Is vinyl really better? - Page 3

I've heard some really expensive CD players and they still can't touch vinyl. I still remember my first vinyl Kansas - "Point of Know Return." Played it on an old hand me down Pioneer turntable that I could never quite get working right without it skipping but I still listened to it for hours. Back then I had an old hand me down Sansui amp and speakers. That stupid amp was really powerful and I blew up so many speakers with it. God that was fun!! The one album that I really liked was an old Pat Travers LP that had great sound. I purchased the CD a few years later and could barley listen to it - it sounded so bad. I just wish there was more newer stuff on vinyl. I gave up on SACD and DVD Audio - what if you had a format war and nobody came...

When I lived in NJ there was a fantastic record store in Princeton with lots of classical LPs for $1-$2. But, now that I live in Sarasota, FL, I have no idea where to buy inexpensive LPs. Can you suggest how to find outlets that sell inexpensive LPs?

You provided an excellent discussion of LPs versus CDs. What's your view of LPs versus SACDs? In another thread, Head-Fi member marios mar said that "the sound of SACDs is more real, more detailed, fat and warm" then the sound of CDs. After comparing CD and SACD versions of the same classical compositions, I fully agreed with marios mar's preceding statement. What I'd like to know is whether you've done any comparisons of LPs with the same material on SACDs.

I put my old system back together this past winter. The only thing which remained were my original ProAc Supertablette monitor speakers. A brand new NAIM system was purchased- Nait5/CD5 - and a new Rega P3 table. My 1500 LP's came out of the garage after 10 years of storage and I was ready to taste what everyone had said- "vinyl is better than digital".

WELL I was not impressed! I felt that my CD5 just sounded better. Then I spoke with my dealer and told him that I was not happy and wanted to audition "that famous Linn LP12 table".

ONE turn of the disc and I was HOOKED! CD cannot even begin to compare! My vinyl just sounds SO superior. CD is flat-lifeless-two dimensional-sterile. The vinyl is alive-three dimensional with depth- lifelike.

My listening has now gone to 70-80% vinyl. I am purchasing a TON of music. I originally started on eBay buying used vinyl however I quickly moved on to the tag sales. I can now go out and like last weekend purchase- 9 classical LP's for $6 and 14 rock LP's for $9. Try to do that with CD. Plus they SOUND BETTER !!!

Vinyl rules- and so does the LP12 (introduced in 1971 and still kicking *ss today.

Gregg

I wish I could say the same. I placed an order for a VPI Scout last Saturday but haven't heard anything about it since. I hope it gets here soon or at least someone tells me where its at. I know I'm being impatient, but its the single largest audio investment of my life, one I hope will be the most satisfying.

"I've heard some really expensive CD players and they still can't touch vinyl. I still remember my first vinyl Kansas - "Point of Know Return." "
- Acidtripwow

I part company with this statement. I used to believe it, but over time I have begun to pay more attention to the behavior and opinions of the people who listen with me.

I have been pretty pleased with my Naim CD player. The Glevetahn comment above about the Naim CD5 being blown away by the LP12 is plausible but the dollar differential is large; I bet the CDX holds its own, and I know from my own set up that the CDSii (and likely the new CDSiii) holds its own pretty darn well. Anybody who is seriously interested in CD at the limit should at least hear a Naim CD player if you haven't. IMHO. But listen to one that is comparable in price to your turntable setup and I bet you agree with me.

At my house, the vinyl superiority is perceptible, but as I said it is subtle for recent recordings. I agree it is also important and people can hear the difference. But "blown away" is in the eye of the beholder, and depends on the importance you attach to the bandwidth of the vinyl, where there is clearly more going on. I love the Blue Notes and R2D4's from the 70's.

I care about the difference and have the ego and dollars invested, and I want to hear it. I can run my record cleaner until it overheats and love the vinyl sound. My wife can hear the difference and doesn't care. She'd rather listen to her female vocalists and recently recorded stuff that is more subtle. That is where most people are I believe.

sclemmons

From what my understanding is (and without the benefit of an audition or demo) you seem to make a valid point regarding the higher end Naim CD players and their abilities to compare with, and/or exceed, vinyl playback. Everything I have read (without benefit of my own audition/demo) seems to indicate that as you step up in the Naim hierarchy of CD players (and especially if additional power supplies are added), that a player suck as a CDx2 will equal and or exceed many high end vinyl decks.
My previous statement pertains now to my particular system ie a CD5.
Wait for my posting once I purchase my next upgrade- a dedicated Naim power supply- and listen again to my CD player vs. my vinyl deck. I will be curious to see if the present gap in my systems performance vis a vis CD/Vinyl playback does not begin to narrow once a HiCap psupply is added into the equation.

Gregg

My scout has shipped. Hurray! Three cheers for Todd and his wonderful prices.

I'll be spending my sunday afternoon in front of a SME 10 turntable with SME 9 tonearm and Sumiko celebration cartridge. The phono stage is the Audio research Reference phono and its (turntable) on a relaxa floating base. we will also have several good digital sources. Cary 306/200, Meridian 508.24,(if it gets here in time) Audio Research CD3 MKII, Musical Fidelity DAC21, Rotel 1072, SACDMods 555ES, One of the new NAD CDP's (cant remember the model) We have a bunch of vinyl, redbook and sacd of the same recordings we will be checking out. The last time it was very hard to pick a superior format when the recordings were all top notch. I was suprised at how good the better sacd and redbook recordings were compared to the vinyl. It's nice because the AR preamp can set gain for three different sources at once and we can A-B-C all three formats at the same time. The hard part is getting everything starting the same time as close as possible.

I was just listening to my humble Thorens TD160 turntable (basically a consumer level table, albeit a pricey one for its time) with a $100 AT440ML cartridge. LP was "Upstairs at Eric's" by Yaz, ca. 1982. There's nothing dull about the sound, and I've never heard soundstaging like that reproduced from a CD, ever... nor a timbre so good with drums, synthesizers, anything. And this is really a very humble (if lovingly tweaked) setup, I got the turntable for $75 shipping and a new belt was $25.