@billstevenson Bill, I’m like you in that I actually have more vinyl than anything else. However, in my case, my turntable is in need of repair and I have not bothered getting it fixed or replacing it. Vinyl was a means to an end, but in my humble opinion, a more rube Goldberg system couldn’t be arranged if you were trying. I had more than enough years of trying to be extra careful about caring for my records, cleaning, not getting fingerprints on them, worrying about whether the turntable was adjusted correctly. When the other media came along, I was more than happy to say goodbye to clicks and pops and scratches. I appreciate those who say it’s the ritual. That’s fine. As far as the “sound“, to me it was a high noise floor. I am more in the camp that says it’s the recording and the mastering that makes the sound.
Rudy Van Gelder on Vinyl
I was reading about the esteemed recording engineer on Roon and came on this quote.
"I think it has been a tad too quiet around here lately so here it goes:
In a 1995 interview Mr. Van Gelder said, "The biggest distorter is the LP itself. I've made thousands of LP masters. I used to make 17 a day, with two lathes going simultaneously, and I'm glad to see the LP go. As far as I'm concerned, good riddance. It was a constant battle to try to make that music sound the way it should. It was never any good. And if people don't like what they hear in digital, they should blame the engineer who did it. Blame the mastering house. Blame the mixing engineer. That's why some digital recordings sound terrible, and I'm not denying that they do, but don't blame the medium.[16]"