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[PECOAE]

I hear everybody going nutz over buying albums on vinyl, and I just don't get it.

Is it that much better than getting an album on CD and putting it on the computer at 320 kbps?

Somebody explain plz?

[Spinless]

Sound quality is vastly superior. You get large cases with great artwork.

Edit: Tougher than a CD, can be re-sold too, possibly at a profit, whereas CDs are difficult to give away.

[Jackie Blue]

Sound quality is somewhat superior, not "vastly".  Sound quality depends on having a good record player with good speakers, whereas you can get good CD sound quality on a much cheaper and easier to maintain system.  CDs are smaller and thus are good for people like me who have over 1000 albums.  CDs have spines that you can glance at and immediately recognise the artist/album, whereas records usually have to be flipped through and take up a ton of space.  CDs are portable.  You can play them in cars.  You can DJ a radio show with a small satchel of CDs instead of lugging around cartons of records.  It is very difficult to find many albums on vinyl.  Many albums are not even available on vinyl.

On the plus side, having vinyl makes you "cool".

[Johnny C]

Being cool is the primary reason I buy vinyl, rather than the large artwork or fidelity of analog sound.

[Spinless]

I can't imagine owning thousands of CDs. The sight of CDs makes me feel ill these days. I don't have a record player, and I don't own any vinyl. But cds TICK ME OFF.

[pinkpiche]

I'm for the cool too.

[Johnny C]

I can't imagine owning thousands of CDs. The sight of CDs makes me feel ill these days. I don't have a record player, and I don't own any vinyl. But cds TICK ME OFF.

This I don't get. I like vinyl but I like CDs too. In fact the only format I'm not really fond of is probably eight-track.

[Jackie Blue]

I can't imagine owning thousands of CDs. The sight of CDs makes me feel ill these days. I don't have a record player, and I don't own any vinyl. But cds TICK ME OFF.

So do you own all your music on cassettes or what?

Or are you one of those evil people who don't buy music?

[sean]

CDs are rather pointless in my opinion. If you are arguing that CD's are more portable, take up less space, et cetera, it makes more sense  to me just to own a digital copy. It takes up absolutely no physical space, is highly portable on the mp3 player of your choice, and you can keep simply absurd amounts of music on you.

However, if your into owning the hard copy, vinyl seems vastly superior. If you care enough to own the hard copy, I think you would want the artwork that comes with vinyl and the analog sounds.

[bbqrocks]

Obviously you don't need any type of recorded audio because if you are that cool all you go to see is live opera.

But seriously, vinyls do look cooler.

[Jackie Blue]

You're assuming that I have the money or inclination to buy a good mp3 player.

I don't want to waste money on an mp3 player, and I don't like them.  With a satchel full of CDs, you can look at them and immediately pick the album you want.  With an mp3 player, you have to scroll through titles.  You can't just immediately reach out and pluck the CD you want out.

Plus, playing mp3s at someone's house is not always easy or even possible.  Some people only own boomboxes, or own older CD players, and who wants to fuck with wires and shit when you're drunk and rocking out?

Yes, I want to own a hard copy.  But again, there are a lot of albums that I have that were never issued on vinyl and a lot more that are just really hard to find.

God, I hate this discussion.  People used to accept CDs and were cool with them, why is there yet another wave of vinyl purism sweeping through everyone I know?

[Spinless]

I have over 200 CDs. Infact, I'm looking at them right now. What an embarrassing sight! They're great for storage, great for burning your own playlist, but I don't understand purchasing a CD for the album stored on it. The sight of an album stuffed into a jewel CD case is something that I really dislike now. I love making my own mix CDs and crafting elaborate cases, I don't hate the format completely. £10 for an album on disc? I don't get it. £10 can buy me like, 100 CDRs that I could put my own media on.

[sean]

Okay I'm gonna try playing with fire here and argue with your points Zerodrone.

You're assuming that I have the money or inclination to buy a good mp3 player.

I don't want to waste money on an mp3 player, and I don't like them.  With a satchel full of CDs, you can look at them and immediately pick the album you want.  With an mp3 player, you have to scroll through titles.  You can't just immediately reach out and pluck the CD you want out.

I do agree with you on the price on mp3 players. If you really don't want an mp3 player, they're still pretty expensive for a good one. But is it really that much more trouble to scroll through a list of bands/albums/songs than it is to fumble through jewel cases and have do switch cd's out of a player?

Plus, playing mp3s at someone's house is not always easy or even possible.  Some people only own boomboxes, or own older CD players, and who wants to fuck with wires and shit when you're drunk and rocking out?

Well, yeah, most people only do own boomboxes. And most people don't have enough money for good iPod speakers, since they're all overpriced as hell. But most (read: practically all) boomboxes have tape players, and is it really that hard to just have just one of these in your tape player. They only cost about $5-10 US. And again, even drunk, is it that much harder to scroll through a list than to deal with jewel cases?

Yes, I want to own a hard copy.  But again, there are a lot of albums that I have that were never issued on vinyl and a lot more that are just really hard to find.

Well, I can't really say anything to this. If you really want the hard copy that bad, CD's would probably be easier. Being only 16 and growing up with mp3 players becoming big, I think it's just easier to own a digital copy.

But whatever. As tommy said, each to their own.

[Jackie Blue]

Being only 16 and growing up with mp3 players

/thread

[Apple Pie]

But seriously, vinyls do look cooler.

Sure they do. But if that's the only reason you're buying them, then that's just stupid.

Personally, I don't listen to my music loud enough to notice the difference between a vinyl and a cd. I find CDs (or MP3s...not so much for my MP3 player, but for the fact that I enjoy listening to music most whilst I'm on the computer) more convenient. I buy music for the music, not for the 'cool factor'.

[Spinless]

Just about every home now has a computer. And just about all computer speakers will connect to an mp3 player with no hassle. When I had a CD player, I was spending about £20 a week on batteries. That's ridiculous.
I bet that to Zerodrone, our tendencies to prefer vinyl to CDs looks a lot like his bizarre preference for walkman CD players over mp3 players does to us. INSIGHTFUL!

[Jackie Blue]

Batteries?  You are aware that stereos and CD players can be plugged in, right?  And what about rechargable batteries?

I don't own a Walkman.  I never find myself wanting to tune out the sounds of the world when I'm out.  I like to gather information, not shut myself out from the environment.

Even so, you can't exactly get around the fact that if your Walkman breaks, you don't lose all the CDs you played on it.  If your mp3 player gets screwed up, you lose data, not just the device for playing data.

[RedLion]

it makes more sense  to me just to own a digital copy. It takes up absolutely no physical space, is highly portable on the mp3 player of your choice, and you can keep simply absurd amounts of music on you.

Until the MP3 player breaks, as they all inevitably do, and/or your computer hard drive crashes, destroying your entire amassed music collection, if you don't have hard copies of them. Just having solely MP3s reduces the sense of having something special and meaningful that I get by physically owning an album, being able to look at it.

I also don't see much reason to be buying vinyl versions of newly released albums. It's cool to have records of classic albums, but do we really need a vinyl of In Rainbows?

[Jackie Blue]

In retrospect the only thing I really needed to say in this thread is:

You try storing 1000 records in a small apartment in a way that you can easily access all of them, and in a way that you can glance at your collection and instantly recognise any one of them (CDs have spines that are easy to identify).

That's it, really.

[Spinless]

Are you in a hurry? Do you really need to find your music *that* quickly if you're just listening to it in the house? Take your time, decide! Besides, it's not hard to browse vinyl if you just organise your collection.

[a pack of wolves]

I actually have an easier time finding vinyl, since I can flick through them but my CDs are in stacks where I can only see the spines which seems to make it trickier for me to find what I want. If I'd just get around to organising them again like I used to I wouldn't have a problem with either though.

I also don't see much reason to be buying vinyl versions of newly released albums. It's cool to have records of classic albums, but do we really need a vinyl of In Rainbows?

I don't see why having vinyl of an old record is better than having vinyl of a new one. There are more reasons to choose vinyl over CDs than nostalgia, that's never a factor for me when I choose to buy vinyl over any other format.

[PECOAE]

CDs have spines that you can glance at and immediately recognise the artist/album, whereas records usually have to be flipped through and take up a ton of space.  CDs are portable.  You can play them in cars. 

about that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n33ACfZ45ys

[sean]

Even so, you can't exactly get around the fact that if your Walkman breaks, you don't lose all the CDs you played on it.  If your mp3 player gets screwed up, you lose data, not just the device for playing data.

Until the MP3 player breaks, as they all inevitably do, and/or your computer hard drive crashes, destroying your entire amassed music collection, if you don't have hard copies of them. Just having solely MP3s reduces the sense of having something special and meaningful that I get by physically owning an album, being able to look at it.

I also don't see much reason to be buying vinyl versions of newly released albums. It's cool to have records of classic albums, but do we really need a vinyl of In Rainbows?

I fucking hate it when mp3 players break. To me, that's their one major downfall. And I've gone through a few mp3 players, so I realize how much it sucks to lose your entire music collection. But that's also why you back your shit up in multiple places.

However, that can be a pain in the ass, and I can see where you're coming from if you don't wanna deal with that stuff.
Like I said, in my lifetime experiences, mp3's are easier overall. They are, by no means, perfect though.

Also RedLion, if you prefer the vinyl format you're going to want to own the vinyl version of a new release, plus what a pack of wolves said.

[snowball]

I'm a vinyl junky.
I find that it does sound significantly better, especially if you can spend a bit more and get a real good player. (even dollar vs. dollar, IE a $1500 CD player sounds drastically worse than a $1500 record player at least in my experience)
I feel that vinyl sounds more "real" than CD does. It may cost a bit more per album but it works out ok since used albums (particularly electronic) can be had for pennies.
In my personal opinion if one really loves music then an effort to enjoy it in its highest quality is in order. (IE vinyl, FLAC files into a good external DAC, or a good CD player)

then again i am bit of an audiophile...

anyone looking to get into vinyl should look for a decent vintage player (most of them are a bit better than what you would get new under ~400)
low budget vinyl thread on head-fi
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/low-budget-vinyl-source-228059/

[PECOAE]

I'm a vinyl junky.
I find that it does sound significantly better, especially if you can spend a bit more and get a real good player. (even dollar vs. dollar, IE a $1500 CD player sounds drastically worse than a $1500 record player at least in my experience)
I feel that vinyl sounds more "real" than CD does. It may cost a bit more per album but it works out ok since used albums (particularly electronic) can be had for pennies.
In my personal opinion if one really loves music then an effort to enjoy it in its highest quality is in order. (IE vinyl, FLAC files into a good external DAC, or a good CD player)

then again i am bit of an audiophile...

anyone looking to get into vinyl should look for a decent vintage player (most of them are a bit better than what you would get new under ~400)
low budget vinyl thread on head-fi
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/low-budget-vinyl-source-228059/

but i can't listen to it when i'm out shopping for legumes, now can i?

does it print money?

[snowball]

i still have a MP3 player, and a music server hooked up to my stereo.
alot of vinyl comes with 320Kps or VBR MP3 downloads (about 1/2 of new releases)
the rest i torrent.
 I do buy CD's if the release is CD only, then it gets ripped in FLAC then put away.

[a pack of wolves]

It is very difficult to find many albums on vinyl.  Many albums are not even available on vinyl.

It depends on what kind of music you listen to though. I can only think of a few releases I've wanted that weren't grime where there wasn't a vinyl release, but I can think of tons that never got put out on CD. I've got a friend who owns a record player purely so she can rip albums she buys on vinyl and then she'll never play them again, since otherwise there'd be no way for her to buy them and she only ever listens to mp3s so has no use for the record itself except as a means of producing a digital version.

[Jackie Blue]

Are you in a hurry? Do you really need to find your music *that* quickly if you're just listening to it in the house? Take your time, decide! Besides, it's not hard to browse vinyl if you just organise your collection.

Even if you have 1000 albums in alphabetical order, you can't glance at your collection, spot something you hadn't thought of in a while, and go "Oh hey, I should throw that in."

If you already know what you want to listen to, of course it doesn't matter if it's a record or CD as long as you have them in alphabetical order.

But the simple fact is that there's no way to look at 1000 records in a glance and have one just jump out at you.

[Inlander]

Vinyl's a pain in the arse. Maybe it's because the only real experience I've had with vinyl has been with my parents' old L.P.s and 45s, but vinyl records scratch easily, in a climate like Australia's you have to make sure the sun never even glances at them or they're liable to become unplayable, it's a hassle to get them in and out of the little sleeves, the sleeves don't really last all that well, and you only get around a quarter of an hour of music before you have to get up and flip the record, which for me really interrupts the listening experience as I like to become more deeply immersed in the music than that. As for the "sounding better" thing, I find that's relative. I listen to my C.D.s on a fairly cheap C.D. player and I definitely notice the difference when I play them on a better system, but most of the time it's not a worry. Why? Because I have the system I have. I find that superior sound quality is only something I notice when I'm actually experiencing it.

[Lines]

Opinions on how to listen to music:

Vinyl - If you like music, this is probably the way to go! And I don't just mean listening to music, but you care about how it's packaged and the distinctive sound you get from a record. The covers and artwork, while maybe not as sturdy as a jewel case, are much more interesting, especially a lot of albums from the 60s and 70s. Personally, I think blues and classic rock sound the best in this format. If I had a working record player, I would build upon the small record collection I have and the collection my mom has had since she was a teenager.

CDs - Good for people who want physical copies that can be listened in a car, stereo, or on a computer. The sound quality is pretty good and is probably the most versatile medium available for music, as they can also be converted to mp3s and backed up on a computer or mp3 player. The artwork is not as interesting and jewel cases suck, as they crack easily, but they protect your music well enough. Also good for making mixes for other people, as just about everyone has a CD player.

Cassettes - Good for playing in a car if your car only has a tape player (like mine), but otherwise not worth the money, as they just don't hold up as long as the previous two, which affects the already medium quality of sound. Also good for making actual mixtapes, which I have done using my stereo.

8-tracks - Why do these exist? I'm not really sure. They're like beta tapes. The reason for their existence is debatable except as a transitory medium from vinyl to cassette.

Phonograph - Good for historical purposes. If you have one of these, you are either weird or awesome.

Live - Good for concerts, but not portable in the slightest. If you have a live band that follows you around and plays what you want to hear, can I be your friend?

And I forgot...

MP3s - They don't really exist physically and you have to back them up in a million places, so really, what's they point of buying mp3s? Go buy a CD and convert it instead of just buying sound.

[ViolentDove]

Yeah... replacing my stereo with a live 50 piece cover band that lives in a small room in my mansion is one of my idle "What I'll Do When I'm Stupidly Rich" daydreams.

[snowball]

dont forget
SACD and DVD-A - great sound but limited releases. 5.1 mixes can be an immersing godsend or a gimmicky curse depending on who did the mastering.
this is a great way to go for classical music lovers.

[PECOAE]

Does vinyl really sound better?

I dunno, I've always thought of vinyl as the crackly, old, easily scratched records of lore.

[Liz]

Live - Good for concerts, but not portable in the slightest. If you have a live band that follows you around and plays what you want to hear, can I be your friend?

Oh man how freaking awesome would this be! They just follow you around and break out into song every once in a while. It's the live soundtrack to your life!

[Jackie Blue]

Vinyl - If you like music, this is probably the way to go!

This is the argument for vinyl that really gets on my tits.  It's the superior-sounding assumption that vinyl lovers are "more into" music than us terrible CD owners.

The difference in sound quality is entirely subjective and also more to do with the system than the medium.  Of course a cheap boombox doesn't sound as good as a record player with nice speakers.

[McTaggart]

Playing vinyl is to playing mp3s as making leaf tea in a nice round, small pot is to throwing a teabag in a cup. The ritual is really the important part for me. The media is nicer too, vinyl and leaves are just prettier. The other bonus is that records double as posters.

Vinyl is just nice, and I don't really care about your reason.

[snowball]

Does vinyl really sound better?

I dunno, I've always thought of vinyl as the crackly, old, easily scratched records of lore.

common misconception due to the fact most people treated their records like shit (non-music loving friends scratched CD's anyone?)
if cared for IE carbon fiber brush, stylus cleaner, and wet record cleaner fluid or cleaning machine.
if its clean and not damaged vinyl will not crackle or pop.

a local Hi-Fi shop should be more than happy to do a demo for you, many Hi-Fi shops are still turntables as their main source. You can make the decision if it sounds better yourself.
doing an A/B test with the same record and CD is alot of fun.

EDIT: a good shop should have a library of Vinyl and CD's for people to walk in and listen to.

[PECOAE]

Apparently, digital recordings are inferior by definition.  My dad showed me a diagram about it.

It's approximated and sampled to digital from analog and back.

[Jackie Blue]

Yes, of course digital vs. analog is provably different and there is some "loss" in a digital format but people who claim to be able to hear some kind of massive difference are, I think, deluding themselves.

Either that or a decade of playing in loud rock bands has dulled me to the finer nuances.  Still, I really don't think the sound difference is that big if you have a good stereo, especially since CD technology has come a long way.

[michaelicious]

I buy old used vinyl records because I like the way they smell.

[snowball]

Yes, of course digital vs. analog is provably different and there is some "loss" in a digital format but people who claim to be able to hear some kind of massive difference are, I think, deluding themselves.

Either that or a decade of playing in loud rock bands has dulled me to the finer nuances.  Still, I really don't think the sound difference is that big if you have a good stereo, especially since CD technology has come a long way.

cd players have come a long way, but CD technology is still the same 16bit red book setup as always. it would be nice if the switch to SACD had worked... maybe a new Blue ray music format. I can dream i guess. something 24 or 32bit. 5.1 and 2 channel stored on the same disk...

EDIT: in that same pattern new turntables are worlds apart from things made in the 60's-80's. The new SME tonearms are brilliant and far better than their old ones. My friends VPI scoutmaster is way better than any of my old decks.

[Inlander]

Another "con" for M.P.3 players: they're set up for earphone or headphone listening. Sure, you can get bits and pieces to add to them so that you can hook them up to a sound system with speakers, but you have to spend extra money for that and it can be annoying to have to set up and it's just not as easy as taking a C.D. or a vinyl record out of its case and slipping it into the player. This is an important point because some music just flat-out sounds better when heard in the open air through speakers, rather than in a closed-off environment through headphones straight into your ear.

[snowball]

Another "con" for M.P.3 players: they're set up for earphone or headphone listening. Sure, you can get bits and pieces to add to them so that you can hook them up to a sound system with speakers, but you have to spend extra money for that and it can be annoying to have to set up and it's just not as easy as taking a C.D. or a vinyl record out of its case and slipping it into the player. This is an important point because some music just flat-out sounds better when heard in the open air through speakers, rather than in a closed-off environment through headphones straight into your ear.

hmm... a con for MP3 players. but a dedicated music server is the easiest way to pick songs in the world.
build a music server out of a computer or buy something like
http://www.slimdevices.com/ (wireless, can use pandora and internet radio)
or if you have money to blow
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/audiovideo/1330/qsonix-q100-music-server.html
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/10/sooloos-to-store-your-lossless-tunes/

i use my old laptop with http://www.fooblog2000.com/ as the user interface
then output is into a USB to SPDIF converter box, then to my modded zhaolu DAC (sounds good for the cost)

[RallyMonkey]

Would vinyl still have superior quality if the music was digitally recorded?

[snowball]

Would vinyl still have superior quality if the music was digitally recorded?

i don't know what the recording setup for the albums i listen to is.
but because of the limitations of the red book CD standard, i going to say in general yes.
we really do need higher quality digital media, its been far too many years. Some sort of 24bit 192khz DTS download format would rock.

[snowball]

the graph how stuff works uses is a bit better IMO
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question487.htm

[Jackie Blue]

How many of you actually own a cd that has become too scratched to play?

I have CDs that are over a decade old and have been played thousands of times and don't have a scratch on them.

People who scratch their CDs are just lazy or stupid with them.

[KvP]

Why do I own vinyl?

Because I can see through it. That's right, translucent vinyl. It is the coolest. Sounds good too.

Too bad my turntable done broke

[supersheep]

I buy vinyl because I want to learn how to DJ and all that, and I find the whole idea of doing that on a CD a little weird - not as tactile, and not as challenging. Other than that, I really don't mind.

SEE WHAT ANYWAYS SAID.

[Uber Ritter]

I have scratched CDs so badly that they have trouble playing, namely the bargain-bin copy of Back in Black I got when I was 11.  But then, I did have it when I was 11, so it's probably seen all sorts of misuse. 

I must say that I enjoy the whole dropping of the needle onto the record.  It is very neat.  The whole 'analogueness' of the LP still really appeals to me, ultimately.  However I also have a whole bunch of CDs and I continue to buy both formats.  I also have a bunch of tapes since my car stereo hasn't met a tape adapter it's liked in almost a year, and that one wasn't mine.  I will agree that maintaining an LP collection in a dorm room would quickly get rather crowded.