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Really? "The best of formats."? (That depends on what you expect out of the format, IMHO.)

108.74.4.233

In Reply to: RE: Amen. The best of formats. And a bargain. nt posted by tinear on June 30, 2014 at 12:56:16

For casual listening, and background music, it is fine.
And it certainly is covenient.
(And it is great for listening in the car.)

That being said though, for serious listening, I much prefer vinyl.
(In fact I would say that 95% of my listening at home is done via my turntable.)

I will agree that it is a heck of a lot easier to get into than vinyl though. (Cleaning records is a habit one must get used to in order to really enjoy listening to vinyl, IMHO. Listening to clean records means very little, to no, pops, ticks or other surface noise, which can be annoying if it is more than the occasional noise.)

Question, (and I'm just curious is all):
Do you still have your turntable?
And do you find that sonically you prefer CDs over vinyl?
(Or is strictly a matter of convenience over sonics, which is okay.)

Follow Ups:

Depends on how the rig is tweaked - Ozzie 19:39:35 06/30/14 (0)
I have cds and sacds. Even some of my cds sound pretty darn good. Even Neil Young in The Cellar Door.

You live in Silicon Valley and back the Raiders versus a superior San Fran team?
Turntable been gone, long time. Have friends w/vinyl systems: redbook does it for me just as much. - tinear 19:26:09 06/30/14 (0)
I don't miss the preparation before and after playing, the jumping up to flip it, the appearance of irritating as hell pops, clicks, and other surface noise no matter how much care I exercised. The better the system, the more GLARING the imperfections.
I don't think there's a right or wrong. Just my opinion from my listening.
you need a better digital system - mbnx01 13:19:59 06/30/14 (4)
Just sayin is all.

"The problem with quotes from the internet is that many of them just are just made up."
-Abraham Lincoln
- Redbook can sound very good indeed - E-Stat 16:45:55 06/30/14 (1)
  A conclusion of the "best of formats" on any qualitative basis, however, is flawed.
  
  Ever heard a nicely done hi-Rez digital recording? I had the chance this past week to hear quite a few. My host randomly played a range of content using his server. In almost every case, when I opened my eyes and focused on the DACs front panel, I could tell what was Rebook and what was noticeably better. Then you once again hear the top octaves like analog has done for decades.
  
  Having said that, I've purchased quite a few CDs because that's how the music is delivered. I have some content in MP3 simply because that's (sadly) the only option. For me, content trumps quality. If everything were available in 24/96 downloads though, I would be ecstatically happy. :)
  - By "best" I meant not only sonically, but real-world practicality. - tinear 19:30:34 06/30/14 (0)
    How many of your great recordings are heavy vinyl? How cost effective would it be to purchase those 180s for ALL your collection?
    To be fair, one should compare 180 vinyl to SACD.
    Plus�. a consensus of reviewers seems to be that it's a tie, when both optimally are done.
- Probably true, (as mine is getting a bit long in the tooth). However, ... - Raiderman 15:56:52 06/30/14 (1)
  That being said, I do have lots of friends who have state of the art digital, (and analog), sources, and analog still trumps digital, (and not be a small degree either).
  
  So for my money, analog beats digital hands down, (except for in my car!)
  
  Just sayin is all.
  - It isn't exactly black and white but all things equal... - kuma 16:37:27 06/30/14 (0)
    I agree. Vinyl still will sound superior to any digital.
    
    The only closest time I came to was when you digitise the my favourite vinyl playback (LP12) in high res and listen through a capable streamer. But the vinyl still has that tactile presence that most digital has hard time duplicating. ( must be that missing bits )
    
    But in reality, the sound quality that I get from each format depends on the media. ( source first )
    A poignant case in point was Glenn Gould's 'A State of Wonder' CD which was made from original analogue master. This beats mint original vinyl released from a digital master.
    
    Ideally I would have three formats set up. Vinyl, CD player and a streamer. ( to play vinyl rips ) And use an appropriate playback device depending on a software.
    I am not convinced commercially bought high res. files so far in terms of releases and the sound quality. Most of the time I am better off with either a CD or just play vinyl.

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