Vinyl Sales Surpass CD Sales For The First Time Since 1986

cd market is shinking, posted on September 11, 2020 at 11:30:13
bouncy ball Audiophile Posts: 1221 Location: British Columbia Joined: July 26, 2003	Big reason is all about downloading, both legally and illegally. Vinyl sale is still weak.

not downloading..., posted on September 11, 2020 at 12:01:13
radiodaddy Audiophile Posts: 1600 Location: New Jersey Joined: August 13, 2003	... it's streaming. Downloads are tanking too. Young buyers (the vast majority of music consumers) increasingly do not see music as something to be owned, physical or not. Buy a subscription to a massive library, listen to what appeals to you at the time, then move on to the next thing (or not) as you please. It's a fundamental shift in the way consumers perceive and relate to their music.

RE: not downloading..., posted on September 11, 2020 at 12:10:59
6bq5 Audiophile Posts: 4384 Location: SF Bay Joined: August 16, 2001	I have tried to instill in my (now college aged) children the quality gulf between streaming and hard media (yes there are HiRes streams - but even I have yet to invest in that modality)- Alas, they still listen to spotify.... )-; Happy Listening

Just to remind you all..., posted on September 11, 2020 at 15:17:47
PAR Audiophile Posts: 1732 Location: South London, UK Joined: June 4, 2019	These are revenue sales figures not by units. The average new vinyl album costs, what, three times that of an average CD? So the real story is that CD sales continue to collapse to be replaced by streaming. "We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

yes streaming. now you know how old I am. :) (nt), posted on September 11, 2020 at 15:54:35
bouncy ball Audiophile Posts: 1221 Location: British Columbia Joined: July 26, 2003	.

Who plays CDs nowadays?, posted on September 11, 2020 at 16:19:56
John Elison Audiophile Posts: 23900 Location: Central Kentucky Joined: December 20, 2000 Contributor Since: January 29, 2004	I don't play CDs and I don't play vinyl, but I listen to music every day. I play hi-rez digital formats such as 24/96, 24/192, 24/352.8, DSD128 and DSD256. Hi-Rez digital is where it's at! Yeah! Happy listening! John Elison

I do. I also listen to -- shudder -- cassettes (and of course LP's). To each.... nt, posted on September 11, 2020 at 18:01:52
Rick W	nt

RE: Who plays CDs nowadays?, posted on September 11, 2020 at 19:34:03

andy_c
Audiophile

Posts: 1470
Joined: June 2, 2007

I don't play them, but I buy them to rip them to FLAC format for computer-based playback. Having the discs is a sort of last resort in the very unlikely event that my file server and two backups of it all go south at once. Plus I'm picky about getting a bit-perfect copy of the CD. I don't know how careful the record companies are about doing that. But I'm an oddball special case. I don't know anyone who plays them in their home or car.

RE: I do. I also listen to -- shudder -- cassettes (and of course LP's). To each.... nt, posted on September 11, 2020 at 20:13:22

John Elison
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Posts: 23900
Location: Central Kentucky
Joined: December 20, 2000
Contributor
Since: January 29, 2004

I used to own two Nakamichi Dragon Cassette decks. They're the best. I knew them inside and out. I kept the heads aligned and all the internal adjustments optimized. They almost sounded as good as my Revox A77 reel-to-reels. The cassette tapes were cheaper than reel-to-reel tape and most other audio enthusiasts had cassette decks so I could trade music with all my audio buddies. Moreover, the Dragon would adjust head azimuth to each individual tape automatically. If you're serious about cassette tape, you definitely need a Dragon. You'll love that tape deck.

Best regards,
John Elison

RE: Who plays CDs nowadays?, posted on September 11, 2020 at 20:20:25
John Elison Audiophile Posts: 23900 Location: Central Kentucky Joined: December 20, 2000 Contributor Since: January 29, 2004	I play hi-rez digital in my home and in my car. My car has a USB DAC that's compatible with 24/192 PCM. However, I use the 3.5-mm analog plug-in to connect my hi-rez portable DSD player to my car stereo. Best regards, John Elison

RE: Mostly, I just loved Nakamichi cassette decks., posted on September 12, 2020 at 09:59:03
Travis Audiophile Posts: 6170 Location: La Grange, Texas Joined: November 25, 2001	Still have a working BX-300. "If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok

RE: Mostly, I just loved Nakamichi cassette decks., posted on September 12, 2020 at 10:09:14

John Elison
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Location: Central Kentucky
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Since: January 29, 2004

The Dragon is somewhat different than any other Nakamichi because it automatically optimizes playback head azimuth for each tape you play. This means you get the best possible playback resolution with every tape you play. If you're serious about cassette tape, you should try to find a Dragon and then have it restored to perfect health. It will make an improvement that you can easily hear.

Good luck,
John Elison

I do. nt, posted on September 12, 2020 at 10:15:47
Tre' Industry Professional Posts: 17294 Location: So. Cal. Joined: February 9, 2002	. Have Fun and Enjoy the Music "Still Working the Problem"

Why FLAC? nt, posted on September 12, 2020 at 10:16:53
Tre' Industry Professional Posts: 17294 Location: So. Cal. Joined: February 9, 2002	. Have Fun and Enjoy the Music "Still Working the Problem"

Ditto, still buy them too... new & used. Have thousands, what's not to love?... N/T, posted on September 12, 2020 at 10:28:36
musetap Audiophile Posts: 31871 Location: San Francisco Joined: July 8, 2003 Contributor Since: January 28, 2004	a "Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure

Was going to ask that myself., posted on September 12, 2020 at 10:46:18
Opus 33 1/3 Audiophile Posts: 4184 Location: D.C. Area Joined: February 19, 2014	Ripping Redbook CDs doesn't require FLAC format. Might as well use high bit rate MP3s. Opus 33 1/3

RE: Was going to ask that myself., posted on September 12, 2020 at 10:53:24
Tre' Industry Professional Posts: 17294 Location: So. Cal. Joined: February 9, 2002	Well FLAC is lossless but it's still a compression scheme. The file size is only a bit smaller than just leaving it a wav. A wav file is not compressed. I don't see the point of FLAC but I might be missing something. Tre' Have Fun and Enjoy the Music "Still Working the Problem"

Disk space is too cheap to bother with FLAC..., posted on September 12, 2020 at 11:24:31
Rod M Web Geek Posts: 16242 Location: So. California Joined: March 1, 1999 Contributor Since: March 1, 1999	I just looked at a few files that I got from someone else and the compression was 27% to 37% for FLAC. A 4TB drive is only about $100 these days. -Rod

I guess the point might be that many of the commercial web sites. . . , posted on September 12, 2020 at 11:36:50

Chris from Lafayette
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. . . seem to have standardized around FLAC. Also, I think there are various degrees of FLAC file compression (all of which play back losslessly) - IIRC, you can actually create uncompressed FLAC files, although you hardly ever see this. (Somebody jump in here if I'm misstating things.)

But, to your point, storage and bandwidth are cheap these days, so there's no reason not to deal in WAV or AIFF files directly that I can see - except that things have become somewhat standardized on FLAC. Not really a big deal IMHO.

RE: I guess the point might be that many of the commercial web sites. . . , posted on September 12, 2020 at 11:45:52

frankwm

I've created zillions of FLAC files from PCM dubs: the % depends on the modulation levels ~55% + reduction may be an average (16bit)...using Audacity level 8 ('best').
If you put WAV files into a ZIP folder there is a ~15% + reduction in total size.

Jim Lesurf carried-out some FLAC testing in 2015:-
see...

FLAC testing

Because of space limitations at our house, I try to avoid buying discs these days, but. . . , posted on September 12, 2020 at 12:39:44
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26430 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	. . . so often they seem to be available at giveaway prices, and I can't help myself! (And this is true not only of CD's, but also SACD's.) I don't how many times I've culled my collection, but I can never seem to get below two or three thousand! ;-)

RE: I guess the point might be that many of the commercial web sites. . . , posted on September 12, 2020 at 13:36:46
John Elison Audiophile Posts: 23900 Location: Central Kentucky Joined: December 20, 2000 Contributor Since: January 29, 2004	Can you give us the bottom line regarding FLAC? Is it lossless relative to WAV or is there some loss occurring with FLAC? Thanks! John

RE: I guess the point might be that many of the commercial web sites. . . , posted on September 12, 2020 at 14:02:13
Tre' Industry Professional Posts: 17294 Location: So. Cal. Joined: February 9, 2002	FLAC is lossless but compressed in terms of how much space it takes up on the hard drive. Wav is to audio files what Raw is to image files. Wav is the whole stream without trying to make it take up less space on the hard drive. Tre' Have Fun and Enjoy the Music "Still Working the Problem"

Welll, there's my answer, I takes up less space on the hard drive. nt, posted on September 12, 2020 at 14:07:19
Tre' Industry Professional Posts: 17294 Location: So. Cal. Joined: February 9, 2002	. Have Fun and Enjoy the Music "Still Working the Problem"

RE: Welll, there's my answer, I takes up less space on the hard drive. nt, posted on September 12, 2020 at 14:13:37
rivervalley817	I may not know you well Tre`, but well enough to know that you had your answer before asking the question regards,

Puzzled by your comment, posted on September 12, 2020 at 14:15:59
tlea Audiophile Posts: 579 Location: New Orleans Joined: January 20, 2002 Contributor Since: October 29, 2006	The highest bit rate MP3 I know of is 320 Kbps. Redbook CDs are typically 1411 Kbps, which can be ripped bit-perfect in FLAC/ALAC or WAV/AIFF. Why do you think that would not make a difference in SQ? . . . in theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, they are different . . .

Maybe It's All In The Mind!, posted on September 12, 2020 at 14:25:41

frankwm

Years back I'd offer files (CD-RW derived: Pioneer/TEAC) as WAV+FLAC as was 'convinced' I could hear a slight difference (albeit on Sony desktop active sqeekers (SRS-58) from Dell Inspiron 6400 Headphone-out: hi-definition as it bypassed the usual circuitry): but did comment that, mathematically, one could, apparently, reconstruct the original data from FLAC.
So I sort of put it down to possible real-time FLAC-to-WAV conversion audio anomalies and didn't really pursue it as people can appear quite happy with what I'd find unacceptable - and also, apparently, couldn't discern a difference between 16 and 24bit - which, from LP, I consider preserves more dynamic freedom as a 24bit FLAC - 16bit sounds 'truncated'..

Irrespective of the above 'mathematically perfect' conversion, Jim's data does shown some slight variation.

I'd personally be happier if WAV was the default - but file sizes get pretty big for (ie) stereo 24/96 - and I save as a 32bit float.

I buy, rip and collect CDs., posted on September 12, 2020 at 15:19:20
Goober58 Audiophile Posts: 5576 Joined: November 15, 2016	I have a CDP but rarely use it.

Going by what I hear. I've ripped CDs to MP3s and found them to be perfectly satisfactory, posted on September 12, 2020 at 18:29:35
Opus 33 1/3 Audiophile Posts: 4184 Location: D.C. Area Joined: February 19, 2014	and take up half the space. When i want to do serious listening, I have about 100 GB of 24/96 and 24/192 FLAC files. Opus 33 1/3

Going by what one hears . . ., posted on September 12, 2020 at 19:54:15

tlea
Audiophile

Posts: 579
Location: New Orleans
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Contributor
Since: October 29, 2006

... is what matters.

In my room, on my system, through my ears, MP3s are not "perfectly satisfactory", they give me a headache.

Like you, I prefer vinyl and hi-res digital. But I consider Redbook CD quality adequate for "serious listening", as you put it. Not so for MP3, and I think you agree.

I don't understand why anyone would go to the effort to rip a CD to a resolution that is lower than the source.

. . . in theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, they are different . . .

RE: Going by what one hears . . ., posted on September 12, 2020 at 20:28:01
rivervalley817	as the price of digital storage comes down while capacity goes up who could disagree? however, if you're using 'on the go' gear [outside, car, boat] there's nothing wrong with lower rez stuff when quantity of tunes wins over quality as the playback system and milieu will render good as good enough for myself anyway be well,

"stereo 24/96"? That's nothing!, posted on September 12, 2020 at 20:41:02
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26430 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	What about 5.1 DSD256 or 5.1 DXD? ;-)

Interesting... that's a number I hover around on..., posted on September 12, 2020 at 22:50:27

musetap
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Posts: 31871
Location: San Francisco
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Contributor
Since: January 28, 2004

I think the most LPs I ever owned at one time was 3,500.

Now have maybe 1,500 LPs and 1,500 CDs, so about the same piece count.

But in nearly 45 years of changing tastes and circumstances I figure I've owned
about 10,000 LPs and CDs. Doesn't count 45's, 78's, tapes.

Less than 4,000 seems more than manageable, because, I guess it always has been.

I'll buy all the used CDs I'm interested in (and run across in person) but only 1-2 new
ones a week. NO new LPs anymore, used if needed and the price is right.

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure

RE: Going by what one hears . . ., posted on September 12, 2020 at 23:55:02

John Elison
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Posts: 23900
Location: Central Kentucky
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Contributor
Since: January 29, 2004

> I don't understand why anyone would go to the effort to rip a CD to a resolution that is lower than the source.

I did that once several years ago for my 2012 Toyota Camry, which was limited to MP3 through its USB audio system input. I now own a 2018 Camry and it converts up through 24/192 so I agree with you wholeheartedly. I no longer rip anything to a digital format below 16/44.

Best regards,
John Elison

I don't understand why anyone would go to the effort to rip a CD to a resolution that is lower than the source, posted on September 13, 2020 at 03:59:06
Opus 33 1/3 Audiophile Posts: 4184 Location: D.C. Area Joined: February 19, 2014	. . . or higher than the source for that natter. Opus 33 1/3

I rarely even buy a CD..., posted on September 13, 2020 at 06:29:51
SamA Audiophile Posts: 2902 Location: Washington, D.C. Joined: February 12, 2004	these days. Maybe a dozen over a year. But I grab gobs of them being left in the Little Free Library down the street. I add a dozen or so new titles a week to my collection.

RE: I do, too., posted on September 13, 2020 at 06:40:36

tketcham
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Posts: 6701
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Since: October 1, 2005

I still purchase CDs if they aren't available as high resolution (24-bit) downloads and even play them on a CD player. I rip all my CDs to a NAS drive but I find that by having three different sources to choose from (vinyl, CD, hi-res) it keeps me wanting to engage in "serious" listening rather than streaming background music.

I still buy LPs as well but my vinyl purchases are limited to used records that haven't been reissued as other formats or current releases only available on vinyl.

Happily listening,
Tom

PS: I've been recording LPs more often these days. What I found interesting (but not surprising) is that some of my 24-192 vinyl recordings sound much better than the same album I have on CD. Not all, sometimes the differences are very subtle. Conversely, I have a couple of hi-res reissues (24-96 & 24-192 remasters) that sound better than the LP version. It points out the importance of mixing and mastering and reinforces my enjoyment of having more than one source to listen to.

me for one..., posted on September 13, 2020 at 06:59:29
samstone Audiophile Posts: 921 Location: midwest inner city Joined: August 11, 2002	About 2 or 3 nights a week if I am not in the mood to do any flipping of LPs. Just picked up 2 new Zappa sets "Hot Rats sessions" (6CD) and "The Roxy Performances" (7CD). Lots of great listening there...

320 kbps mp3 ripped on decent software is right up there with FLAC , posted on September 14, 2020 at 06:16:04
ppopp Audiophile Posts: 2994 Location: OR Joined: October 10, 2002	unless you are listening to a very complex piece of classical music with full orchestra, really nicely engineered, very few people can hear the difference, regardless of the system. Lossless is all very well, but the limitations of 16 BiT and its brick wall filtering make FLAC quite unnecessary in most cases.

Respectfully disagree, posted on September 14, 2020 at 06:46:30
tlea Audiophile Posts: 579 Location: New Orleans Joined: January 20, 2002 Contributor Since: October 29, 2006	"...very few people can hear the difference, regardless of the system..." Then I suppose I must be one of the very few. . . . in theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, they are different . . .

RE: 320 kbps mp3 ripped on decent software is right up there with FLAC , posted on September 14, 2020 at 06:49:24
tketcham Audiophile Posts: 6701 Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA Joined: March 21, 2005 Contributor Since: October 1, 2005	That hasn't been my experience listening to music on my stereo. In the car or through a portable music player, where there is a fair amount of ambient noise, the 320 kpbs is quite good. But if I want to sit and hear the full measure and subtle nuances of music playback I think lossless files are necessary, even with the limitations of 16bit - 44.1kHz sampling. Tom

RE: Vinyl Sales Surpass CD Sales For The First Time Since 1986, posted on September 14, 2020 at 07:06:20

Munkie_NL
Audiophile

Posts: 4859
Location: Netherlands
Joined: August 24, 2003

You have to be realistic. Both CD and LP have become niche markets. The vast majority of the recorded music market is streaming. I read somewhere nowadays the merchandising (T-shirts etc.) market is almost as big as the music market. Youngsters think it's cool to walk around in an AC/DC T-shirt even if they don't like the music.

"The torture never stops"

Greetings Freek.

Because they can carry around eveything that they would ever want to listen to in their pocket! )MT( , posted on September 14, 2020 at 09:56:04
J. S. Bach Audiophile Posts: 9575 Location: Chester, SC Joined: November 28, 2001 Contributor Since: June 29, 2004	Later Gator, Dave

I do. Spinnijng LPs in the car is too complex for me. I still roll cassettes and watch laserdiscs. )MT(, posted on September 14, 2020 at 10:22:11
J. S. Bach Audiophile Posts: 9575 Location: Chester, SC Joined: November 28, 2001 Contributor Since: June 29, 2004	Later Gator, Dave

At a thrift near me: records 4 = $1.00; cassettes 10 = $1.00; CDs 20 = $1.00!! ..., posted on September 14, 2020 at 10:26:20
J. S. Bach Audiophile Posts: 9575 Location: Chester, SC Joined: November 28, 2001 Contributor Since: June 29, 2004	...you are right, what is not to like? Later Gator, Dave

RE: Mostly, I just loved Nakamichi cassette decks., posted on September 14, 2020 at 17:22:50

mondial
Audiophile

Posts: 891
Location: S.E. ASIA
Joined: January 14, 2007

Hi John ,
I also had a nice Nakamichi 700 ZXE back in the day . When making tape recordings the heads Azimuth is adjusted automatically at first prior to tape recording . It's sounds great and true it rivals the reel tapes . The 700ZXE was as big as the top of the line 1000ZXL . Problem was when you playback recordings made from other cassette tape decks or commercially available prerecorded tapes it does not sound good . But one thing I noted w/ this Cassette decks even the top of the line Nakamichi was they were not able to handle the wide dynamic range of my moving coil cartridge ( Koetsu Black ) . Either the recording level is set to low or when I set the recording a little higher it would saturate the tape . Maybe I did not try hard enough . I regretted selling it .

Stay safe ,

Mondial

RE: I rarely even buy a CD..., posted on September 15, 2020 at 01:38:41
Goober58 Audiophile Posts: 5576 Joined: November 15, 2016	I have added about 12 CDs a year to my CD collection since 1990 and 35 vinyl records a year since 1972. Which sounds about what I buy yearly these days.

RE: Who plays CDs nowadays?, posted on September 15, 2020 at 08:55:07

John-from Seattle
Audiophile

Posts: 1154
Location: Tacoma
Joined: November 13, 1999

Totally agree, I don't do flac or any lossless formats as now a days you can purchase a 2TB drive for $70 on sale, $80, full retail (that is for the mechanical HDD), $100-$150 for the SSD versions of the same capacity drives.

Even with MP3 Vs WAV files at 16/44.1, the difference is subtle at best when you use 320 kbps rips and that is the slight dynamic range compression with the file, but otherwise, they both sound close sonically speaking, even in the car, I can if I listen intently enough, can tell when I'm listening to one or the other, and once I knew what to listen for, I can still tell while driving sometimes.

Again, it's subtle but there once you are cognizant of it. I began doing MP3 but in a folder where I just dumped without rhyme or reason some music files, I didn't even bother with converting to MP3, just 16/44.1 WAV and from that point on, pretty much stopped using MP3's. My head unit is only good for WAV 16/44 and MP3 formats as it's an older unit but can do BT and USB drives.

RE: 320 kbps mp3 ripped on decent software is right up there with FLAC , posted on September 15, 2020 at 10:27:31
ppopp Audiophile Posts: 2994 Location: OR Joined: October 10, 2002	I have heard some 320 kbps files not sound great. The software used for making them wasn't listed, but I have never had any issues myself. No background noise, no loss of fidelity. Naim amps, Tannoy Prestige speakers. Cambridge CXN, Fiio M11 sources. Room acoustic treatment. WASP speaker dialing-in.

Very funny, but the t-shirt would get hung up on the stylus I think. :^). nt, posted on September 15, 2020 at 16:51:22
alaskahiatt Audiophile Posts: 7501 Joined: December 9, 2000 Contributor Since: November 1, 2005	nt

You might keep an eye out for one of these . . ., posted on September 15, 2020 at 17:08:24

alaskahiatt
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Posts: 7501
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
Since: November 1, 2005

Car Audio

Me too. And me too! nt, posted on September 15, 2020 at 18:16:09
jusbe Audiophile Posts: 5950 Location: North Island Joined: April 4, 2000	Big J "... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal* salvation is a contradiction in terms."*

Thank you but, unfortunately, it does not spin LPs. :)} )MT(, posted on September 16, 2020 at 06:40:37
J. S. Bach Audiophile Posts: 9575 Location: Chester, SC Joined: November 28, 2001 Contributor Since: June 29, 2004	Later Gator, Dave

Very true. Sorry. Thought it was a great attempt to get long play, posted on September 16, 2020 at 11:56:17
alaskahiatt Audiophile Posts: 7501 Joined: December 9, 2000 Contributor Since: November 1, 2005	in a smaller size 16 2/3rpm record. I have never seen either the 7 inch LP or the car player, but there has to be a collector somewhere that has one.

RE: Mostly, I just loved Nakamichi cassette decks., posted on September 18, 2020 at 07:11:46

John Elison
Audiophile

Posts: 23900
Location: Central Kentucky
Joined: December 20, 2000
Contributor
Since: January 29, 2004

I prefer the Dragon to both of the Nakamichi decks you mention. The reason is that the Dragon is the only Nakamichi that automatically adjusts playback head azimuth to any tape being played. Those two decks you mention adjust record head azimuth to match their fixed playback head. This is not the same thing.

The left channel of the Dragon's playback head is divided in half so that each half cam be monitored individually while head azimuth is adjusted until the phase of the signal on each half is perfectly matched. The record head is fixed. The reason for this arrangement is so the playback head will maintain perfect azimuth when the tape plays in reverse. The additional benefit is that it will play perfectly with tapes recorded on other Cassette recorders with slightly different head azimuth. In my opinion, the Dragon was the best cassette tape record Nakamichi every made.

The Dragon also had Dolby C noise reduction, which allowed it cope with the expanded dynamic range of cartridges like your Koetsu. If you had owned the Dragon, you would have loved it. There really was no other cassette that even came close to providing the recording and playback quality of the Nakamichi Dragon.

Best regards,
John Elison

Metadata -nt, posted on September 20, 2020 at 15:41:27
E-Stat Audiophile Posts: 37583 Joined: May 12, 2000 Contributor Since: April 5, 2002

RE: Mostly, I just loved Nakamichi cassette decks., posted on September 20, 2020 at 20:01:31
mondial Audiophile Posts: 891 Location: S.E. ASIA Joined: January 14, 2007	Thanks for the reply John , I could have availed of the Nakamichi NR 100 Dolby C add on made specially for the 700 and 1000 series of that time . But I lost interest in cassette deck , but if I knew during that time the Dolby C is capable of wide dynamic range maybe I would'nt have sold my 700ZXE . Best regard and stay safe , Mondial

RE: Mostly, I just loved Nakamichi cassette decks., posted on September 20, 2020 at 23:24:23

John Elison
Audiophile

Posts: 23900
Location: Central Kentucky
Joined: December 20, 2000
Contributor
Since: January 29, 2004

Yes, Dolby C had noise reduction in-between Dolby B and DBX. Dolby C had just the right amount of compression and expansion whereby it sounded good and yet provided enough noise reduction to increase dynamic range just the right amount without any audible pumping like DBX. The other advantage of Dolby C over Dolby B is that it didn't obliterate the high-frequencies like Dolby B. I thought the Dragon with Dolby C noise reduction sounded so good that I got rid of my Revox A77 reel-to-reel and bought a second Dragon. I'm not saying the Dragon made cassette tape sound just as good as reel-to-reel, but it came so close that I no longer felt the need for reel-to-reel. Of course, when Digital Audio Tape (DAT) came out, it sounded even better to me than reel-to-reel or my Nakamichi Dragon so I switched to DAT in 1991 and I've been into digital recording ever since.

Best regards,
John Elison

RE: Vinyl Sales Surpass CD Sales For The First Time Since 1986, posted on September 21, 2020 at 17:35:07

SteveM324
Audiophile

Posts: 164
Location: Michigan, USA
Joined: January 25, 2002

I only play CDs when friends come over and they want to play their CDs. I haven't played a CD for myself in several years. I own about 500 CDs. I've been streaming Tidal and now Qobuz for the last 4 years and I enjoy it a lot for finding new music. If the engineers did a good job of recording and mastering the album, I feel that Qobuz streaming can sound excellent. I also have about 2.5TB of digital music stored on my Aurender hard drive, of that about 1.5TB are DSD and hirez 24/96 or 24/192. Most of my files are WAV but I do have some hirez FLAC files that were given to me. I still buy vinyl of my favorite recordings because I feel analog sounds better than hirez on my 2 systems. I buy about 50 vinyl albums every year where as I have only bought a couple of CDs in the last 10 years.

Vinyl Asylum

Vinyl Sales Surpass CD Sales For The First Time Since 1986

99.151.38.41