Therein is the issue. The reason why vinyl ends up sounding better in many cases is that it was mixed/mastered better than the version on the CD. Hating/loving vinyl versus CD is pretty silly in my opinion. Saying vinyl is absolutely better, or audiophiles are idiots for listening to vinyl are just opposite ends of the stupid spectrum.
What I find to be the dumbest thing of all is the people who have not even taken the time to listen to different things themselves, but try to generalize "audiophiles" as idiots. If there's one thing I've learned in my higher fidelity journey, it is to listen to your own ears. How many of you would call someone an idiot for saying something sucks when they haven't even tried it, yet I see people do that when it comes to audio stuff all the time. Certainly there is a lot of BS in the audio world, so I can understand people's disgust at dealing with it, but if you keep a level head and do your own thing, it is very rewarding.
CD's sound pretty good until you get an opportunity to hear them back-to-back with a higher-quality format such as 2" reel-to-reel, vinyl, or even just higher-quality digital tracks. I was sorely disappointed in the drop in realism, space, and fidelity when my band had to convert the masters for our album down to 16-bit, 44.1 kHz. The original tracks were recorded in 24-bit, 48 kHz, and sounded noticeably richer and smoother. The difference is like the difference between looking through a dirty window and a clean window. Your ears just kind of relax and stop trying to hear "through" the lack of clarity.
You also hear the difference going between Radiohead's last album in 45-RPM vinyl and CD formats. The vinyl sounds so much better you'd think you were listening on better speakers. Kudos to Radiohead for packaging the album on 45-RPM records instead of 33's, too.
You also hear the difference going between Radiohead's last album in 45-RPM vinyl and CD formats. The vinyl sounds so much better you'd think you were listening on better speakers. Kudos to Radiohead for packaging the album on 45-RPM records instead of 33's, too.
aircooled
Lifer
- Oct 10, 2000
- 15,965
- 1
- 0
MartyMcFly3
Lifer
Heck I have that happen with the radio or listening to something on the mp3 player. I'll be driving along, enjoying a song, get home, shut the car off as I sit in the driveway listening to the end - and the instant I shut the engine off the song doesn't sound as good.
Guess I'll just have to stick with audiobooks when I get my electric car
Siddhartha
Lifer
- Oct 17, 1999
- 12,505
- 3
- 81
If you want a CD to sound like a vinyl lp: get a high quality equalizer and lower the output at the higher frequencies. And you will get the warm sound. I am not sure how you can reproduce the surface noise of a vinyl album.
FlashG
Platinum Member
- Dec 23, 1999
- 2,709
- 2
- 0
I was very impressed with your response up until this point. You do realize that Vinyl doesn't even have dynamic range afforded by 16 bit wordlength (let alone 24 bit)? 44.1/16 or 48/16 are both plenty (almost overkill) for RIAA recording.
On the topic of mixes, since I am not a vinyl collector, I will take your experience as valid, but I have seen on several audiophile forums where the vinyl had the same crashed dynamics as the CD. Also, compression can be applied anywhere in the mixing process, so it is never valid to say any mix is "uncompressed".
Lastly, "the loudness war" is at the end of the day a matter of preference. No one can scientifically prove that more or less dynamic range usage is better or worse.
mrSHEiK124
Lifer
- Mar 6, 2004
- 11,488
- 2
- 0
Listen to anything from RHCP's album "Stadium Arcadium." Less dynamic range is horrible, that album is so compressed listening to it is actually PAINFUL. The snares on Dani California sound like glass breaking...
BIG mistake. Never keep an album sealed, can lead to warpage, etc. Best to just break the shrink wrap and place the album in an album sleeve.
As for comments that playing a vinyl album leads to degradation, I disagree to a point. As one poster commented, a properly set up turntable negates most wear. And LPs such as those produced by Mobile Fidelity, etc., hold up really well. MF is long gone unfortunately, but Rhino is actually producing some good stuff now days. Several other companies as well, including Linn (all hail the mighty LP-12 !!!)
Buried for putting "Back to the Future" in the topic only to have it not be about the movie at all.
Saint Nick
Lifer
- Jan 21, 2005
- 17,722
- 6
- 81
I wish recording studios understood dynamic range instead of smashing a mix right up to -0.00001 dBFS.
When mixing my band's songs, I will run them through a mastering suite (i'm no mastering engineer) and call it good. I set it to not be so intense and leave it at that.
When mixing my band's songs, I will run them through a mastering suite (i'm no mastering engineer) and call it good. I set it to not be so intense and leave it at that.
CKent
Diamond Member
- Aug 17, 2005
- 9,020
- 0
- 0
Steve Hoffman, a legend in the field of audio engineering, has said that the outer third of a vinyl recording can't be matched by digital (CD) audio, which is actually lossy (though for digital audio purposes it's considered lossless). I'd assume that this is because in a given amount of time, the needle on a record player covers a greater physical distance on the record during the outer third, which can therefore hold more information. He hosts a surprisingly busy audiophile forum with a lot of good information to be found, though the demographic there is older than AT and most of the music they enjoy is 60s-70s stuff, so YMMV. Not to say they aren't with the times; the horrendous quality of Metallica's Death Magnetic sparked such a long thread there it had to be closed and continued in a part 2 (whch itself is a megathread already).
While I agree with him conceptually, I think the vast majority of the problem with modern music stems not from the digital format, but the bad mixing & mastering which has become so prevalent in the past two decades. I've heard CDs which raise the hairs on my neck... AiC Unplugged (and for that matter, all the "Unlplugged" CDs have excellent sound quality, proving that even MTV can't do everything wrong)... Pink Floyd's The Wall MFSL remaster makes my fucking nipples hard, it's amazing... as are most MFSL (aka MoFi) remasters. DCC and other Steve Hoffman remasters sound great as well. The famous 'black triangle' pressing of Abbey Road is similarly impressive, though the actual recording could be better imo, probably due to the fact analog recording hadn't come into its own until a good 5-10 years later. On the other hand, I found the Black Triangle Dark Side of the Moon a bit sterile in comaparison to the lush MFSL version, though many people disagree.
FWIW, Monster Cables and Bose are jokes among the audiophile community. To say that "audiophiles" are silly for purchasing these subpar and overpriced products is misinformed, to say the least.
Anyway, sorry to necro this thread, though 2 months isn't really -that- bad, and I'd have felt silly starting a new one.
While I agree with him conceptually, I think the vast majority of the problem with modern music stems not from the digital format, but the bad mixing & mastering which has become so prevalent in the past two decades. I've heard CDs which raise the hairs on my neck... AiC Unplugged (and for that matter, all the "Unlplugged" CDs have excellent sound quality, proving that even MTV can't do everything wrong)... Pink Floyd's The Wall MFSL remaster makes my fucking nipples hard, it's amazing... as are most MFSL (aka MoFi) remasters. DCC and other Steve Hoffman remasters sound great as well. The famous 'black triangle' pressing of Abbey Road is similarly impressive, though the actual recording could be better imo, probably due to the fact analog recording hadn't come into its own until a good 5-10 years later. On the other hand, I found the Black Triangle Dark Side of the Moon a bit sterile in comaparison to the lush MFSL version, though many people disagree.
FWIW, Monster Cables and Bose are jokes among the audiophile community. To say that "audiophiles" are silly for purchasing these subpar and overpriced products is misinformed, to say the least.
Anyway, sorry to necro this thread, though 2 months isn't really -that- bad, and I'd have felt silly starting a new one.
It's interesting that they would talk about the quality of Metallica's Death Magnetic.
I've heard a lot about it. It's actually quite fascinating. I wonder if Metallica will do anything about it...
I've heard a lot about it. It's actually quite fascinating. I wonder if Metallica will do anything about it...
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