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New Vinyl's, are they worth it?

post #1 of 17
3/17/12 at 7:43am
Thread Starter 

Hi guys, I've been wondering this for a long time, I have a TT MK2, with old vinyls and 180g non-remastered stuff. But all of them date 1990- , so my question is: Are new vinyls worth it? I mean the new releases. I always wanted to buy radiohead, black keys or indie stuff in vinyl, but I'm afraid they're mastered in digital first, so I'll have no quality gain from the CD or downloaded version. What do you guys think/know about this?

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post #2 of 17
3/17/12 at 3:07pm
The only reasons I can think of to collect vinyl are to get music that isn't available on CD, get the original versions of music that has been remixed when it's remastered, or to get records for a buck or two a disk.
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post #3 of 17
3/17/12 at 3:52pm
I buy vinyl mainly for the fact that for much of the music I listen to, you simply cant get CD's of it.
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post #4 of 17
3/17/12 at 5:54pm

I purchase current music on vinyl including the artists you mentioned.  Most of it is recorded digitally so you aren't really getting any advantage there over the CD.  However, I like it because most of them come with the CD or a digital download code anyway, and I like the process of picking out a vinyl album and listening to it.  It just ends up being a more enjoyable experience for me compared to just listening to the mp3's/flacs.

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post #5 of 17
3/17/12 at 10:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jobie111 View Post

I purchase current music on vinyl including the artists you mentioned.  Most of it is recorded digitally so you aren't really getting any advantage there over the CD.  However, I like it because most of them come with the CD or a digital download code anyway, and I like the process of picking out a vinyl album and listening to it.  It just ends up being a more enjoyable experience for me compared to just listening to the mp3's/flacs.



Yeah, thought so, picking an LP, putting it in the turntable and just staying put there, listening to it it's just an inexplicable experience :)

 

And paying U$20~50 in a vinyl, that comes with CD or mp3 320k download code it's really nice.

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post #6 of 17
3/25/12 at 2:44pm

Also, I find the new stuff on vinyl has much better dynamic range.  The CD or Download Code is usually more compressed.  I've done a few needledrops to 24/192 FLAC and the Waveform between the two is unreal!  There's magic in the grooves!

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post #7 of 17
3/25/12 at 4:33pm

To me its like the standard question of stand-alone or tube. What kind of sound do you like the most I like those warm hums myself. As for archiving, digitalizing any works is probably the best way to go at this point.

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post #8 of 17
3/25/12 at 5:40pm

I'm not sure if this is absolutely correct, but here's what I think. I'm guessing most professional recording studios record in 24 or 32 bit and 96 or 192khz (I'm not sure though. I just assume they use the highest quality). Since a CD can only be 16 bit and 44.1khz, and vinyl isn't limited by bit depth and sampling rate, then pressing that high quality recording to vinyl should be a higher quality than a CD. However, if they record in 16 bit and 44.1khz, then vinyls and CDs would basically sound the same.

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post #9 of 17
3/26/12 at 12:44am
Vinyl is limited by its noise floor. Even the best pressings don't come close to redbook's dynamic range. CD sound is technically superior to vinyl..
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post #10 of 17
3/26/12 at 2:55am

...and let's not talk about crosstalk.

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post #11 of 17
3/26/12 at 4:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigshot View Post

Vinyl is limited by its noise floor. Even the best pressings don't come close to redbook's dynamic range. CD sound is technically superior to vinyl..

Definetly, CD or digital lossless audio sounds more accurate and a "clean" sounding, but, vinyl still sounds better to my ears, even with all of its defects.

Their warm sound, with that caracteristic noise sounds better to me than the "accurate" CD or SACD. So I think that the main "problem" in buying new vinyl isnt just in this analogue media, it is in every new cd or song: loudness war and new recordings problems...
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post #12 of 17
3/26/12 at 9:01am
If you have a decent souncard, you can do a simple test. Capture an LP to digital and burn it to CD. Match the levels between your CD player and your turnable and compare them side by side. There is absolutely no diference.

The CD format is capable of matching and exceedng vinyl. Any difference that exists is due to mixing and mastering, not the format itself.
Edited by bigshot - 3/26/12 at 9:02am
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post #13 of 17
3/26/12 at 9:55am
Thread Starter 
There is a difference in the bit rate, but you wont see it clearly, due to some other caracteristics or not proper audio equipment. You can hear more difference in re-releases in 180g+, however, just in cases that are no convertion to digital(obviously).

But if the audio is mastered in digital, there is no huge difference(or none at all). As I've said before, the "huge difference between vinyl and Cd is more psycological than real. Talking about new vinyls and ignoring the mixing thing, of course.

So, my conclusion is: they're worth it, still knowing that ther is no audio gain. Vinyls have a caracteristic soubd, and beside that, if you're used to listen in Cd or in front of the computer(or both), and then you sit in a different place listening too a different media, you'll have a different feel; this can be better, or worse. For example:

In my room, the pc is parallel to my turntable(which is beside my bed). As I have a Hd600 and a DT880, and my room isnt big, i can connect the Hp's in both places and still walk or sit in every place in the room. In most cases I lusten to vinyl beside my window(looking at the city through it and everything). And there, I get a different feel than I would have listening in frobt of the Pc. Listening to vinyl, and surfibg in the intenet instead of staring at the wibdow or lookibg at the turntable or the Lp's folder, is the same feel and enjoyment of listening directly throught the Pc(assuming that I forgot the place that I connected the Hp, and the vinyl warm and different sound).
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post #14 of 17
3/26/12 at 6:42pm

I wonder why no one has built a DSP-based device that reduces SNR, rolls off the high end, increases distorsion, and maybe adds a few random clicks for good measure to simulate the vinyl experience? Cheaper than buying modern LPs...

 

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post #15 of 17
3/26/12 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ILikeMusic View Post

I wonder why no one has built a DSP-based device that reduces SNR, rolls off the high end, increases distorsion, and maybe adds a few random clicks for good measure to simulate the vinyl experience? Cheaper than buying modern LPs...

 



google Vinylizer

 

interesting info on phono master cutting limitations: http://www.sickoftalk.com/whyvinyl_two.html

 

more on play back tracking/tracing errors - transalted to "jitter": http://files.audiamorous.net/trackingerrorsimulator/tollerton127stripped.pdf


Edited by jcx - 3/26/12 at 7:52pm
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