Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Grey wrote:Bump bump. Music makes the world go 'round. Here's how things are looking today.

Good stuff.

I have almost all of my vinyl from the 70's and 80's. I love the size of the LPs (the classic argument about the 12" art is true...the artwork looks so much better than any other format due to the large size). I have a certain emotional attachment to LPs. I like the possible collectibility factor too (in a zillion years they WILL be worth something).

I, like most folks from that era (I am 53) was a wanna-be audiophile. My first real system (in 1976) was $1000 and that was no small achievement for a high school kid. So while I didn't have state-of-the-art gear it wasn't cheap either. I always sought the best sound. I upgraded my table 5 or 6 times. But LPs drove me insane! The endless adjustments to the turntable, the endless worrying about the physical set-up so that I could get the best sound (and not ruin my records), and all the other issues with vinyl were very counter-productive to enjoying music. Basically, I felt that LPs were dreadful. Even if one had a good table, a good cartridge, and had the damn thing set up properly, one still had the endless pops and clicks and skips. To this day, there are certain older pieces that I listen to that still make me wince when the moment arrives where a record used to skip. That is thirty years now! I am still traumatized by those black platters!

The first time I heard a CD in a stereo shop was like a rebirth. I could HEAR the instruments because the noise was gone. I could tell whether the drummer had wood tipped sticks or plastic tips. I could tell if he played Zildjians or Paistes. There was an improved spatial sense. I could hear subtle differences in instrumental and vocal lines. And most of all, the piano sounded like a real piano! There was no wow and flutter. The pitch stayed constant! The format isn't perfect of course. There are some issues. And yes, it is extremely important that the music is recorded and mixed properly to sound at its best on CD. Are all CDs great? No! But to me, all LPs were terrible compromises.

I often hear of that classic argument about "missing warmth" and other related pros and cons of LPs versus CDs but I just don't hear it. LPs were an important step in the evolution of recorded music but just like my voice pre-puberty, I simply don't want to hear it again unless that is the only way to listen to a cherished piece of music.

Much more of an issue for me is how our last few generations have settled for MP3 files...apparently they have no appreciation for sound quality, only quantity. Music is such a subtle thing and there is nothing better than live music. CDs are the next best thing. It was a drag that SACDs didn't really catch on...there ARE better possible formats out there but the market doesn't seem very interested...that is a shame.

I am not trying to start (re-start) the old arguments; I am interested in why LP aficianados prefer them. And I would love to hear some A/B comparisons.

I don't have much to say in response to the bulk of that post, it's your personal experience and I can hardly attack wether or not it's accurate considering I wasen't alive when the LP was the primary format.

What I will say from my (albiet limited) experience is that I purchase all of my albums new, and none of them are noisy. Popping and clicking is not mutually exclusive to the medium, it is an artifact resulting from poor pressing, inadaquate storage and care, bad mastering, manufacturing defects, etc. High quality records which are well cared for and cleaned will not suffer these issues too severely. Here are some recordings I have on hand (from a comparison between different turntable models) illustrating a few of the records I have in my collection. These are high quality, 192khz/24bit resolution uncompressed PCM files. (These are all from the same turntable, my Technics 1200mk2)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1244235/Turnta ... iohead.wav

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1244235/Turnta ... ievery.wav

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1244235/Turnta ... sdavis.wav

Anyway, i'm not an audiophile, I just have an appreciation for the medium. I have no use for CD's, my digital collection has several thousand songs and I use either my PC or my iPod for those. My record collection is mainly comprised of rare pressings and limited releases for the bands that I have a deep connection to in one way or another. "The best of the best", if you will. I also like the large album artwork and various inserts.

Billsbro wrote: Much more of an issue for me is how our last few generations have settled for MP3 files...apparently they have no appreciation for sound quality, only quantity. Music is such a subtle thing and there is nothing better than live music.

It's not even quanitity.....it's portability. It's hard to escape that MP3s rule supreme in the portability category....regardless of sound quality (which I do agree is less than ideal).

For me, they each have their purpose. I stopped buying vinyl because I rarely have time to sit and listen to music as a stand-alone activity.On the other hand I buy CDs to have a physical copy of digital music, and typically listen to the music via MP3 players.

collin wrote:

Billsbro wrote: Much more of an issue for me is how our last few generations have settled for MP3 files...apparently they have no appreciation for sound quality, only quantity. Music is such a subtle thing and there is nothing better than live music.

It's not even quanitity.....it's portability. It's hard to escape that MP3s rule supreme in the portability category....regardless of sound quality (which I do agree is less than ideal).

For me, they each have their purpose. I stopped buying vinyl because I rarely have time to sit and listen to music as a stand-alone activity.On the other hand I buy CDs to have a physical copy of digital music, and typically listen to the music via MP3 players.

I sadly have to agree with Collin. I've been amassing vinyl for years and I'm real proud of my collection, but they're sitting in a box collecting dust. I listen to music basically only when I'm on-the-go. Thinking about selling off a good chunk of my collection.

Collin wrote: It's not even quanitity.....it's portability. It's hard to escape that MP3s rule supreme in the portability category....regardless of sound quality (which I do agree is less than ideal).

For me, they each have their purpose. I stopped buying vinyl because I rarely have time to sit and listen to music as a stand-alone activity.On the other hand I buy CDs to have a physical copy of digital music, and typically listen to the music via MP3 players.[/quote]



>>>I very much enjoy portable listening too. All of my files are Apple Lossless and while it is not quite CD quality it is excellent. There is nothing like having hundreds of hours of music in a tiny box.

sloop_john_b wrote: Thinking about selling off a good chunk of my collection.

Oh, there's plenty of better ways to get rid of old vinyl :

If you dig the vinyl and are in the Southern California area, I'll be participating in a Record Swap/Show at Alex's Bar in Long Beach this Sunday, 7/15 from 12-6.

I'll even be spinning a short set between 1 and 1:30, DJ Danotron! I've never done this before, got talked into it........damn that tequila

Come by if your in the area, free, 21+

Or.....................I'll see you at the LA Vintage Guitar show next weekend. No table this time but I'll be there