "pretty sure" about because you don't actually know but want to carrry on like you do. Have a smiley 😁

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119839636#Comment_119839636

Have you any evidence your beloved remaster was all analogue? Any at all?

Face it, it was digital. You can get it on CD and ten plays in it'll sound better than you super expensive vinyl version did. It'll have sounded the same at the start of those ten plays, but the record will have started to be eroded by the stylus from the first play.

You can deny reality and throw smilies all you want. There is absolutely no audio magic to your PCM sourced records, they can only ever sound as good as the CD; and when mastered badly and/or worn they will sound worse.

You can admit you prefer the format for other reasons rather than lying to yourself about sound quality you know.

Have you ever bought gold plated oxygen free audio cables cause a magazine (or a guy with a tiny beard in a shop) told you to? Because this ridiculous defence of the indefensible suggests you may want to buy some.

Badly Drunk Boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119838083#Comment_119838083

Ah, that chart is from the Liffey Street branch, not the one in Grafton Arcade which was pure mainstream! 😉 😄 Actually, from that chart, I have Bela Lugosi's Dead on 12" vinyl (and I've a very small vinyl collection) but I probably bought it around 1990.

NewbridgeIR

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119839942#Comment_119839942

Oh I know, I remember both outlets. It was posted to counteract Emmet Spiceland's lazy and incorrect generalisation.

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119841226#Comment_119841226

Oh come on, the Golden Discs from 1981 is very different to the one today.

Riddle101

Seeing Vinyl records in the shops makes me think of my dad's old record collection that he's had for the past 40+ years. Old records from the 60s and 70s from bands like Yes or Pink Floyd, the Beatles, etc. I don't know there still seem to be some avid collectors out there so it makes sense to have alternatives.

blade1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119841272#Comment_119841272

Pat Egan FTW!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119838377#Comment_119838377

Feck, that's pretty much what I came along here to post.

I can't recall when I last bought a CD (or a DVD or anything like that, come to think of it), but at a guess I'd say it was 2012 or 2013. I grew up in a house full of records, but as soon as I moved into a flat I had neither the money nor the space for records, so it was cassettes at first, quickly followed by CDs. Now I just push buttons or tap screens, and it's all grand.

kirk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119835545#Comment_119835545

Nice

Gregor Samsa

Audiophiles are the second worst type of phile.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119837582#Comment_119837582

Exactly .... I have loads of Elvis CDs some dating back to 1991 ... all perfect condition ... CDs are easy to keep safe if handled properly ... vinyls are much more fragile ... since the needle goes on the record and mistakes regarding placing the needle can damage them in ways impossible with CDs ...

Some claim that the price of today's modern vinyls are driven up by collectors ... but one would be foolish to collect these as they are just modern records ... I have a few old Elvis LPs from the time of issue and they are collectors' items ...

The price of today's modern vinyls are due to greed like everything else ... there is a very clever marketing of them feeding on nostalgia much more so than them being 'better sound' ... CDs are better sound but you daren't say that to a vinyl fanatic ... next up we will see someone spearhead the VHS video tape revolution and claim they are better quality than DVDs ... or the cassette tape is the best music format of all ...

From what I can see though is most people are not interested in modern vinyl records ... even those who are willing to buy old vinyl records ... and prefer the CD option when available ... I only know 2 vinyl fanatics one a Pink Floyd Fan the other into Eric Clapton and early period Van Morrison who only would buy these on vinyl ... everyone else are CDs all the way ...

As the years go by retro fads come and go ... but most people want the more up to date format ... hence those who want songs and no physical product go for streaming/downloads ... and those who want a physical product go for CDs ...

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843876#Comment_119843876

Second only to the bastard file. Bastards.

https://www.handyhardware.ie/Nicholson-Hand-Bastard-File-10in_p_47673.html

Addmagnet

I'm not convinced about any technical arguments put forward in the CD Vs Vinyl debate and I'll happily listen to both.

I do like the larger format of 12" albums - I can remember spending hours reading the enclosed comic book, lyric book and studying the poster that came with Elton John's Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy. That's something that was lost in the move to CDs.

My biggest gripe currently with the music industry is this unholy drive towards remastering everything, then not making the un-remastered stuff available for folks like me who actually really like the strings on Jethro Tull's Rover, for e.g.

I know some of the remasters are done by the artist themselves, and reflect maybe a change in how they want to present the material, or they can now do something that wasn't technically possible Way Back, but I want the choice dammit!

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119848001#Comment_119848001

eBay gives you choice.

NewbridgeIR

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119848001#Comment_119848001

You do have the choice. The older (unremastered) version can still be purchased second hand and often cheaply.

In a lot of cases, I prefer the quieter, flat transfers of early CDs.

For me CD vs vinyl isn't an either / or situation

Some albums sound better on CD, others sound better on vinyl. It's not necessary dependant on when the album was recorded either.

I own a number of pressings of Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love. I'd rank them as follows

1/ 1985 CD

2/ 1985 LP

3/ 2018 CD

4/ 2018 LP

5/ 1997 CD

As for the artwork, anyone remember the glory days of 12" x 12" CD box sets when every disc had its own jewel case