Is vinyl dead ?

07-14-03: Twl - Amazing how it is still kicking the butt of the CD after 20 years, isn't it?

In what respect? Where do you get your numbers/information from?

I agree with Egrady. I agree with him that the majority of consumers out there think that CD sounds good enough and, in fact, superior to what vinyl sounded like on their mass market turntables (hiss, pops, and all of the bad TT specs).

Add to this the added convenience of being able to take their music anywhere in this form; no "tweaking" hassles of TT's; etc., and you find that in fact the CD may even be short-lived. Again, the large majority of consumers want good enough quality in favor of convenience. I believe that MP3's (or some similar digital file format) will send the CD/SACD/etc. to a similar end result as vinyl is currently seeing today (small/niche market). You don't have to worry about "skipping" problems with solid-state players. Even the best portable CD players today cannot resolve this problem completely (100%). And, you get even more storage capability to play even more songs. All at even less quality (more loss of information due to compression, file sizes, etc.) than CD - much less SACD!

Although, I believe that vinyl will continue to live a fairly long and continued life...but as a "niche" or seemingly underground (not meant in a negative context ;) market like it lives in today. I also believe that the CD will soon (relatively speaking) follow in its footsteps. :)

Twl - Vinyl may be kicking CDs' butt for quality (to a relatively small group of consumers, like those here on AudiogoN), but to the majority of consumers...CD has been kicking vinyl's butt where it counts (numbers sold/$$). Sure, there is a small group of consumers like those here on AudiogoN that will continue the "niche" audiophile market and who love the "best" quality that can be obtained by one's current budget, including vinyl. But, for the masses - convenience is "king". That's the way it's always been, and always will be. :)

Wes

07-14-03: 4yanx - I don't think vinyl will DIE.

Glad to see that you agree with me, 4yanx! :)

Twl, thank you for your kind words...and I agree with you as well. ;)

07-14-03: Twl - ...and in the car I use CDs.

And, soon you'll be using MP3's (or some other digital file format) - as many are already doing with the influx of MP3 capable units increasing on the market (for both home and car use). ;)

Wes

07-14-03: Jeffloistarca - p.s. you have to be tone deaf to think MP3's sound anything like music. No wonder they're free to download at will, no one in their right mind would actually buy a MP3 recording.

This is your opinion (and probably the opinion of many on this forum). But, again, for the majority of consumers MP3's sound just fine (even good!) and they are much more eager to pay for the songs that they actually want vs. paying for songs they don't like (such as on a LP or CD). This is already happening, and will continue to increase!

This really isn't just about convenience. For the majority of consumers (like it or not), CD's & MP3's sound just fine - even good - for all of their listening pleasures (not just "on the go")!

I forgot to mention this earlier...you can see this in all kinds of markets - like HDTV. The only reason we are getting HDTV is that it is being forced on broadcasters and consumers (and everyone in between) by the government (via the FCC). The majority of consumers don't care about the added quality of the picture (and isn't enough to bring about such a change - and isn't enough to sell HDTV products alone).

I don't know if this is still true (wouldn't be surprised if it were), but back in the 90's, I believe it was, the #1 speaker (based on number of units sold) was Radio Shack! Most people don't want "the best", they just want what fits them within their budget (or even less, so that they can spend money on what they really want to - such as their hobbies, etc.). For many (if not most) here on AudiogoN, "audiophile" activities (including vinyl) is at least somewhat of a hobby, thus the difference between those here and the "average consumer".

I find myself somewhere in the middle of the two...I want good quality but have a limited budget (as most here do). But, specifically as it relates to vinyl - most of the "software" (music) that I buy is not on LPs (and is a small niche market), so if I want to be able to purchase what I want to listen to...that means following the mainstream (for the most-part). Sure I can find some old stuff in my genre from time-to-time. But anything new will be on the mainstream distribution platform of the time.

And, again, for the record - I am not a "nay-sayer", I don't believe that vinyl will DIE...just that it will have a limited following (as it does currently). Sure it's numbers will fluctuate from time-to-time, but I don't believe that it will ever be in prominence as it once was.

Wes