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Poll: Vinyl or CD?

CD sounds way better to me. The 'softness' of a vinyl recording is way overshadowed by the clarity and superb reproduction of sound in a CD.
 
CD... because I can't find a CD player that those big black discs fit in so they don't sound like anything 😀
 
Years ago, this would have been a no brainer for me to vote for vinyl. Nowadays, CD's just sound so crisp. I know it doesn't really count in this poll, but an SACD or a re-mastered CD just proves that digital 1's and 0's can sound incredibly non-digital.
 
I will always prefer vinyl. I love my LP's and I'm not about to part with them. I like the "warmth" of vinyl's sound better. Digital's vastly superior signal to noise ratio and lower inherent fragility is great though.

Still, in theory analogue is superior if the signal to noise problem can get cleared up. A continuous function can represent more data than the discontinuous digital function. Problem is that analogue is so susceptable to noise that this is a moot point.

ZV
 
With the majority of ATOT being in their teens, I'm surprised vinyl has any votes, much less is making a run at CDs in the poll.
 
I find vinyl to be less "fatiguing." My ears don't get tired after hours of listening to vinyl. Sound quality-wise, I really can't tell the difference between vinyl that isn't beat to hell and a CD. I'm just not that picky.
 
Vinyl.

It sounds warmer, not as harsh, also the soundstage seems to have depth.

These subjective evaluations exist somewhere deep in Squisher brain so to disprove them is to have a deeper knowledge than he does of their inner workings.

It doesn't help that my sound system is built around Klipsch speakers which are brighter than most.
 
Since the title of the thread is "which sounds better to you, I can't really argue with anyone. They do sound different. But there are analogue purists out there who claim as fact that analogue sounds better. These people have simply convinced themselves that it sounds better because they want it to sound better. Many of them want to pretend that they have some sort of ultra sensitive hearing that can discern the minutest difference. They want to be part of a made up, self determined elite group of audio enthusiasts. It's really a case of self dillusion and mild dementia. Reading places like rec.music.audio makes me sick.

But if you enjoy it, then hey, whatever.
 
You can make a CD sound like vinyl.
Drop the bottom end at 40hz, roll of the lows from 120 to 40hz, roll off the highs, and compress the music to a 70db range
 
Originally posted by: Jzero
I find vinyl to be less "fatiguing." My ears don't get tired after hours of listening to vinyl. Sound quality-wise, I really can't tell the difference between vinyl that isn't beat to hell and a CD. I'm just not that picky.
Click to expand...

it depends on what you're listening to. you can't put a hot mix on vinyl.
 
I have heard no CD that can compare to vinyl on a good tube amplifier. There is absolutly no comparison. Redbook CD's have such limitaions they can never sound better. Some sound very good, but you have to go to SACD to start to approach the sound quality of vinyl. Even than, it debatable if SACD if as good as LP.

With a solid state amp you have crap for high freq, so the issue is moot unless you are using tubes, than the highs will just sing, the soundstage will blow you away, and you will run to every rummage sale to buy all the vinyl you can find!

Squisher...you are running Klipsch speakers? On solid state? If so, try tubes, you will ove the horns with tubes. Honest.
 
Originally posted by: glen
You can make a CD sound like vinyl.
Drop the bottom end at 40hz, roll of the lows from 120 to 40hz, roll off the highs, and compress the music to a 70db range
Click to expand...

haha
 
Originally posted by: Twerpzilla
I have heard no CD that can compare to vinyl on a good tube amplifier. There is absolutly no comparison. Redbook CD's have such limitaions they can never sound better. Some sound very good, but you have to go to SACD to start to approach the sound quality of vinyl. Even than, it debatable if SACD if as good as LP.

With a solid state amp you have crap for high freq, so the issue is moot unless you are using tubes, than the highs will just sing, the soundstage will blow you away, and you will run to every rummage sale to buy all the vinyl you can find!

Squisher...you are running Klipsch speakers? On solid state? If so, try tubes, you will ove the horns with tubes. Honest.
Click to expand...

b.s. i would love to put you up into a blind A/B comparison of about 20 or so samples of music and see if you could pick out the analogue sample at least 50% of the time.
 
Originally posted by: kyparrish
Originally posted by: glen
You can make a CD sound like vinyl.
Drop the bottom end at 40hz, roll of the lows from 120 to 40hz, roll off the highs, and compress the music to a 70db range
Click to expand...

haha
Click to expand...
I have tube amps.
I have SS amps.
I have $6,000 mains and custom subs.
I used to buy into thta tube amp and vinyl crap.
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Originally posted by: Jzero
I find vinyl to be less "fatiguing." My ears don't get tired after hours of listening to vinyl. Sound quality-wise, I really can't tell the difference between vinyl that isn't beat to hell and a CD. I'm just not that picky.
Click to expand...

it depends on what you're listening to. you can't put a hot mix on vinyl.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow you...you mean you can't burn your own records? That doesn't have much to do with what one thinks sounds better...
 
The clue as to which is better is that you can make a CD sound like vinyl by degrading the sound quality.
But, you can't make vinyl sound like a CD.
Folks love to feel special, and the more someone wants to feel special the more they will ignore reality.
People like to think they are that special person who has to listen to vinyl, sort fo like the Princess and the Pea.
 
OK, been an audiophile for about 15 years now.

There simply is no comparison. Vinyl will always sound better to my ears.

Its not a nostagia thing, its a tone thing. CDs just simply sound brittle and bright. Unfortuanately.

I'm talking tone - a violin sounds like a violin and not a shrill, piercing sound when comparing vinyl to CD.

I love CDs. I think they are the best media ever invented, but the tone produced by a good analog stereo (once heard) cannot be beat.

Thankfully we have SACD/DVD-a to try and balance the scales so to speak. I just wish the CD format wasn't completely and totally bastardized by compression like it is today - but there are a few labels/engineers out there that take total advantage of it and they do indeed sound great.

But that is the exception, not the norm.
 
Digital will alway have that step between bits, which you could increase the bits but it would be $$. Some people still perfer vinyl since it doesn't have the step. I prefer CD as mentioned beacause of portability.
 
Originally posted by: Jzero
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Originally posted by: Jzero
I find vinyl to be less "fatiguing." My ears don't get tired after hours of listening to vinyl. Sound quality-wise, I really can't tell the difference between vinyl that isn't beat to hell and a CD. I'm just not that picky.
Click to expand...

it depends on what you're listening to. you can't put a hot mix on vinyl.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow you...you mean you can't burn your own records? That doesn't have much to do with what one thinks sounds better...
Click to expand...

a hot mix is one that is 'loud', and isn't very dynamic. you can't do that with vinyl or the needle will skip out of the grooves.
 
Originally posted by: glen
The clue as to which is better is that you can make a CD sound like vinyl by degrading the sound quality.
But, you can't make vinyl sound like a CD.
Folks love to feel special, and the more someone wants to feel special the more they will ignore reality.
People like to think they are that special person who has to listen to vinyl, sort fo like the Princess and the Pea.
Click to expand...

Glen,

I ask you - have you ever heard a nice analog setup or been in a recording studio? Its pretty darn incredible.
 
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