Vinyl music - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by High_Q 

I'm new to this vinyl thing, and had some questions:  

-How does vinyls from 30 years ago differ from present vinyl?

-Are some vinyls better sounding than others?  If so, which vinyls?

-Does vinyl get worn out if played alot?  So, new vinyls are better sounding?

-vinyls from Best Buy good vinyls?

 

And lastly, recommend me some music that sound very good on vinyl. 

1) How does vinyls from 30 years ago differ from present vinyl?

They don't differ much. The main difference is that now most vinyl that is cut is cut with the use of a preview head that automatically tells the cutter head to narrow or widen the groove based on the amount of audio information coming in. This in turn allows for a more dynamic record that also saves more space for more music or the same amount of music with less distortion.

2) Are some vinyls better sounding than others?  If so, which vinyls?

Yes. 45RPM albums will sound better than 33.3RPM albums. Also, vinyl put out by companies like Audio Fidelity, Classic Records, Analogue Productions and Music Matters are usually top of the heap.

3) Does vinyl get worn out if played alot?  So, new vinyls are better sounding?

Yes, especially if played improperly. This does not mean that all new vinyl will sound better. It really depends. An original 1950's Sinatra gray label vinyl pressing will sound better than a newer pressing if all things are equal. It all depends and you need to do your research before finding that one special pressing. A properly calibrated record player will only slightly wear out the groove each time you play the record allowing for many, many, many more listening sessions.

4) vinyls from Best Buy good vinyls?

Again...it depends. I have purchased two vinyl records from Best Buy and they both turned out to be good quality.

Hope that helps!

Some good vinyl: Anything put out by the following companies:

Audio Fidelity, Classic Records, Analogue Productions and Music Matters

Quote:

Originally Posted by thornygravy 

I can them vinyls too, forget that jerk.

You mean, you can vinyls…like peaches? Does that enhance their sound?

Sorry, cats…couldn't resist…

Let me add something less flip: My rule tends to be, 'I buy old vinyl if I can, new vinyl if I must.' I haven't found that new "180 gram" pressings of old jazz records sound better, and in many cases, I haven't found the fidelity of "stereo" LPs to be necessarily better than "mono". I haven't done comparative testing on, say, music that was new in the '80s that was later available on CDs. That said, I own the most recent pressings of Joy Division's music and the Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique, and they sound unbelievable.

Vinyl quality is something really difficult to predict, what's certain is that heavy use will degrade sound quality, but you may find records from the 70's which sound awesome, and bad modern 180g pressings;

My Genesis 70-75 box set is pressed on 200g records but it shows some hiss or rumble here and there, right now i'm listening to a copy of Peter Gabriel - "So" from 1986, rather light, thin and flexible, but it sounds awesome with virtually no noise even in the lead in grooves, probably the most silent record i've ever heared, just like a CD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF 

45RPM albums will sound better than 33.3RPM albums.

Hi

I don't think it can be said that 45 rpm will necessarily sound better than 33 1/3.

At first you would think that surely they would because the faster speed means that the amount of groove travelled by the stylus is greater per second, however 45 rpm records increase the frequency of the surface noise and it becomes more intrusive.

12" singles were hugely common for dance music and that kind of thing. I have loads of them but I wouldn't say they sounded better.

The 12" singles came into being because 7" singles were really short in length, you could get 13 mins on a 12" single and this was very useful for dance music of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by p a t r i c k 

Hi

 

I don't think it can be said that 45 rpm will necessarily sound better than 33 1/3.

 

At first you would think that surely they would because the faster speed means that the amount of groove travelled by the stylus is greater per second, however 45 rpm records increase the frequency of the surface noise and it becomes more intrusive.

 

12" singles were hugely common for dance music and that kind of thing. I have loads of them but I wouldn't say they sounded better.

 

The 12" singles came into being because 7" singles were really short in length, you could get 13 mins on a 12" single and this was very useful for dance music of course.

That depends on the mastering and the type of vinyl used. All 45RPM records I have sound dead quiet and have some of the blackest background I have ever heard on vinyl. One important distinction that I didn't make was that all the 45rpm vinyl albums I have are from no later than 2002. I do have some 12 inch singles that sound great but they are not on par with the newer stuff I have.
 

Some interesting and very helpful posts here. Some garbage of course, but you get that on the big jobs...

Scratches aside, I can't say that I know a good vinyl from a bad one.  Be aware that most secondhand and some new discs come with the old snap crackle pop.  It comes with the territory, but if you can tolerate it, the rewards are great.  There are countless excellent recordings out there that are not available on any other format.  Which reminds me, I believe the quality of recording and mastering is far more important and noticeable than the quality of the pressing.  There are a few bods out there who publish lists of their favourite 'recordings', mostly classical mind you.

Setting up an analog system can be quite a challenge.  A couple of points:

Clean your records, then clean them again (even the new ones). Makes a big difference to reduce unwanted noise.  You don't need a cleaning machine, but one sure would be nice.  (I'm gonna build my own one day out of an old rim-drive player)

Make sure your cartridge alignment and tonearm are set up correctly, otherwise you risk damaging your precious vinyl.  I know, I've been there.

Unless you already have a system up and running (nothing in your sig), I suggest you opt for something simple and straight forward to begin with.  Rega and Pro-Ject offer some nice basic systems.  Try to resist the modding frenzy associated with some brands, it's mostly not worth it unless you have deep pockets and abundant patience.  

There is a bewildering array of choices and combinations of equipment, and here more than anywhere else, system synergy is paramount.  Good luck and have fun spinning the wax.

The most of today's vinyl records in the world are made in Czech Republic

Digital Media CZ (biggest vinyl record manufacturer in the world)

& they are really really good quality... they've made new software, that improves mechanical transcript, then they make colored ones (quality of audio is bit worse though cause of tricky technology), even original shapes of vinyl records all kinds. The quality of these vinyls is incredible... it always depends on quality of audio mastering in studio & that's often the problem in these days... some tracks are so badly mastered, that the final records is sh*t, the press manufacturer can't do much better than what they get from studio! The problem these days is in audio mastering in studios... not in press manufacture!

The new VINYL material by itself is much more advanced than the old one, but today there is too much producers & studio masters.... so always there be the bad ones too...

If you use vinyl records.. they will die eventually, but it needs really big amount of plays before they die! If you have engraved promo vinyl, or so called 'whitelabels'... there is real decrease of quality caused by long use, pressed vinyls are much better in this... but it's all in terms of 'DJ like' use... in home use with care you can almost vanish that, if you don't scratch them bad time.. they will be able to reproduce you the music in best quality long long time. CDs are less playable than vinyls...

Quote:

Originally Posted by aclim 

The most of today's vinyl records in the world are made in Czech Republic

Digital Media CZ (biggest vinyl record manufacturer in the world)

 

& they are really really good quality... they've made new software, that improves mechanical transcript, then they make colored ones (quality of audio is bit worse though cause of tricky technology), even original shapes of vinyl records all kinds. The quality of these vinyls is incredible... it always depends on quality of audio mastering in studio & that's often the problem in these days... some tracks are so badly mastered, that the final records is sh*t, the press manufacturer can't do much better than what they get from studio! The problem these days is in audio mastering in studios... not in press manufacture!

 

The new VINYL material by itself is much more advanced than the old one, but today there is too much producers & studio masters.... so always there be the bad ones too... " class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//biggrin.gif" title="" width="" />

 

If you use vinyl records.. they will die eventually, but it needs really big amount of plays before they die! If you have engraved promo vinyl, or so called 'whitelabels'... there is real decrease of quality caused by long use, pressed vinyls are much better in this... but it's all in terms of 'DJ like' use... in home use with care you can almost vanish that, if you don't scratch them bad time.. they will be able to reproduce you the music in best quality long long time. CDs are less playable than vinyls...

great words, bro and besides that

"real DJ use vinyls"