rvpiano
Nice thread. Server/Streamer(s) are a fool's errand, indeed. Nothing beats (no pun) physical media. CD and SACD forever-here.
Happy Listening!
Records and CDs
I’ve just spent a couple of weeks exclusively going through my extensive record collection playing hardly any digital media and have come to some conclusions.
Records are fun and enjoyable to work with, but ultimately for a music lover they’re a dead end. Since very few new titles are being released on records these days I find myself going through mainly old familiar performances. Then there’s the age old problem of comparing the SQ of both media which is maddening. I just today went back to streaming (and CDs.). I clearly see, for me this is the way to continue my listening habits. Records can be used as a diversion but not the main event.
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I split my listening time between vinyl, CD, and digital (high-res files and streaming service like Spotify and Radio Paradise) and the sound quality varies greatly depending on the year something was originally issued and the specific medium, or the original master recording source (tape vs digital). Heck I have new records where the digital version is better (cleaner and more detailed and revealing) than the same album pressed on brand-new vinyl. I have recordings by artists whose catalog was predominately issued on CD and only now are being "remastered" for vinyl reissues. When I go to my local record store and I'm looking for new-to-me jazz/funk/R&B records I tend towards the used vinyl vs the new re-issues will most likely not be great and have less dynamic range. Heck, even the mid-80s 'cheap' reissues of jazz, blues, and R&B are closer to the original master tapes than today's reissues, and often the used copies sound way better. For newer electronic and ambient artists, most are releasing only high-res digital files, CDs and maybe special vinyl pressings. I tend to stick to digital files with a preference for CDs because I like having the physical package and the SQ of the CDs on my system sound great. I don't lean strongly towards one medium or the other as I buy music that is important to me personally for my collection. For everyday background listening with the family, it's strictly streaming. I use RP and Spotify as "new music to me" sources as well. I can dig deep into an artist's catalog without the expense of trying to buy every release. At the end of the day, listening enjoyment and getting the most out of my collection is what it is all about and seeking out the best recording version is what I try to do without bias towards one medium or another. |
As @benanders points out, the comparison can be invalidated just by the difference between the masters. You just don’t know what version the streaming services have. Most of the time it isn’t the same. Pressing itself matters even if it’s the same master. There are so many variables there’s just no way to win for either of the formats. |
My vinyl purchases nowadays are pretty much limited to Jazz and classical. Why? Because playing that vinyl forces me to kind of sit down and listen to the whole 20 plus or so minutes of music without skipping around tracks and artists that I do when I stream Tidal. A lot of the newer releases and the course some of the older ones and those genres sound beautiful. |
I think vinyl is now just another audio sub-hobby for people wanting to buy equipment and collect vinyl for fun. CD’s are so much easier to use and generally better with no noise. streaming is becoming such excellent quality and you can listen for hours without having to move (as long as your internet is working). I personally prefer CD’s for sound quality, ease of use, and having to get out of the listening chair periodically! Maybe goes back to the nostalgia of servicing vinyl in the old days. Whatever floats your boat! |
@troutstreamnm With all due respect, you came across a bit condescending. Those of us who collect and love vinyl do so for more than just another hobby. I'm young enough not to have known the "nostalgia of servicing vinyl in the old days", so my vinyl listening doesn't have a memory association. It exists for its own sake. |
I have fond memories from back in the late '70s and early '80s of a bunch of us getting together at someone's apartment or trailer and spinning LPs all day and all night and using the the album covers that folded open like a book to clean the seeds out of a bag of canibus. . . . I tragically gave up my LP collection at the end of 82 and then in the beginning of '89 when I was picking up another rack system I specifically opted to NOT get a TT. Then in the mid '90s when I started getting into better-end audio, it sure seemed like vinyl was still dead and I committed myself and my system to digital . . . just another one of many life choices I now regret. |
In the beginning, we had AM radio or vinyl. The we got FM and cassettes or 8-track. We have come a long way in the world of Hi-Fi. I still listen to vinyl when I am feeling nostalgic. Dad had a medium size collection of vinyl including Johnny Horton, Merle, even Ray Charles. He ruined every record stacking 6 at a time on the cheap record changer. Ow! @RVPiano |
Why would you want to get rid of your record collection that you worked very hard to culminate? It’s like a music library/history. That would be like saying I’m a book collector and I have created a beautiful library, but want to sell off the books because I can have them all on my kindle! Really? Would you actually truly still own those books? I don’t think so. Unless room Is of a concern, then why even consider such. To me, I find great satisfaction being able to walk on over to the record collection, randomly pulling one off the shelf and playing it. I sometimes even forget what I have and I’m surprised all over again. I find it peaceful to know I have that luxury of ownership. Streaming takes away a large part of the hobby, the touchy and Feely part. How much info are you getting from looking at a tiny screen, if there is a screen at all. |
@boxcarman I still own and use a stereo tuner, several actially. I own a dynalab, kenwood, camridge audio, and several others. I also own a nakamichi tape deck, as well as two Aiwa and a vintage Toshiba. I play them all. To me, both FM stereo and a "good" tape deck sound very very good to me. In fact, I’d rather listen to them more so than any stream of any sort. Something about that Analog sound. |
Too each his own. That said …. - to my ears, analog sounds better than digital. For example: I was able to tell that the sound quality of MOFI had declined, but I did not know why until the controversy leaped out into the press. |
In the classical field that I mostly listen to the vast majority of titles released or not on vinyl but on CD. Those that are on LP are twice the price, and despite claims, don’t sound as good as the originals. Like you, I like the rituals of analog, although I’m not sure it has better sound than digital on my set. |
I played a recent SACD of Brahms 4th Symphony on Reference Recordings (Honeck, Pittsburgh Symphony)a highly touted audiophile label, then played a recording of the same symphony on an LP recorded in the mid fifties (Van Beinum Concertgebouw Orchestra) The orchestral sound from the record was infinitely more realistic. just saying… |
RV, FWIW, I bought several RR CD’s of the Pittsburgh Symphony/Honeck performances. based on reviews. I listened to them once. Sound v performance? Who cares. Frankly I’ve not been overly happy with recent RR’s. Last liked them when it was with Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra. But I kept on trying. Now I’ve given up. :-( |
This is all 100% personal preference and I still much prefer my records over streaming. I should probably go separate DAC/streamer to compete with my analog but the Aurender A20 is so easy to own and use. My analog is a Rega P10/Koetsu Rosewood Signature/ARC Ref 3 Phono. On newly produced music, I often find there isn’t much of a difference, but on older recordings the vinyl just sounds better. I still enjoy getting up every 8-20 minutes....I mean that’s a good thing, right?? |
Don’t know how to compare a random LP recording with a random silver disc. Mike placement, hall acoustics, conductor preferences with instrumental seating and balances…. Lets just agree that it has been possible to make excellent recordings since the fifties that can compare with the finest made today, and that one can obtain excellent play back from vinyl, streaming, silver disc, and analog tape |