[Cata1yst]

I decided to do some tests between my Technics CDP and SL-1500 and I could tell no difference between the two....I had Men at Work being played on both and used the input selector between the phono in and the Aux in on my amp, and was doing 1:1 comparisons right then and there when each passage was fresh in my head....am i deaf, is my CDP that good for an oldie?, or does my amp just suck (dont think so on this part...its pretty popular amp for 80's)

Oliver

 

[erotisches]

I'm not a vinyl guy either. However, after ripping all of my dad's CDs into ipod, I think I noticed right away that some songs were remastered from the LP. For example Matt Monro : Born free. correct me if this track was not recorded during the vinyl era

 

[johnsonad]

Lucky you! That is a good thing as vinyl can get very expensive. Be happy that you tried it and didn't find a difference. Now you can better enjoy your CDP.

 

[truant]

You'll tell the difference comparing an original vinyl pressing from 70's or early 80's with the CD release of the same album.

 

[CarbonTi]

A/B'ing between vinyl and a CDP on an album isn't the best way to compare, IMO. Gotta llisten to the sources for longer time frames to find out if the SQ connects with you and if there are listener fatigue issues.

If after doing this your opinion is the same as it was when you started, Congrats - you are way ahead because the only thing that matters is if you connect with what you're listening to. All that other stuff is just gear and it gets in the way.

 

[NMyTree]

You may have been listening to an LP that was mastered/pressed from a digital source; which pretty much defeats the purpose. As opposed from analogue master tapes.

Most of vinyl these days are mastered from digital sources. Try getting your hands on LPs mastered and pressed prior to 1980-82 (no barcode on the back).

I'm sure you'll hear a difference.

But if you don't hear a difference, screw it. Just enjoy your CDs and digital!!! No worries.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cata1yst /img/forum/go_quote.gif (...) is my CDP that good for an oldie? (...)

Possibly, quite a few Technics cdps were pretty good units - both technically (i.e. in terms of reliability, readability of scratched/dirty media...) and sonically (although I remember 'em as usually a bit on the cold side...).

Still, the chance of a recording on vinyl and on cd to sound exactly identical usually is rather low. I.e., the comments above aren't dumb: You might not yet listen for the right things in order to be able to tell a difference. Or you might just as well base your conclusion on a too low number of samples - and just one really is a bit low...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[infinitesymphony]

That's pretty strange, given the difference between formats. I wish my vinyl rig sounded as good as my digital rig, but they have completely different "flavors." I'd anticipate most people finding vinyl to sound worse due to the inherent noise of the format.

 

[LFF]

Having listened to vinyl for many years now, I can say that it completely depends. Some LP's sound much better than their CD counterparts. Other times, the CD will kill the LP. In a few rare occasions, the LP and CD will sound almost the same.

I find that records pre-1980's will almost always sound better than their CD counterparts. That's of course not counting the recent audiophile re-issues on vinyl.

 

[Cata1yst]

The copyright for the record was 1982...though there is a Bar Code on the back (if bar code technology is really that young only)

I can definatly tell a difference between vinyl versus my x-fi...listening to Queen and the thump of the stadium in "we will rock you" i can definatly hear a difference....but thats not using my CDP and the rip is not lossless

*scurries to look for a queen cd*

 

[IPodPJ]

I think your amp is trying to tell you to stop playing Men At Work.

 

[dcstep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think your amp is trying to tell you to stop playing Men At Work.

Good one!

The difference between CD and vinyl will vary widely from album to album. You need to try more than one example. Also, your sources, sorry to say, are pretty average. The difference between a good vinyl front end vs. a basic setup is much bigger than the difference between a high end CD player and a basic system.

Dave

 

[memepool]

Men at Work would be an early 1980s recording so not that likely to be digital, but I guess what they are trying to say is that it's pretty undemanding pop music so to hear more differences you should also try some other types of music perhaps something that was recorded acoustically, some classical or jazz perhaps.
Maybe you have The The's Soul Mining LP from the same period as Men at Work? If you listen to track 4 (at the end of side 1 on the LP) to Jools Holland's piano solo you should be able to pick out that on a record it sounds more like a real piano whereas on CD it's more like a digitally sampled piano sound from a Yamaha DX7 or something.


Nothing wrong with your kit at all though, all good solid vintage stuff. Technics made some very well regarded CD players and your Sansui amp is lovely as well. The SL1500 is a classic but if you feel the urge to upgrade at any stage you could improve it a lot by fitting a more modern tonearm like the Rega RB250. These guys soundsupports make a new mounting plate for the 1500.

As has been mentioned already though most of us spend our time trying to balance our systems to get our CD's to sound as good as our LP's or vice versa so if you are happy with the sound of your system just enjoy the music.

 

[socrates63]

Based on some of the comments regarding current LP releases that they are pressed from the same digital master as the CD releases, are current vinyl releases worth buying?

I have both the vinyl and CD release of Norah Jones's Feels Like Home, and I have to admit that the vinyl sound did not impress me. I'll give another listen later today.

 

[Zanth]

I have some lp's that sound horrid, no better than the worst CD I have in my collection. Yet, the vast majority of vinyl I own do sound great, some spectacularly so. In contrast, a good many of my CD's pass for listenable, with the compression just destroying the music. Then of course we can get into the specifics off more organic sounds from vinyl vs. CD etc, but for the most part, the mastering is better on LPs, particularly ones released today because folks, by and large, are buying vinyl because they do sound better, they will pay a premium for it and so there is extra effort put in to master them well.