The Great CD vs Vinyl debate

[jetblacksdad]

Vinyl for the groove, digital on the move!

Agree that Japanese vinyl is always the best but modern vinyl is also perfectly fine.

Pressing plants vary. I compared an original pressing of the Banshees Tinderbox vs new. The new was by far better! Possibly due to it being remastered.
Who knows.

What I do not get is people buying expensive vinyl and using shitty little Crossley record players. Nonsense!

The cartridge and stylus used are also very important. I'm a fan of Ortofon and high output for quality and clarity but i don't go mad with mega amps etc.

[toilerinblack]

I think i was one of the last people to change over from Vinyl to CD or i certainly was in my social circles. So many people told me on very regular basis how much better CD sounds compared to Vinyl. Also of course it was becoming less and less chance of getting the albums you wanted on Vinyl and CD became more important to own.
So i cant remember exactly when but i took the plunge i bought myself a new and very good hifi system with a CD player and went out and started buying all the Vinyl i had owned all over again on CD. I first replaced all my Stranglers catalogue.

My first memory was how CD sounded different and i thought not as good. Vinyl sounds like it fills the room when you play the record but CD seems to have a held back sound i later learnt that CD are compressed and thats what i was experiencing. Vinyl to me almost felt like a live sound that resonated through out the room in comparison and i really miss that. Even though CD has no interference sound i do miss that crackle and hiss at the beginning of a song as its just about to play that sort of added the anticipation and excitement of the song to me.

No one i don't think has mentioned the convenience of CD. I could never go back to vinyl because i love the playlists i can create i have music on in the background all day and i can have playlists that last days if i really want to. Vinyl you have to get up literally every 20-25 minutes to turn the disc over or change the disc completely. I can mix album or artists or mix any song i like with anything i like by using CD and transferring all the songs to my devices and Laptop.
I agree totally with you Toiler about the Vinyl playing was a bit of a ritual thing and i remember focusing very much on the cover and reading the song titles over and over again and looking at the cover photos as i listened to the album. Handling the vinyl at the sides of the disc and cleaning after every use and dropping that needle on to the vinyl it was very much an event to listen to an album. Good times.

I now stream my music straight to Sonos mobile Speakers at CD quality through the Wifi (much higher quality) or Bluetooth use voice commands to play anything i like for how ever long all from my seat if i want. Playlists with Individual tracks , individual albums , Individual Artists or just anything , everything in anyway i want. Not to forget how mobile digital music is as well you can just take your music with you wherever you go

The convenience of digital music far out weighs vinyl and I couldnt go back to Vinyl now.

Yes you have raised a major point in the CD corner about playlists and Convenience you are right there...Good post by you iI found it a good intresting read....
For me it's the quality v owning but your right convenience and building up a set list to how you exactly want it is untouchable and there is no comparison there for the old vinyl it is what you bought and that's right, today's digital technology is second to none even though once you get crap in there the CD jumps and skips track after track and I get really pissed off in the car when it keeps doing that and having to keep ejecting and giving it a quick wipe lol
So overall the sound is very important versus the owning of it.