I recently cleaned house--seriously--and got rid of slews of old cassette tapes, many of them my replacements for vinyl records I gave up (muffled) years ago. Now, I am in the process of looking for CDs I had on vinyl all those years ago but many do not have the sound quality of the records I remember--especially those I played over and over again. Two recent buys of CDs I haven't heard since I owned them on vinyl are: Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear and the BeeGee's Spirits Having Flown. And although I think these CDs sound good there is something missing from the sound quality and experience that I remember having when I excitedly opened up those new vinyl albums way back when.

At first, I thought it was just the fondness of looking back. Then, I thought that maybe it was the sound on the stereo system. But now I think that there is a big difference between the sound quality on the CDs and the vinyl albums I used to own. The nuances, intonations, and clearness are inferior on the CDs compared to those aforementioned LPs. The CD versions sound almost too brisk and crisp--the sound is colder than vinyl--at least from what I remember. I find myself so wanting to hear these and more, again, on the turnstyle.

Is it just me or do others who originally owned LPs feel the same way about the CD versions? And, for those who do feel as I do, what would you recommend as a new record player for someone who hasn't owned one since the dinosaur days of the '80s?

Yeah, okay, on second thought this is probably a naive question to the max on this board!

I would hate to remember a song with hisses, and pops. Sorry, That's just how i feel.

As a matter of fact, its a legitimate question. Something I didn't notice until these past recent years.

Remastering or compressing an album to fit a CD format doesn't always end with pleasing results. Legacy & Rhino/Hip-O(sometimes) are consistent when it comes to the sound quality, but damn near everybody else end up sounding stale,,,,,SO stale.

In fact, some remastering processes omit some of the instrumentation, you'd be wondering like a moron why a certain session musician or a background vocalist is included in the song's credit but his/her playing/singing is nowhere to be found through out the song.

I'm all for remastering, but I grew skeptical toward it.

Don't know but i'm converting some of my vinyl know to cd. From some reviews

i have read it states that with the proper album cleaning and a very good stylus

and with software technology that some of them may actually sound better than

the original cd. I have my files ready. I'm actually going to burn some of them today

on cd. I think if you have taken good care of your vinyl over the years then that

may be a legitimate argument.

You are not alone. Do a search for "Why does vinyl sound better than CD?"

Somebody mentioned HipO. right on. I've got about half their catalogue. Do i love them? yes i do.

I'll be honest. I do not miss vinyl. I miss large size artwork, putting the record on the turntable and dropping the needle, but that's about all.

therevolutionwillnotbe said:

Vinyl was just much more FUN than cds, or especially MP3s.

You really felt like you were holding something in your hands. A digital file doesn't even feel like it exists to me, it's like a wisp of air that just goes away and is instantly forgotten.

You have to remember the vinyls were cut right after the master (which was mixed for vinyl), so the sound you get is the closest to the original vision.

Harlepolis is absolutely right about certain instruments or sounds missing when the masters are revisited.

I think another part of the warmth comes from the noise of the grooves grazing the needle, which sounds warm even when it is the silence between songs. Nahmean?

I miss the pop and crackle. Very organic.

I prefer cd then mp3 then vinyl then cassette. I tend to buy more mp3s than anything else, but I still have over 900 cds. I guess I keep them so I can put the songs I want back on my pc if something should happen to them. Maybe one day, I will decide which songs can be found online via mp3 and get rid of those cds and keep the hard to find cds on which the songs cannot be found as mp3. I also have a usb turtable for vinyl, but the sound is pretty much still the same. And once I try to take out all the pops, which there really aren't that many since my vinyl is in good condition, the sound quality is still a vinyl sound. All in all, I prefer cd and mp3. If I can't find the songs I like on those formats, I keep the vinyl and cassette. Also have a usb cassette deck to create mp3s also. Vinyl and cassette are lowest on my list.

1. CD
2. Mp3
3. Vinyl
4. Cassette

[Edited 9/26/10 11:53am]

I don't think anything sounds better than vinyl.

rmartin70 said:

I don't think anything sounds better than vinyl.

Nope.

And people keeping speaking of vinyl in the past sense. It's sales are increasing! I keep explaining this, but nobody listens. Siiiigh. CDs will be gone LONG before vinyl, probably in the next decade.

Cerebus said:

rmartin70 said:

I don't think anything sounds better than vinyl.

Nope.

And people keeping speaking of vinyl in the past sense. It's sales are increasing! I keep explaining this, but nobody listens. Siiiigh. CDs will be gone LONG before vinyl, probably in the next decade.

What would you recommend as a new record player for someone who hasn't owned one since the '80s? Can you hook the new ones up to an old stereo system or can you only hook it up to a computer? Could use some professional advice from someone who knows about new turntable technology...I know nothing.

Just discovered an internet station @ shoutcast.com that only plays vinyl. I'm hearing some great R&B, disco, and jazz on this station. Sounds amazingly good even on my cheap plug-in laptop speakers.

Cerebus said:

rmartin70 said:

I don't think anything sounds better than vinyl.

Nope.

And people keeping speaking of vinyl in the past sense. It's sales are increasing! I keep explaining this, but nobody listens. Siiiigh. CDs will be gone LONG before vinyl, probably in the next decade.

I know... I'm still buying vinyl and people look at me funny.

Cinnie said:

I think another part of the warmth comes from the noise of the grooves grazing the needle, which sounds warm even when it is the silence between songs. Nahmean?

I always wondered if those big ol' wooden cabinets had something to do with it too?

[img:$uid]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/delivertheword/collection/3650084177_1c66297641.jpg[/img:$uid]

babynoz said:

Cinnie said:

I think another part of the warmth comes from the noise of the grooves grazing the needle, which sounds warm even when it is the silence between songs. Nahmean?

I always wondered if those big ol' wooden cabinets had something to do with it too?

[img:$uid]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/delivertheword/collection/3650084177_1c66297641.jpg[/img:$uid]

That's true, you're likely to have iller set-up for listening to vinyl than any other format.

Cinnie said:

babynoz said:

I always wondered if those big ol' wooden cabinets had something to do with it too?

[img:$uid]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/delivertheword/collection/3650084177_1c66297641.jpg[/img:$uid]

That's true, you're likely to have iller set-up for listening to vinyl than any other format.

You had a whole piece of furniture just for your music...it was real wood too,

BTW the name of the site with all vinyl records--R&B, Disco, and Jazz-- is called "vinyl resting place of missed hits" on either radiotuna.com or shoutcast.com. Sounds terrific. Check it out!

babynoz said:

Cinnie said:

That's true, you're likely to have iller set-up for listening to vinyl than any other format.

You had a whole piece of furniture just for your music...it was real wood too,

It really was about the sound system and speakers back in the day! My parents' wooden console looked great but the sound system my Dad got after he disposed of the bulky piece of furniture was way superior to the wooden console...

purplethunder3121 said:

babynoz said:

You had a whole piece of furniture just for your music...it was real wood too,

It really was about the sound system and speakers back in the day! My parents' wooden console looked great but the sound system my Dad got after he disposed of the bulky piece of furniture was way superior to the wooden console...

Yeah we eventually got rid of ours and upgraded too...I was just wondering about the tone coming out of the wood cabinet.

babynoz said:

purplethunder3121 said:

It really was about the sound system and speakers back in the day! My parents' wooden console looked great but the sound system my Dad got after he disposed of the bulky piece of furniture was way superior to the wooden console...

Yeah we eventually got rid of ours and upgraded too...I was just wondering about the tone coming out of the wood cabinet.

There was an old cabinet stereo with a radio in it at this one place I rented... the radio never sounded better

Cinnie said:

babynoz said:

Yeah we eventually got rid of ours and upgraded too...I was just wondering about the tone coming out of the wood cabinet.

There was an old cabinet stereo with a radio in it at this one place I rented... the radio never sounded better

It is true that a wood cabinet enhances the tonal quality of radios and record player speakers...but my Dad built some BIG-ASS wooden speaker cabinets and put top of the line speakers in them (for the time) and the records NEVER sounded better!

purplethunder3121 said:

Cinnie said:

There was an old cabinet stereo with a radio in it at this one place I rented... the radio never sounded better

It is true that a wood cabinet enhances the tonal quality of radios and record player speakers...but my Dad built some BIG-ASS wooden speaker cabinets and put top of the line speakers in them (for the time) and the records NEVER sounded better!

purplethunder3121 said:

Cerebus said:

Nope.

And people keeping speaking of vinyl in the past sense. It's sales are increasing! I keep explaining this, but nobody listens. Siiiigh. CDs will be gone LONG before vinyl, probably in the next decade.

What would you recommend as a new record player for someone who hasn't owned one since the '80s? Can you hook the new ones up to an old stereo system or can you only hook it up to a computer? Could use some professional advice from someone who knows about new turntable technology...I know nothing.

The truth of the matter is you need neither a USB Turntable or USB Tape deck. You can

buy a standard turntable on line for less than what you would pay for a USB turntable.

You can easily hook a standard turntable up to your computer with a line in cord to run

from your sound card to your receiver and convert vinyl to MP3 or CD. You can do the

same with a tape deck or a boom box with a cassettte. There are tutorials on line to

help you with your connections.

I don't miss the popping and crackling either. Matter of fact, when I listen to a CD that's been obviously mastered from vinyl, it drives me nuts!

Another reason why I prefer CD to vinyl is because there are several reissue CDs that I have listened to and hear things or notice enhancements that I did not notice on the vinyl version.