CDs vs. LPs

[Davy Jones]

I was talking about this with a buddy of mine lastnight, we went back & forth, neither one of us realy has top notch equipment to be able to do an accurate test, I got good stuff, but just not high end stuff. He said I know somebody that does...I didnt know the guy but stick man did, so we rode over his house, now this guy is from big money, it was clear when we pulled up in the drive way, not only his he from money, but he got a million dollar sellement from an accident & cant work, so he collects lol expensive shit.
I wrote down a couple of the things in his stereo system;
Tuner - Marantz ST-15S1
Speakers - Cerwin Vega CLS-215 500w
Turntable - Aurora MK2.......um, strange looking beast, the motor & pully system are on the outside, not your typical turntable, pro stuff all the way, he said the turntable alone was almost $1000
CD player - Onkyo DX-7555

According to him there is of course way more expensive equipment out there, but with his free time & deep pockets, he has been able to find the perfect sounding system, that is according to his ears - "end quote"
He listens to some classical stuff a lot, & a rocker at the same time. Anyway it was clear as crystal the record sounded a bit more deeper, perhaps even more crisp...it should be noted though that the turntable & needle were way superior to the CD player he had.
Ah...you learn something new everyday

[Floydian]

I was just listening to Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, and Tiny Dancer by Elton John on a basic turntable combo/cd/T.T./cassette thingy... maybe like 15-20 watts output, so not very loud...

They're my mothers old albums, played regularly since the day they were made. It can be near annoying, but you forget totally about it when you listen to the sweet tones of the music, which of course is good on any medium.

I burn many CDs... but LPs just make me shivver with happiness.

[bosendorfer]

I'm into ultra high audiophile gear, and agree that vinyl is still the closet to the true analog sound. The next best thing is sacd. Sacd with the right tube amp and tube pre amp (and of course the right speakers), is very close. When I play 16 bit red book cd's however, I use a tube digital analog converter, as a go between. It brings the bass back to sounding like the amp used in the recording. You must realize however, that audio gear must be carefully chosen to function together as a unit, to fit the style of music you like to listen to. Certain speakers sound best paired with certain amps, and with certain pre amps. Even cables and connectors, are carefully chosen to produce the best imaging possible. And if the room is not conditioned properly...forget it, it won't sound right at all! Vibration control, and ac power conditioning are also very important. Equipment racks are designed to eliminate vibrations, and make a huge difference in the overall sound. It's a very costly and never ending hobby however. But If done right, you can say that you have the best possible audio reproduction available...for now!

[Floydian]

Wish I could spend the time/money on that, unforunately I have to keep my priorities set towards making music with a guitar, not playing back my moms old records.

Aint like I want it like that, of course...

[eleven357]

Digital or analog? hmmm.

Digital. Actually fuck CDs too! 160GB iPod FTW!

The only people I hear arguing in favor of LPs are my parents age.

Besides what's the signal to noise ratio of a record player? CD players are usually over 100dB

[ETEK]

if you spend a shit load of money on an extremely high end record player that uses lasers the sound quality wouldnt be anywhere near that of a typical cd. and keep in mind LPs are created first then the music is compressed to fit on the CD. and anthing compressed isnt as good as the origional. sorry to burst your bubble eleven357 but a CD is better than your iPod

[Floydian]

Originally Posted by eleven357

The only people I hear arguing in favor of LPs are my parents age.

I've been arguing for LPs since I was 14.

[chillax]

Originally Posted by Floydian

The tones on a LP are of better quality, they are more tangeably represented.

Think of a CD just as a computer monitor, and a digital image. It's pixelated. There are areas of blankness between to the pixels, or in the case of a CD, the bytes/bits whatever.

An LP has an infinately detailed sound reproduction, since the music itself is directly etched in to the material, instead of chopped in to many small chunks and reasembled.

Also, with the proper care given to an LP, scratches will not occour. With a good needle, every time you play it, the quality will NOT go down for quite some time. Yes, it may wear microscopic amounts of vinyl off, but bear in mind it does so evenly (again with the proper equipment and a good stylus) so it makes absolutely no difference.

Those tones from the album will always be closer to what was actually recorded, have more depth to them, and just have generally warmer, sweeter tones.

It's almost like a vintage tube amp vs. a modern digital amp.

The vintage tube wins every time.

Word.

[eleven357]

Originally Posted by ETEK

if you spend a shit load of money on an extremely high end record player that uses lasers the sound quality wouldnt be anywhere near that of a typical cd. and keep in mind LPs are created first then the music is compressed to fit on the CD. and anthing compressed isnt as good as the origional. sorry to burst your bubble eleven357 but a CD is better than your iPod

Oh no he wants to debate compression rates of mp3s?

Seriously, can one of you LP heads tell me what the signal to noise ratio is on a Technics SL-1210? Sorry I need more signal than noise in my music.

LP's are good for one thing, mixing, scratching, etc.

I can understand this if you are a DJ who still spins vinyl, but if you aren't then I don't see the point.

(queue flaming comments)

The quality of the MP3 is determined by the bitrate in which it was encoded. Most of my MP3s are ripped@320kbps, which is a much greater quality than 128kbps.

[eleven357]

Get back to me when the SNR of turntables gets to be above 100dB. THanks!

Currently the SNR of a Technics SL-1210 is 78dB.

If you prefer more noise than signal, then continue listening to LPs.

Besides, LPs deteriorate with every play!

[Floydian]

Originally Posted by eleven357

Get back to me when the SNR of turntables gets to be above 100dB. THanks!

Currently the SNR of a Technics SL-1210 is 78dB.

If you prefer more noise than signal, then continue listening to LPs.

Besides, LPs deteriorate with every play!

What good is more signal, if that signal itself kinda sucks IMO?

[eleven357]

Originally Posted by Floydian

What good is more signal, if that signal itself kinda sucks IMO?

WHat good is a signal if it contains distortion?

LPs contain more distortion.

[bosendorfer]

The only way to tell which play back format you prefer, is to try them both out side by side at an audiophile retailer, or at someone's audiophile room who has both. I've heard the best of the best side by side, and prefer the higher resolution of the sacd format for newer recordings, and the pure analog vinyl sound for older recordings that were all tracked analog in the first place. However, you must realize that the turntable and pre amp must be high end, or the cd is going to win out every time. You must also learn to listen to music in a different way at that level to really appreciate it. Walk into a high end audiophile room for the first time, and it will all sound good. You couldn't tell the difference between a $20K speaker and a $ 100K speaker. It takes a couple of years. It's the same with musical instruments. It took me a few years of playing to really appreciate the subtle differences between a Martin guitar and a Taylor guitar. I like both. The difference between a Steinway and a Bosendorfer is also subtle. And I like both of those too!!

[Floydian]

Originally Posted by eleven357

WHat good is a signal if it contains distortion?

LPs contain more distortion.

At least they weren't chopped down in to 1s and 0s.

Making music on a CD is like looking through something through a mesh screen lol... dividing it up.

[eleven357]

Originally Posted by Floydian

At least they weren't chopped down in to 1s and 0s.

Making music on a CD is like looking through something through a mesh screen lol... dividing it up.

LOL. everything can be represented in 1's and 0's, even music.