[Music Alchemist]

Apple recently added FLAC playback support to some of its newer devices, which makes me wonder if soon we will have the option to buy songs from iTunes in a higher quality codec

Apple devices have supported playback of other lossless formats (ALAC, AIFF, WAV) for a long time, so FLAC support doesn't mean anything as far as their digital store goes.

 

[Double-A]

That is true, it might not mean anything.

 

[tonally_challenged]

Part of the charm of vinyl is the physical handling aspect and hunting down records in vintage stores. That is what makes vinyl collecting more of a hobby than anything else. I think a lot of people confuse the sound quality of vinyl (which quite frankly is a lot worse than CD) with the overall experience. I would never buy vinyl records with the explicit purpose of turning them digital because that doesn't really make sense when you think about it. I would recommend you to try to listen to your records directly on a old vintage turntable.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I would never buy vinyl records with the explicit purpose of turning them digital because that doesn't really make sense when you think about it.

Most of the ~50 vinyl LPs and EPs I got were purchased because they were so rare that if I didn't buy them then and there, I may not have been able to in the future. Digital versions aren't available and I would like to eventually rip quality files from them. (I know it would ultimately be limited to the quality of the analog system I use.)

 

[Double-A]

I think a lot of people confuse the sound quality of vinyl (which quite frankly is a lot worse than CD) with the overall experience.

Tell me that I'm not an audiophile, but I actually prefer the sound of vinyl to digital music. To me, digital music is too perfect. It is colder and more "sterile" than vinyl. It doesn't have the little imperfections in the sound that I feel add so much character to the music (the pops).

I would never buy vinyl records with the explicit purpose of turning them digital because that doesn't really make sense when you think about it.

See my above point.

I would recommend you to try to listen to your records directly on a old vintage turntable.

I would just listen to them on a turntable, but, while I don't like the sound of digital music as much as vinyl, to me the option to shuffle my music is a must. Also, I want all of my music to be playable from the same source.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Tell me that I'm not an audiophile, but I actually prefer the sound of vinyl to digital music. To me, digital music is too perfect. It is colder and more "sterile" than vinyl. It doesn't have the little imperfections in the sound that I feel add so much character to the music (the pops).

I have a trance compilation CD (link) that was sourced from a vinyl master or something. It has the pops (etc.) of vinyl.