databank said:

Anything that sounds close to "it was better before" is everything I'm fighting against on a daily basis. I can't condone it, sorry.

As far as I'm concerned, digital is now the only musical format. Period.

i feel sorry for you. some things were "better before". its a fact of life. fortunately, we still have vinyl and the tech to play it. do yourself a favor grab sum vinyl and do sum research.

jonylawson said:

does vinyl REALLY sound better?

i have never really listened to vinyl..i imagine it has a warmth

omg, you kids today . considering that vinyl is a by-product of oil production, and oil came from dinosaurs, it has a warmth unlike digital tech. it makes sense, really. sound produced from living beings attached to a by-product of living beings, equals a connection to feelings that you could never get from digital processing.

As usual you came correct with the Funk!

Giovanni777 said:

databank said:

Well, sad 4 u.

See, I am the future and u're just... old?

Sorry, databank, but there are many people I know that are in their twenties that prefer vinyl. These people range from general consumer to pro audio to musicians and engineers.

Also, vinyl has been on the rise for the past 5 years.

As an audio engineer and musician, I have had this discussion for many years now. I also consulted many engineers, studios, and pro audio folk in proper digital audio recording for about 11 years, so I'm hip to it... I just prefer analog.

YES, lossless (uncompressed) digital audio at 88.2kHz, 96kHz, or 192kHz, and at 24 bit is great through a proper stereo system, but you cannot denegrate vinyl nor analog, and they will never die.

Also, in this case, the OP is comparing hearing Prince albums on vinyl to hearing them on those early crappy CDs (or worse yet, mp3s). There is no debate on this. Even a general consumer can clearly hear the difference, and you know it.

~G

.

[Edited 6/18/13 10:37am]

I love Prince on Vinyl! I have all of his albums with exception of the last few on vinyl

and they sound great. I do need to get the 180g releases, though....OK, off to Amazon!

8up said:

I love Prince on Vinyl! I have all of his albums with exception of the last few on vinyl

and they sound great. I do need to get the 180g releases, though....OK, off to Amazon!

Great, that's the right spirit..

EMPEROR101 said:

Hmmm... What record is that? I just love a good mystery.

A&M records, that ain't Prince, could be an old Supertramp LP?

I just thought it was a cool picture.. but, If you want to daydream...

It could be..

Giovanni777 said:

EMPEROR101 said:

Hmmm... What record is that? I just love a good mystery.

Giovanni777 said:

I have never needed Prince's earlier albums to be remastered digitally, simply because I have all of the vinyl, and still play it.

The only thing that could come close to vinyl would be uncompressed (lossless) digital from the source material (master tapes), at 96kHz to 192kHz sampling rate, and at 24 bit.

Please note that the CDs that were manufactured for these albums were done at a time when mastering for CD was young and terrible. The A/D D/A converters weren't nearly as good then, and they didn't know how to compensate the levels.

There's more, but I won't bore you.

Example:

Play both '1999' and 'Lovesexy' on vinyl, then play the released CDs and listen.

The vinyl is big, warm, dynamic... the CDs are flat and low volume by comparison.

~G

Have u checked out the HD Tracks issues of 1999, Controversy, or PR?

EMPEROR101 said:

I just thought it was a cool picture.. but, If you want to daydream...

It could be..

Giovanni777 said:

Hmmm... What record is that? I just love a good mystery.

-

I miss hearing vinyl. I had LPs and 45s when I was little, and I remember them sounding AMAZING.

I really would love to hear the 180g Purple Rain LP, but I'm flat broke at the moment and can't afford a wrecka playa and a good stereo system.

My 2nd Choice was Jesse.. But, I'll take a Quincy Jones Production over a Jesse one Any day of the week!

Shango said:

EMPEROR101 said:

I just thought it was a cool picture.. but, If you want to daydream...

It could be..

-

luv2tha99s said:

jonylawson said:

does vinyl REALLY sound better?

i have never really listened to vinyl..i imagine it has a warmth

omg, you kids today . considering that vinyl is a by-product of oil production, and oil came from dinosaurs, it has a warmth unlike digital tech. it makes sense, really. sound produced from living beings attached to a by-product of living beings, equals a connection to feelings that you could never get from digital processing.

erm...................im fourty

Hey Jonylawson-

Im going to have to say YES!

Of course its important to have a decent Hi Fi system.. a needle in good condition ect..

But, Sonically what you will hear coming out of your speakers (IMO)

Is a much more detailed, Deeper, Richer, more pleasing to the ear sound..

Warmer is the word i hear used most often but, what does that mean?

To me its the difference between a new leather jacket and your old favourite one thats soft and contoured to the shape of your body.. same with a pair of shoes.. Vinyl to me just sounds like what records are supposed to sound like.. I cant say that i would need to hear a modern / all digitally recorded album on vinyl.. but, anything from the good old days of analog...HELL YEAH!!!!

jonylawson said:

luv2tha99s said:

omg, you kids today . considering that vinyl is a by-product of oil production, and oil came from dinosaurs, it has a warmth unlike digital tech. it makes sense, really. sound produced from living beings attached to a by-product of living beings, equals a connection to feelings that you could never get from digital processing.

erm...................im fourty

[Edited 6/21/13 8:10am]

bluefish said:

I miss hearing vinyl. I had LPs and 45s when I was little, and I remember them sounding AMAZING.

I really would love to hear the 180g Purple Rain LP, but I'm flat broke at the moment and can't afford a wrecka playa and a good stereo system.

aww, but thanks for the story and the message...

I think (prince or otherwise) vinyl is a journey,the beginning or the end, u either bought it as the only medium available then bought cassette, then transferred to cd then realised it sounded better when you were younger and got those records and 12" out of the attic while still downloading live stuff on mp3 or viseversa u started with the downloading..either way Vinyl is the best...from that first crackle even after swipping with the anti static brush, to the first bar, as I'm writing it's "duh duh duh.......I ain't got no money..". I get more enjoyment sitting down, relaxing and putting on a record, getting up, flipping it over,listening to side 2 and all the while looking at/reading the cover, engineer, titles credits etc than I do from listening to a CD or putting on the ipod(especially when it's on shuffle)..my honest opinion!!

EMPEROR101 said:

Hey Jonylawson-

Im going to have to say YES!

Of course its important to have a decent Hi Fi system.. a needle in good condition ect..

But, Sonically what you will hear coming out of your speakers (IMO)

Is a much more detailed, Deeper, Richer, more pleasing to the ear sound..

Warmer is the word i hear used most often but, what does that mean?

To me its the difference between a new leather jacket and your old favourite one thats soft and contoured to the shape of your body.. same with a pair of shoes.. Vinyl to me just sounds like what records are supposed to sound like.. I cant say that i would need to hear a modern / all digitally recorded album on vinyl.. but, anything from the good old days of analog...HELL YEAH!!!!

jonylawson said:

erm...................im fourty

[Edited 6/21/13 8:10am]

Thanks!
so the new reissued vinyl..its all the same?

or is the old vinyl somehow different?

man i had so much vinyl as a teen i never listened to..billie holliday originals,sinatra etc

djThunderfunk said:

jonylawson said:

does vinyl REALLY sound better?

i have never really listened to vinyl..i imagine it has a warmth

A good clean record on a nice turntable with a good needle played through a decent amp & speakers sounds fantastic. If you are used to digital recordings on cheap equipment, you will be blown away. Not to mention the artwork & packagaing is much sweeter than CDs or an album cover tag on an mp3.

so i see a few rcord players being sold now...

any good? whats a good system?

whats a good vinyl i will HEAR the difference ??

cos to be honest my mp3's sounds okay to me!

jonylawson said:

djThunderfunk said:

A good clean record on a nice turntable with a good needle played through a decent amp & speakers sounds fantastic. If you are used to digital recordings on cheap equipment, you will be blown away. Not to mention the artwork & packagaing is much sweeter than CDs or an album cover tag on an mp3.

cos to be honest my mp3's sounds okay to me!

You would notice a difference in sound if you had a set up as suggested, especially if you are used to hearing music in mp3. You don't have to spend huge sums to achieve a good sound. My current set up is mid range, nothing major expensive or audiophillic, I added good quality cables and a quality stylus and my vinyl sounds good.

The thing is, I can't really be arsed with vinyl, I find it cumbersome and a pain to store. It sounds good and all that but 90% of the music I listen to is digital, but it has to be lossless. I have my laptop hooked up to my hi-fi amp with a ton of albums/whatever available at the click of a button or two. I rarely even play cd's any more.

something vintage and decent can be found if you look hard enough.. charity shops...

yard sales.. car boot sales... many people think these things have lost their value.. good luck

I got an really good Hi Fi System for $10 at a yard sale 3 weeks ago..

this model..

jonylawson said:

djThunderfunk said:

A good clean record on a nice turntable with a good needle played through a decent amp & speakers sounds fantastic. If you are used to digital recordings on cheap equipment, you will be blown away. Not to mention the artwork & packagaing is much sweeter than CDs or an album cover tag on an mp3.

so i see a few rcord players being sold now...

any good? whats a good system?

whats a good vinyl i will HEAR the difference ??

cos to be honest my mp3's sounds okay to me!

jonylawson said:

djThunderfunk said:

A good clean record on a nice turntable with a good needle played through a decent amp & speakers sounds fantastic. If you are used to digital recordings on cheap equipment, you will be blown away. Not to mention the artwork & packagaing is much sweeter than CDs or an album cover tag on an mp3.

so i see a few rcord players being sold now...

any good? whats a good system?

whats a good vinyl i will HEAR the difference ??

cos to be honest my mp3's sounds okay to me!

I would recommentd a Techniques Turntable. If you can get a hold of an old tube amp, that would be best, Pioneer made some great ones. Make sure your speakers are some good ones with good high end cables. If this is too expensive forget the speakers and use a good pair of over the ear headphones.

-

As far as what vinyl to listen to? My suggestion to another Prince fan would be Sign "O" The Times or the recent 180gm release of 1999.

-

No matter how much you enjoy this though, it's unlikely that vinyl will replace mp3 as your normal listening experience.

-

It's not portable and you will always have far more content available in the digital format. For an optimal listening experience, though? You won't be disappointed.

-

Honestly, I'd see if someone I already know is an audiophile with a good vinyl setup, buy the 2 albums I mentioned, and spend a few hours at the audiophile's house to sample the experience. Beats spending a bunch of $ without knowing if it's worth it to you.

-

Yes it is, playing it frontwards (and even backwards).

Good times

so it begs the question

how does the quality of a cassette compare??!!

if vinyl is the golden child where does everything else compare?

and is it factual or subjective?

great thread by the way

jonylawson said:

so it begs the question

how does the quality of a cassette compare??!!

if vinyl is the golden child where does everything else compare?

and is it factual or subjective?

great thread by the way

Cassettes were heavily reliant on too many factors.

.

* The type of tape.

* The source of where the music was taken from

* The quality of the recorder

* The quality of the player

.

Sometimes you could get the perfect mix of the above and it was

.

But usually it was a lot of hissss and shit.

callimnate said:

jonylawson said:

so it begs the question

how does the quality of a cassette compare??!!

if vinyl is the golden child where does everything else compare?

and is it factual or subjective?

great thread by the way

Cassettes were heavily reliant on too many factors.

.

* The type of tape.

* The source of where the music was taken from

* The quality of the recorder

* The quality of the player

.

Sometimes you could get the perfect mix of the above and it was

.

But usually it was a lot of hissss and shit.

yeah..and that ominous noise when it got all tangled up and you had to get your pencil out to spool that shit back in!

Giovanni777 said:

I have never needed Prince's earlier albums to be remastered digitally, simply because I have all of the vinyl, and still play it.

The only thing that could come close to vinyl would be uncompressed (lossless) digital from the source material (master tapes), at 96kHz to 192kHz sampling rate, and at 24 bit.

Please note that the CDs that were manufactured for these albums were done at a time when mastering for CD was young and terrible. The A/D D/A converters weren't nearly as good then, and they didn't know how to compensate the levels.

There's more, but I won't bore you.

Example:

Play both '1999' and 'Lovesexy' on vinyl, then play the released CDs and listen.

The vinyl is big, warm, dynamic... the CDs are flat and low volume by comparison.

~G

well what if one was to record CDs from the vinyl ...wouldnt that be easier than to maintain a record player...isnt it a bitch to find needles and belts?

i dont know ...the radio shows sound fantastic..why would u think vinyl is better

Its relatively easy to find turntables in perfect working condition these days... vinyl is getting popular again. and it sounds better... looks better.. and is Waaaay cooler!

luvsexy4all said:

Giovanni777 said:

I have never needed Prince's earlier albums to be remastered digitally, simply because I have all of the vinyl, and still play it.

The only thing that could come close to vinyl would be uncompressed (lossless) digital from the source material (master tapes), at 96kHz to 192kHz sampling rate, and at 24 bit.

Please note that the CDs that were manufactured for these albums were done at a time when mastering for CD was young and terrible. The A/D D/A converters weren't nearly as good then, and they didn't know how to compensate the levels.

There's more, but I won't bore you.

Example:

Play both '1999' and 'Lovesexy' on vinyl, then play the released CDs and listen.

The vinyl is big, warm, dynamic... the CDs are flat and low volume by comparison.

~G

well what if one was to record CDs from the vinyl ...wouldnt that be easier than to maintain a record player...isnt it a bitch to find needles and belts?

EMPEROR101 said:

Its relatively easy to find turntables in perfect working condition these days... vinyl is getting popular again. and it sounds better... looks better.. and is Waaaay cooler!

You are so right. I went to the record store Friday evening after work and saw some college kids that go to SMU buying NEW and USED vinyl. It made me feel really good to see the 20-somethings buying Daft Punk, JT's 20-20 and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" on vinyl.