There is a lot of music on old records that is not available otherwise. Plus you can create you own mix. I say go for it and have fun.
Vinyl rips - still worth it?
Streaming is getting better. Is it still worth it, to record vinyl to digital files?
I would like comments based on experience.
One basic issue should be mentioned. When you record a LP you are the owner of this recording. You can bring it along and play wherever you want. It is not just something you rent, like with streaming. You can play it regardless of an internet connection. And if your main system breaks down, or you get out of vinyl playback, you can still have a large library of your vinyl albums, in digital format.
Some factors are quite clear. The better the LP production and sound, the more value of a recording. The better your analog playback chain, and the recorder, the more value. The chance rises, that it will sound better than streaming.
Your experience is welcome.
My personal view is that, with fairly good LPs and a fairly good playback system and recorder, vinyl rips are still worth it.
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My digital streaming leg of my system sounds as good and sometimes better than my very good vinyl leg. I don’t think recording my vinyl would improve the sound. Since I think it is pretty natural once streaming’s sound quality is equal to or better than that of your vinyl collection, most folks focus changes from the few thousand recording you have heard many times to the millions you have not. So, the question is tricky. Personally, I do not waste my valuable time copying music when I have millions of albums at my finger tips. |
I still do it but with decreasing frequency. Only with records I have that I have to hear and not on Qobuz. I listen while “ripping” the record then it always gets streamed from there. If I did not have a very easy and good quality record cleaner (HumminGuru) I’d probably do it even less now. Sound quality is a wash and streaming with Roon is night and day more versatile in every way compared to playing a record. Once in a while I may get an urge out of habit to play a record just because. |
It depends on what you are using to rip the records. Using Channel D's Pure Vinyl software on an Apple computer at 24/192 the rips are indistinguishable from the real thing. This is the program Michael Fremer uses. It is also ergonomically brilliant and makes ripping vinyl a simple job. I use it to raid friend's record collections of rare records. |
Typically, the LPs I rip are favorites that are either not available on Qobuz, or are so sonically superior on LP that the digital copy is unlistenable. It's a tedious process if you want a quality result so I don't do it often. After all, it's not that much trouble to just put an album on the turntable and let it spin. |
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Trouble enough for MJD. Silly post. One can download streamed music for "off internet" play. Tracks are scrambled for playback (for customers only) via the app. I have 40K+ tracks that I can "play anywhere", not requiring a TT or internet. I can enjoy my favorite music in the car etc. Unless you have a DSD recorder you are not going to capture full vinyl SQ so I wouldn’t waste my time recording tracks that are available digitally. Record Qobuz or Tidal instead. You have made no mention of "rip" methology, quality varies immensely. A CD recorder is sufficient for me to get an actual "rip" to digital files. The post is titled rip but ends with recording. Totally different realities. Only $400 + a USB preamp (Apple only) buys you a program that merges both complete with a time consuming editor.
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Dear @o_holter : Through the next months/years the streaming will goes better and better when analog just can't improve.
The best recording library it belongs to the diferent streaming sources making the rip a no sense to me. MUSIC lover targets is to listen MUSIC the one that like each one of us through the recording source that through the time can give us the better quality. Gentlemans that own thousands of thousands of LP ( as me ) need the stock space where the LP's are " seated ". There are several reasons why rip has no sense at all but this is me.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R.
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Thanks, all! Replies stretch from "go for it and have fun" to "waste of time". I am in the first camp. But why aren't there more of us? I mean, there are lots of Audiogon members who (still) prefer the sound from good LPs to the sound from streaming these same albums from Qobuz or others. But only a fraction bothers with recording their LPs. Why? Recording is more work, true. And you need a good recorder, preferably DSD. But once you've done it, it is just as convenient as streaming. Or almost. You can get a DSD-capable recorder and a pocket-size 5TB external hard drive for far less than a costly interconnect. So, why not try it? Bring along the best of your vinyl collection wherever you are, along with a small DSD-capable DAC. This is fun. But of course, if you prefer streaming to analog playback, this is not for you. Raul, whose opinions I often agree with, writes that digital streaming is developing while analog is not. Here I disagree. Analog recording, mastering and playback is also developing. Yes, it is a bit amazing, since it is in a way "stone age" compared to digital. But remember when the CD came, and was touted as "perfect sound forever"? The LP was declared dead. But it isn't. In my case, using Lyra cartridges for many years, there has been a tremendous development, from the early Clavis, to Titan, and then Atlas. Likewise, good phono stages like Aesthetix Io have evolved. Recently I brought along my little DSD playback system to holiday home we rented for a period. My son Lasse, who has better ears than me, and likes digital streaming, said 'this sounds real good'. It was atmospheric late evening listening, with a glass of wine and whatnot, so an extremely subjective test. But you get the drift of it. |