[BeatsWork]

   
+1
 
You have to throw a few thousand dollars at vinyl to get it to sound as good as a  $35 Sansa Clip or the CD player in my laptop.

 
 
Of course 99% of the population would not consider researching and debating audio theory or spending more than $200 on a pair of headphones rationale so by that definition I suspect just about everyone here is a tad bit "irrational"

 

[sonitus mirus]

   
 
 ...I suspect just about everyone here is a tad bit "irrational"

 

 

[bracko]

   
 
Of course 99% of the population would not consider researching and debating audio theory or spending more than $200 on a pair of headphones rationale so by that definition I suspect just about everyone here is a tad bit "irrational"

Agreed, but I would say $20 is more probable 

 

[CharlesC]

Is it possible that the analog stages of many CD players just aren't up to snuff?  I believe the science of why CDs should sound better yet I prefer the sound of my turntable rig (with its $100 cartridge and $100 phono preamp) to either my CD player or my USB powered DAC.  The DAC I can understand because, you know, it's USB powered but I'm disappointed that my CD player doesn't seem to compete.  The biggest difference I am seeing is in the imaging which is very good with my turntable in spite of the fact that one tiny piece of carbon is reading two tracks at the same time.

 

[Sal1950]

How ridiculous, on and on the argument continues.  Comparing a 100+ year old technology with it's still inherent weaknesses of surface noise, ticks and pops, limited frequency response at both extremes, limited dynamic range, wow, flutter, decreasing fidelity with each use, on and on and on.  Vinyl is VERY Low Definition and discussing it in the same sentence as CD, let alone HDA is ludicrous.
Vinyl does present one strength, you can go out and spend $200,000+ on any number of exquisite works of art turntables, etc;  in machined aluminum, acrylic, glass, exotic wood, etc and show off to you friends how much disposable income you have to waste on a media with no redeeming qualities in the 21st century. But seeing as those friends know nothing about HiFi they will by into your rap that this is World Class SOTA, just look at it, it has to be the best, right?
And don't forget to have a plethora of exposed tube electronics set up all around that turntable, record washer, and other accessories. With the lights turned down the impression it will impose on your friends equals the effect as having a Rembrandt or Renoir spotlighted on the wall. And they'll never know that both of them are fakes. LOL

 

[bracko]

  How ridiculous, on and on the argument continues.  Comparing a 100+ year old technology with it's still inherent weaknesses of surface noise, ticks and pops, limited frequency response at both extremes, limited dynamic range, wow, flutter, decreasing fidelity with each use, on and on and on.  Vinyl is VERY Low Definition and discussing it in the same sentence as CD, let alone HDA is ludicrous.
Vinyl does present one strength, you can go out and spend $200,000+ on any number of exquisite works of art turntables, etc;  in machined aluminum, acrylic, glass, exotic wood, etc and show off to you friends how much disposable income you have to waste on a media with no redeeming qualities in the 21st century. But seeing as those friends know nothing about HiFi they will by into your rap that this is World Class SOTA, just look at it, it has to be the best, right?
And don't forget to have a plethora of exposed tube electronics set up all around that turntable, record washer, and other accessories. With the lights turned down the impression it will impose on your friends equals the effect as having a Rembrandt or Renoir spotlighted on the wall. And they'll never know that both of them are fakes. LOL

You seem to be more obsessed with vinyl than many people who actually own a turntable. Calm down. 

 

[Sal1950]

  You seem to be more obsessed with vinyl than many people who actually own a turntable. Calm down. 

Naw, It's just reading people regurgitate the same crazy positions makes me a bit nuts. 

 

[bracko]

 

Naw, It's just reading people regurgitate the same crazy positions makes me a bit nuts. 

I also think it is beyond discussion which format is better for sound reproduction. Yet, I like and enjoy vinyl for the same reason some people enjoy their excessively "colored" headphones or whatever. 

 

[Sal1950]

  I also think it is beyond discussion which format is better for sound reproduction. Yet, I like and enjoy vinyl for the same reason some people enjoy their excessively "colored" headphones or whatever. 

I enjoy it for the music that it contains, I can't afford to repurchase all those titles.
But I did record them to my hard drives at 24/48 using Audacity.
Then sold the vinyl and turntables, moving coil and moving magnet cartridges, etc for a tidy sum.
You won't believe what some people will pay for a 20 year old Dynavector Rudy or Supex 900 Super
Win-Win-Win,  WooHoo

 

[bracko]

  I enjoy it for the music that it contains, I can't afford to repurchase all those titles.
But I did record them to my hard drives at 24/48 using Audacity.
Then sold the vinyl and turntables, moving coil and moving magnet cartridges, etc for a tidy sum.
You won't believe what some people will pay for a 20 year old Dynavector Rudy or Supex 900 Super
Win-Win-Win,  WooHoo

We all make our choices in life.

 

[colorsquid]

Beyond the vinyl reproduction argument, there is a great positive benefit to the tactile experience. Being able to handle, touch, and experience LP's while listening is non inconsequential.

 

[upstateguy]

 

   
+1
 
You have to throw a few thousand dollars at vinyl to get it to sound as good as a  $35 Sansa Clip or the CD player in my laptop.

 
 
Of course 99% of the population would not consider researching and debating audio theory or spending more than $200 on a pair of headphones rationale so by that definition I suspect just about everyone here is a tad bit "irrational"

 Doesn't change the numbers though.

 

  How ridiculous, on and on the argument continues.  Comparing a 100+ year old technology with it's still inherent weaknesses of surface noise, ticks and pops, limited frequency response at both extremes, limited dynamic range, wow, flutter, decreasing fidelity with each use, on and on and on.  Vinyl is VERY Low Definition and discussing it in the same sentence as CD, let alone HDA is ludicrous.
<snip>

+1

 

[Exacoustatowner]

   
It's not that vinyl keeps improving with price, it's that it takes an enormous amount of money and effort to get vinyl half way decent.  Tone Arms, cartridges, needles, motors, platters, belts anti-skating, vibration control, record cleaning, de-static, phono pre-amp, DBX dynamic range expander...  but at the end of the day you're still trying to light a fire by rubbing 2 sticks together. 
 
It's a nice ritual.  Reminds me of the and 60's.  Some times I spin a platter just for the fun of taking out the record cleaning kit, squeezing the Zerostat and firing up the Sherwood.  But by the late 70's, I bought a Nakamichi tape deck and recorded most of the records I had onto cassettes and never looked back.  Vinyl became an archive and cassettes my method of playing music.  Back then there was a ton of stuff you could record from FM radio and that became another  thing to do. Vinyl was becoming passe.

 Same here- even the Nakamichi. It was in the mid 80's for me. Then CD's came out.

 

 

[safulop]

Getting back to the points in the start of the thread, here is an article from IEEE Spectrum making the same points in a more authoritative way:
 
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/the-future-of-music

 

[sonitus mirus]

  Getting back to the points in the start of the thread, here is an article from IEEE Spectrum making the same points in a more authoritative way:
 
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/the-future-of-music

 
Authoritative?  What points?  The writer does not seem to understand what dynamic range is or does not know about ambient noise.  I don't see any rational reasons provided to love vinyl.
 
Their arguments supporting SACD are silly, without even bringing limitations of vinyl to the table.
 

Audiophiles looking to the future for relief from over compression see a cloudy picture. DVD-Audio and Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) are two high-fidelity formats that were thought to be solutions to the loudness war. Both formats offer not only a greater dynamic range than CD but also higher sampling rates. This allows for frequencies higher than what most humans are capable of hearing to be encoded onto the medium, addressing a common complaint by people who prefer analog over digital because they claim they can hear these frequencies.

 
Even without dithering, a CD has more than enough dynamic range available for practically anything that has been released thus far, unless someone listens to music in an anechoic room.  Do we even need to consider the blurb about what frequencies most humans are capable of hearing as being reasonable?