[Solan]

When the CD was introduced, the hi-fi dealers were high in the hype that the CD had the superior sound quality. Some of us never bought that, and kept our turntables and LPs. In the late 80ies, I remember listening to a classic reccording (Arve Tellefsen on violin) on both
* my medium-fi stereo with vinyl (amp and speakers $600 each, turntable a Thorens with Orthofon slightly more) and
* a friend's hi-fi stereo with CD (NAD's more expensive stuff)
and notice two differences:
1. Vinyl sounded "warmer"
2. There was something just wrong with the CD sound that gave me a headache.

No doubt the CD has evolved since then; I no longer get a headache listening to them. But that first experience marked my relation to the two media. Also, given the CDs inherent limitation vis-a-vis playing complex high frequency music (cymbals sound very jingly in MP3, but the jingliness doesn't disappear in lossless or CD), the LP wins for audiophile experiences. But not for convenience.

But is it all about CD vs LP? Well, I can list four candidates for sound

1. CD (well, this one won't win)
2. 24bit/96kHz digital
3. LP
4. Big Tapes (like they used for master tapes in the old days). Using the full width of a VHS or BetaMax for sound

I think there's a tie between 2 and 3 for second place, but with how expensive equipment? Number 4 however ... can you beat the quality of the master tape? I think not. The master is the master. So maybe the return of the LP is an intermediate stage before we return to those broad tapes (OK, I admit it; I've forgotten what they're called in English!) Or maybe digital will win in the end if we just up the ante; most mastering today is DDD, which means that any LP pressed has been through digital anyway, and you'd get the best results by going to those masters (24bit/192kHz?)

You do of course have the question of cost: maybe equipment that can do justice to the higher-rate digital will be beyond the wallet even of those who build concrete sockets for their $10000 turntables? But then again ... tapes The only area I can see those broad tapes losing out to LPs would be aesthetics.