I get that the vinyl covers are bigger and better, but I've also heard that some actually like the vinyl sound better. How can that be since the CD sound is more realistic?

some people say vinyl sounds "warmer".

peter430044 said:

Personally, I like the sound better. It's richer, crisper, and more intimate. Nothing in life is perfect, so why should music be? CDs/digital sounds "filtered" to me at times and too perfect. When you go to a concert, you want to hear everything including imperfections, why not on discs? On great records, the artists can sound like they are sitting in front of you singing. Most cds lose that sensation for me.

I used to get told off big time when I stated my thing for records vs cds, but I have great ears

I think it's a matter of preference. Even within vinyl pressings there's sound-difference between lp's and 12" singles. More tracks on an lp can result in a lesser dynamic sound because the vinylgrooves are pressed more tightly together.
This example has been explained good by Bruce Swedien, who mastered MJ's "Thriller" and told about that they tried to explore a new boundary in order get the sonic sound on the lp to another level.
A number of tracks still had to get reduced to lesser playtime because that overexposure of time is what made the first testpressing of "Thriller" sound totally not what they had in mind in the first place.
If you have lp-tracks also on 12" singles, then you could take a listen and hear the difference. I sometimes added a few singles after taping an album on either a cassette, cd-r or mini-disc, and that's when i really noticed about it. There are collectors who mainly buy 12" singles for that reason. There's still development going on with cd's. Last few years there were various new audio-formats introduced, such as Super Audio CD, or a hybrid mix of a SACD which can be played on regular cd-players as well.
A notable change in the current audio-technology is the dynamic sound. Earlier cd-pressings from the 80's & 90's have often much lesser dynamics, and the cd-audio in general is a compressed sound which makes the difference with the lp-sound.
[Edited 6/11/09 10:47am]

I'm a vinyl addict and I don't even have a CD player at my house. I would never switch to CDs.

There are many reasons.

1. If you love records, you love everything about them. The look, the smell, the artwork ... everything.

2. The records I collect - vintage Soul, Funk and Jazz - are collectables. A lot of them are very rare and pricey, and I look at my collection as somewhat of a safety net when retirement comes around.

3. Many of the records I own, probably most of them, have never been released on CD.

4. Vinyl sounds better. That's no myth. With a proper system, you'll get a much warmer sound, like Anx said above, with much more bottom. If you DJ, you'll find out in clubs how much better vinyl sounds. Not too long ago, I Djed with a guy who brought his laptop instead of records. When he started playing, the dancefloor immediately cleared - and that wasn't because of the music. But you could hear the difference in sound. It's hard to put in words, but obviously everybody felt the same that night.

Granted, if you listen to contemporary music, CDs may be better for you if you like good listening sound at home. But that's not the case if you mainly listen to older music (1970s and older). Recordings back in the day were not recorded for CDs. They were recorded for vinyl. Which is why the sound on vinyl is the closest to the original live sound. Especially old Soul and Funk sounds somewhat life-less and stale on CD.

Bottom line, I'd never switch to CDs. I got many of them, because people send them to me. And I listen to them in my car. But if it's a record that I really love, I actually transfer it from vinyl to CD, so I can keep the original mix.

But whatever floats your boat. But mark my words, CDs will be gone one day. Vinyl is here to stay.

There's nothin quite like the feelin u get when u hear that crackle before your favorite song starts 2 play.... It's magic...a whole lot of magic....

About 95% of recorded music I listen 2 at home is vinyl.

CDs R limited 2 their very design, spec and nature.

They, like all digital medium, are sampled moments in time, sequentially, and mimic a continuous sound wave.

CDs R limited 2 44.1kHz sampling rate, at 16 bit.

24 bit is the standard in digital audio recording.

Even worse, are the "laptop DJs" using MP3s.

MP3s R severely limited, due 2 their compression rate. Although the 320 kbps is pretty good, it's not close to .WAV format (no compression), or CD quality.

VINYL is analog, so there is no sampling rate, bit depth, or compression ratios 2 be concerned with.

Giovanni777 said:

That's exactly the problem, which is why not even Final Scratch is a good alternative to vinyl, because you'd still play mp3s.

Many of the points I was going to cover have always been brought up:

-There are many albums on vinyl that have never been made available
on CD.

-CDs just are not as durable as vinyl. You scratch them mothafuckas and it is a wrap.

-The artwork (I even use them as decoration. Some of my favorite Donna Summer record covers are hanging on my wall).

-The crackle before your favorite song and the reflective silence at the end of an album.

-I also heard that when an album is made into CD form, some of the sound levels are lost and it has more of a mono sound.

-CDs have a slower playing speed. (The first time I heard "You So Heavy" by Teena Marie on CD, it was noticeably slower and to me it lost some of the heavy rock edge it has on the slightly faster vinyl version.

-My mom was young when she had me and she was a BIG record collector. She did not switch over to CDs to till much later (and the collection is just not as good). Some of my fondest memories of childhood are sitting in the living room and listening to records.
[Edited 6/11/09 11:30am]

Lovesexy82 said:

we still have our record player, though it's an electric one which we got in the late 80's after having a big one with a needle. I still played records until the mid 90's and bought my first CD in 1995 though we got a CD player in 1993. I recently bought a portable record player with the needle and am playing records again, as I took a lot of my parent's old ones and kept them in my room and have tons of jackson remix singles I found on record when going into vintage stores.

MrSoulpower said:

With "Serato" and "Final Scratch" you can also play .WAV and .AIFF, uncompressed formats.

To me, vinyl just seems to have more bass in it and just sounds better. It's also much less fragile than CDs and the size of it always gives way for much better artwork in the packaging. Also, although they make CD players with pitch control nowadays, you can still manipulate vinyl more by putting your finger on the edge of the record and slowing it down if the tempo starts to stray.

we still have our record player, though it's an electric one which we got in the late 80's after having a big one with a needle. I still played records until the mid 90's and bought my first CD in 1995 though we got a CD player in 1993. I recently bought a portable record player with the needle and am playing records again, as I took a lot of my parent's old ones and kept them in my room and have tons of jackson remix singles I found on record when going into vintage stores.[/quote]

I've thought about buying a portable record player. Right now I have a stereo system that had a record player/CD/tape player that is kinda a clunky and a bitch to move when leaving an apartment.
[Edited 6/11/09 11:29am]

To me, the crackles make it more authentic to the era it was recorded in. When I have the vinyl, I feel like I actually have the original. When I have the CD, I feel like I only have a copy, especially nowadays since CDs are recordable.



Actually, I think the CDs may be more true to the original speed of the song. The reason I say this is, I remember back in the day when I would hear songs on the radio, they were slightly slower than my vinyl that I was playing at home and radio back in those days played vinyl only because CDs weren't invented yet. I took my stereo (one of those AM/FM, 8 Track, Cassette, & Record Player all combined deals...table top stereo as we used to call them) to the Radio Shack in which I purchased it. I played my vinyl of "Let It Whip" for them and let them compare it to "Let It Whip" that I had recorded off the radio. They then took the record and put it on a more expensive DJ turntable with the pitch control and it was the same speed as the tape I made off the radio. So nowadays since I have good turntables, I always keep my pitch at around -2 after matching it with a CD version so I won't feel like I have a malfunctioned version of the songs.

peter430044 said:

It's all to do with nostalgia with me.. Vinly takes me back to my child-hood, sunday mornings listening to mixture of my Dad's Brooke Benton/Percy Sledge records & my older sister's J5 records. And those album covers you could use them as posters!

Lovesexy82 said:

NO WONDER "Change Of Heart" is all slow on the Greatest Hits of Change and the vinyl is just uptempo and FUNKY! I knew something was wrong! I knew it!



I get the feeling I am INSIDE of the album and song when I listen to a vinyl. I burn my vinyl to wav files..and they sound awesome. My turntable costed $250 with a mixer ...I couldnt ask for better sound...the thing is though with some other people's record players is that when they have burnt them..they seem to need a mixer because some of them have too much bass..or no bass and alot of treble..where the CD there is always the same level..which in essence is the same for vinyl..however everyone doesnt have the same player and equilizer.

The quote about the DJ's was ON POINT!!!! I swear...when the DJ I know goes in2 her cd set....it just loses all feeling!!! The bass and warmth are gone and doesnt sound the same.

NpgSoldier said:

I had no clue. DJing with digital soundfiles is just a different world to me - a world that I will never travel to.

I think it depends on how the music gets mixed and produced as to whether or not it sounds better on the different formats.Something Made and Mixed Digitally, probably sounds great on CD and crappy on Vinyl.

I like Both formats. I will get vinyl if I can simply because I like the feel of vinyl and many new albums are coming out with really heavy vinyl so it can't get scratched easily. Or if an album is older and there is no reissue that has made the recording sound better, I will get that on Vinyl. Case in Point Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. I sought out a good copy on Vinyl because I knew it would sound good. It also came with a song book and a 45 of extra songs. That's another thing. I like the packaging on vinyl too.

superspaceboy said:

Ya know, I've never heard any Motown at its very best on cd. For some reason, it always sounds best on vinyl.

superspaceboy said:

My favorite format is this one:



Of all vinyl formats, 45s sound the best. They don't have the cool cover artwork (at least not those released in the 1960s and early 1970s), but they are more handy when you travel with them or go to gigs. Also, many good Soul and Funk 45s have never been released on album.

Then all you need is this:



And a good case. This is the one that I use for longer trips:

Yeah, but u dont get vinyl in FLAC format!!! I wont deal in anything else other than FLAC!!!! U can really tell the quality of normal sound against FLAC!!!! ALL my CDs that I burn are in FLAC format and u certainly cant get FLAC vinyl!!!! Plus, I remember years ago, that u only had 2 have the slightest little scratch on vinyl and u would hope and pray that the stylus wouldnt stick!!!!!

Desire2006 said:

If you like digital formats, that's your preference. But digital formats don't come with beautiful cover artwork, with the smell of an old record store, with the slightly crackling sound that I just love and a value of sometimes $2,000 combined with the feeling that you hold something very special in your hands.

MrSoulpower said:

Also, thats fine, if u live in a huge big mansion 2 store mountains and mountains of vinyls, but if u are like me and only live in a small one bedroom apartment, then u have no choice but 2 b compact!!!!

Vinyl tends to sound better

I've listened to the vinyl editions of Prince's 1999 and Michael Jackson's Bad albums back to back with the CD editions and the vinyl editions win

Desire2006 said:

You don't need a huge mansion. You just need some solid shelves. But I agree, it's difficult. I'm gonna have a conflict with my wife sometime soon, when I'll tell her that we need to buy another shelf and her books will have to go into the attic ..

MrSoulpower said:

Only thing I miss about vinyl is the artwork factor, otherwise, I prefer CDs. Many times, I've heard things on the CD version of an album that simply was not there on the vinyl version. Plus, vinyl takes up way too much space. I have a truckload of vinyl sitting in my basement, taking up room and collecting dust. I've gotten rid of a lof of it over the years but record stores don't buy used vinyl like they use to. Can't tell you how many used stores I've been to over the past couple of years that were trying to clear out their vinyl stock by selling the albums for 50 cents to one dollar. I know of absolutely no one who still owns a turn-table.
[Edited 6/14/09 7:17am]

Nostalgia purposes and they don't scratch as easy as CDs. The only great thing about CDs is that you can skip songs with the push of a button and they take up less space, but vinyl sounds just as good (sometimes better) than CDs to me.

kitbradley said:

Oooh, what you got over there that you don't want, friend? I'll take them off your hands. I bought a 5-in-1 player just 2 years ago from Linens-and-Things...they had one that converted your vinyls to CDs, which was pretty cool. It plays vinyls, cassettes, CDs, AM/FM radio, and my MP3 player; but the only reason I bought it was to play my vinyls. I frequent this record shop here in Orlando called 'Retro Records'. My friend and I went in there just last week and before we left with out handfuls of music, the guy had just got a huge (and I do mean HUGE) shipment of 45s in. The cheapest he sells his vinyls for is $2 and those are usually singles. That shop is hidden, but it's been in business for over 20 years now....he even sells 8-tracks up in there and all this other music memoribilia. Man, I could live up in that place.