There was the time when I spent a lot extra to get an older pressing of Dark Side of the Moon. It tuned out to be not so great.i have heard better sound from CD's and streaming. My mistake I am sure, but it is tough when you spend extra and not get what you wanted. I still prefer Vinyl because of the Album Art, liner notes and joy of handling something so old that sounds amazing.
The problem with streaming
As I sit here listening to America Includes: "A Horse With No Name", I realized the problem with streaming. Who knows what source material you're getting with streaming? The album I'm listening to is a Warners Brothers green label. Sonics are absolutely incredible! The band sounds like they're in the room!
Navigating the pressings to find the best one can be challenging but that's part of the fun of the hobby. I doubt the same care is taken when generating streaming recordings. You're stuck with what they use, thus missing the incredible texture of the best recordings.
Of course, great care must be taken to set up the turntable and match all components downstream. I find the effort to be well worth it! There's just no substitute for great analog!
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- 90 posts total
"Erstwhile, there is a reason vinyl has enjoyed such a massive resurgence. It just feels good. There are many sensual reasons why we enjoy music. They all don't fit neatly into the "It just sounds better camp". Tactile, visual, pride of ownership and collection, and nostalgia all play a role." @ricmci, you nailed it! Why do we buy killer stereo equipment? Surely there's more to it than only trying to obtain the best sonics we can? For me, that's the driving purpose. However, pride of ownership also plays a role to varying degrees. That extends to ownership of a collection be it vinyl, CDs, tapes, or others. I take pride in owning a really great pressing and trying to preserve it. For me, nostalgia is a sentiment that I'm not able to shake when it comes to playing vinyl, it enhances my overall listening experience. |
We have reached a really exciting time in audio history. At long last digital can equal analog. So, for the next ten years or so, if you want the very pinnacle of sound quality you can go analog… but the shift is slowly tipping to digital. The digital and analog ends of my system are equal at this point (see my system under my ID). I am upgrading my turntable with a new arm and undercarriage , just for fun . But the two are completely in the same league… I suspect the upgrade will be a small improvement, fun. But in 10 years the least expensive way to sound quality will go to digital. I have really enjoyed analog. It has been the empirical ruler against which to judge sound quality since I was 7. But it is about to fall into history… as am I. Technology moves on, we enjoy the best there is during our lifetimes. Once it was 78rpm records. |
I’m a record guy for sure and will probably never stop buying physical media. i like to own things, it brings me pleasure and most of the time it sounds better. But from a convenience perspective I cannot imagine (willingly) giving up streaming at this point. I play qobuz in the mornings when I’m working and can’t easily pick out (and get up to flip) records, I stream it in the car, I trawl bandcamp for new stuff when I’m bored, I send songs to friends via text and they send songs back to me...streaming is a joy. I recommend anyone who’s still skeptical to consider the discovery aspect first and foremost - if you’re happy living with the same Beatles records you’ve been spinning for 50 years, more power to you, but if you’re tired of what’s on your shelves you can be listening to something brand new 2 minutes from now. It is so, so easy these days |
- 90 posts total