Buying new vinyl?

I'm going to take a swing and say my hypothesis on why some people prefer vinyl to digital. Before I begin, let me state I like vinyl and have a big collection.

Having said that, I think many prefer vinyl for a few reasons.
1) It is the sound they grew up with and use as their reference for recorded sound
2) Vinyl has a much higher sound floor than CDs. CDs can be a little to accurate and people find that glaring. The noise level of vinyl masks hard sounds, it is like having a white noise machine on in a noisy office.
3) Not sound related but LP covers are great and add to the music experience.

Recording artists have nearly all moved to digital for numerous reasons, including it being easier, but the quality of digital is more accurate. Every time you re-record the analog master you lose something, with digital that is not the case.

Elinor,

Why does vinyl sound more interesting? Is it possible to describe without adjectives like warmer, more exciting, and "better"?

It is a fact that vinyl has a poorer SNR than CD. MC is worse than MM and people prefer MC. Why? Is it more detail even though the actual dynamic resolution is reduced or something else?

Flat to me means less dynamics. The dynamic range of a CD is much greater than that of an LP.

Like I said, I enjoy LP's too and probably have a collection that is much larger than many people on this site, but I understand that it is a limited reproduction system.

Johnnyb53,

Why so personal? Do you have an issue with opinions or facts, or maybe both?

How about a test? Come over with your favorite LP. We'll record at a low 44.1 16bit PCM rate then play it back. We can compare the recorded LP to the digital version of it. If there is a considerable difference I'll get my young ears checked.

The point of my response was not to be dogmatic at all. My point is that you will not hear a difference in an LP mastered in digital versus one that is mastered in analog. In fact the latest stereo set of Beatles albums got great reviews for sonics and those were ADA not AAA. The sound of vinyl comes from the vinyl.

I doubt many people here listen to tape on a pro player like a Studer. That is a more accurate format than LP but certainly doesn't sound the same. There are plenty 15 IPS tapes out there and that should be more analog, no RIAA or dust concerns.

I agree. It all comes down the the mastering. I don't think the analog vs digital debate is honestly that important. You like vinyl, listen to vinyl, you like CDs, enjoy. But a poorly mastered recording is not going to be good.

As you stated there are some good ones now and some bad ones. I think it has always been that way. There was no "golden" age of mastering.

The buyer has always been uninformed of this, and the present is no different than the past.
The machines used to master an album (A or D) seems irrelevant to me. It is like asking what cutter head was on the cutting machine, or where is the vinyl sourced and what % is virgin. Largely irrelevant. It only matters if you like it or not.