Like you already mention, depends on the quality of the source. Building a DHT DAC that has a 35lb power supply has sounded better than many high end TT set-ups in many different systems (around $10-$15K TT & phono). In building a phono stage of the same build as the DAC, the DAC does not come close to the phono. As relaxed, musical, dimensional, openness, and tone the DAC reproduces, the phono just does everything better that digital can reproduce IMO. BTW, I do not own a TT so I mainly listen to CDs. Without comparing the two directly, I don't miss it until I do the comparison. But most TT set-ups I have heard, don't sound as good as the DAC so I don't really feel I am missing anything. Happy Listening.
CDs Vs LPs
Just wondering how many prefer CDs over LPs or LPs over CDs for the best sound quality. Assuming that both turntable and CDP are same high end quality.
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I find that thru ease of use i play a lot more CDs than LPs. I finally got my TT isolated well so I don't have feedback issues anymore. (Just one of the many universal TT issues). The two mediums certainly sound a little different, but there's only a few of my LPs that sound noticeably better, and those, I always play the LP. I found that a musical DAC and a good, tube preamp, make CDs sound very, very good. In fact, I have a Mozart CD with sir Neville Marriner conducting, featuring Anne-Sophie Mutter on violin. It's produced in DDD and it sounds wonderful. However I would love to hear an LP of the same performance to hear if there's and appreciable difference/improvement. And the poorly recorded/produced LPs sound just as bad as the poorly done CDs, IMO. Dave |
I love to feel and look of albums, and the large format artwork. It's nostalgia at its best. But nothing beats CD sound for me. Vinyl is like that temperamental crazy girl we all dated. Some days she's wonderful, some days she's breaking stuff up. I have 6 issues of Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" and they all sound different. So, yes - CD's may sound a little colder. But you get consistency, clean sounds and no pops and cracks. To me personally, CD's a re that chill girl you date, and keep around for a long time. I've done plenty of A/B comparisons and some vinyl does sound different/better than CD, but most of the time in my opinion, CD wins. |
The “vinyl revival” is a cult-inspired (and dealer-propelled) specious fad. It’s best ignored unless (a) you already own lots (and lots!) of LP records, or (b) you’re socially coerced to support the groupthink (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink) pretension of peers at the local hi-end audio club. Alternative (digital) media makes it easy to hear great sound without the brief play time, compressed dynamics, high distortion, low signal-to-noise ratio, endless groove wear, and dedicated equipment expense that’s innate with vinyl. |
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From the detailed technical information I've read, the SQ capability of CD wins hands down. I ditched LPs as soon as CDs came out. Mainly because of tics, pops and hiss. And I ditched CDs as soon as 320kbps downloads came out. Reloaded with FLAC. Not because I could hear the difference, but just so I'd never convince myself I could. |
@Elizabeth: We both dropped off the face of the earth a while, but I remember talking to you several years ago and you told me all about your LP collection, your VTL amps etc. You were very helpful with info, concerning re-setting up my vinyl rig. It’s very surprising to see you’ve switched to CD’s, as your main source. I listen to both, as many have said they do. Depends on my mood, how lazy I am feeling and what titles I want to listen to. I love the sound of vinyl when it’s first starting and actually being totally enveloped by the sound, as the the stylus advances to the song and throughout the song. So many LP’s as well as CD’s are hastily made, just to get the product out to bring in that $$, therefore ending up with a recording lacking in quality. Many of you, are much more versed on the quality pressings than I. As far as pops etc, most of this is easily remedied. Back around ‘87, when I first began my CD listening, I was very enthused about the sound and ease of playing a CD. It does require a larger investment for LP’s, but the payoff is worth it. If I had my rathers, I wish “they” would start producing reel to reel prerecorded tapes again. For me, there’s no better sound, but it’s not convenient at all. There’s a lot to be said for the convenience of a CD and being able to “jump” around from one song to another. I do believe this is one of the first civil conversations, on this topic. So many of the topics take on a tone of aggressiveness. |
I love vinyl, and have thousands of records. I think I prefer records, partly because some of them sound so amazing (the mofi 45rpm series and the Music Matters blue note 45rpms are incredible) That said, in the past few years i’ve really fallen for SACDs on my system, particularily the Analogue Productions Blue Note and Prestige reissues. Perhaps it’s the combination of them through my tube system (McIntosh MC275, C2200 and Harbeth speakers), but it really sounds amazing - in that way that makes you shake your head and smile. One last note: I ended up buying a Sweet Vinyl Sugar Cube unit. Remarkably good at cleaning up noise vinyl. Been really enjoying that. |
Tho CDs are my go-to, I'll always have to hang onto all my vinyl stuff. I bought most of the LPs 45 years ago when I was in my teens. I had a McIntosh system, even then, with an ADC cart to track them; so they're all still in great shape. I only have about 300 LPs, which seems to be one tenth of what most of you have, but I love all of it. It's mostly 70s rock and Jazz. Most of my Classical is on CD. Pretty soon, I'll pick up one of those new pop and click eliminators that ryskie mentioned. I was intrigued as soon as I saw them advertized about 6 months ago. |
Meaningless question - you can’t generalize. On some albums vinyl sounds better on some digital, and there can be a half dozen or more remasterings in either, any of which can sound great or crappy, depending on what they started with and what they did with it. Digital wins on convenience, but if you care about the sound and love the particular material it is tempting to own both formats and see for yourself which is better in a given instance. I swing both ways - around 0.8 terabyte of digital vs. ~ 4k LPs. PS - if you complain about pops and tics you are either buying bad used vinyl or lack a proper record cleaning machine. The fact that you are too lazy doesn't invalidate the format. |
It’s nice to see this topic being discussed without devolving into a shouting match. I’m a digital guy myself. I have a turntable and three or four hundred Lps as well as a couple hundred cassettes but don’t listen to them much. I have a large collection of cds and I also enjoy the wide variety of music available on streaming services. It’s nice to be able to try before you buy and listen to stuff you won’t buy but would like to hear once or twice. Nobody is wrong in their choice of format. It’s a matter of hearing, system and taste. All of which are different for each one of us. Some people love vinyl and digital hurts their ears. That’s just the way they are and there’s nothing wrong with that. Other people prefer the sound of digital. There’s no right or wrong in general, it’s a matter of preference. |
As amazed as I am at how good CDs can sound, I think that vinyl sounds better the majority of the time with a good cart and a good phono stage. Regarding the pops and clicks; with my collection, which has always been well cared for and played on good equipment, it's not that they're there all the time. But when I'm playing something loud, there are some uncleanable pops in quiet places that almost hurt your ears. Those are really the only annoying ones. |
To my delight, this has not become another 'war'. My call is that it depends on the individual LP or CD, as well as the gear it's being played on. Some recordings are simply better than others; Some discs (LP or CD) are produced better than others. One common fallacy I've seen is the 'vinyl junkie' who's spent tens of thousands on his analog rig and is comparing it to his $900 CDP. There's some self-fulfilling prophecy for you. For whoever asked, TTs, tone-arms, carts and the media itself have all improved, so new LPs on a nice rig can be quieter. That being said, digital media still DO have better dynamic range AND frequency range. (And if you're not listening to pop, you can mostly avoid the 'loudness war' compression.) BTW, if you think you like 33-1/3 rpm LPs, try listening to a 45 rpm re-issue of some favorite recording. After that, it's hard not to see 33-1/3 as anything but a huge sonic compromise. I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned SACD (DSD), or maybe I missed it. In my experience, DSD is the best of both worlds. IMHO, SACD is to CD what 45 rpm LP is to 33-1/3. But once again, it is the individual recording & production of the media that always makes the biggest difference, so there's lots of overlap. |
tattooedtrackman, Thanks for this thread and All that have kept it civilized while expressing your opinions. Wish the rest on this forum would pickup on this. I am 66 years and that means vinyl was my start in music. 3000 LPs, 83 CDs. When CD came out; it did not sound good to most of us. But it did start to get better. Now we’re finding that CDs do sound pretty good. Lazy and no tics and pops really sold it before SQ happened. I bought my LP12 in 1988. My friends thought I was crazy to keep going the vinyl route and not switch to CDs. I moved to Juneau, AK. There was a Record Shop that specialized in audiophile vinyl. Still, people were dumping their vinyl collections and Seattle, WA was a clearing house for audiophile and Japanese vinyl. For 5 years, I made it a point to cleanup all the best that I could find and afford. $5-8 for mint audiophile and Jap. vinyl in those days. MoFi UHQRs $25 mint - $35 sealed. I have had my modded Technics 1200G with Triplanar arm for 9-10 weeks now. This will be my Final rig. Yes, Vinyl is a lot more effort. Can’t play in a car. Can’t get the recordings you want, on and on. So far, The recording that is on CD and not vinyl. Frank Zappa “The Yellow Shark”; MoFi, press a UD1S copy of this please. Happy with my system and records. Have the time to enjoy. Been doing this for so long; I don’t really mind the extra effort. The Technics TT almost brings the ease of CD to vinyl. Just my rambling thoughts. Enjoy the music. Best to All on this Journey. |
I listen to both. Personally I believe a lot has to do with your play back system. I will sight an example with my system. I was using a Samsung universal Blue Ray player (CD's sounded like crap), then I borrowed a Parasound CD player and ran it through my Parasound DAC, (better but no cigar), vinyl still much better, then I bought an Oppo 203 I run direct into my VTL 5.5 preamp and the improvement was dramatic. I now actually enjoy CD's. As far as clicks and pops with vinyl that simple shows lack of care for the album, I do not have clicks and pops and some of my collection goes well into the 60's. |
I like vinyl; just sounds better to me. I have about 400 CD's and about 250 LP's, some of which are duplicates. When I want the best sound, I always go for the LP. If I am sleepy, though, as others have mentioned, I go for the CD. I don't have any doubt that records require a lot more effort to sound good. Hating pops and clicks, I clean each record on my SmartMatrix Pro by Clearaudio before each use. I think that you need to spend quite a bit to get really good sound from vinyl. You need a good phonostage, turntable, cartridge and record cleaning machine. A Pass Labs XP-15, Rega RP10 with Apheta2 cartidge and Clearaudio record cleaning machine retails for nearly $12,000. For a middle class guy, that's painful, if not simply out of reach. Sounds great, though. I have a Modwright Oppo 105D cd player with the upgraded tubes, and it sounds among the best of CD players I have heard for $5,000 and under. Whenever I listen to a well recorded album, when it's over, I just lift the queuing arm and smile. |
From a high of 13,000LPs I now own 4500. CDs a high of 4000 I now own 2500 or so. The number one problem for a beginner would be buying LPs at this time. For years cheap and great used LPs were abundant. Now, used LPs are way more expensive, and lower quality. I have stopped buying LPs anymore ,Even the very best used shop is full of way lower quality records now, They just cannot get anything top tier anymore. CDs on the other hand, are overflowing out of the used bins currently. And perfect CDs, rare CDs in the $1 bins are easy to find. Online also, the cheap fifty cent CDs, the shipping os the big expense.(Aside from SACD and MoFi which still are very overpriced)Anyway, when it comes down to economics, the CD is way more accessible and far cheaper to accumulate at this time.I predict that will change in five years, and CDs will also become a craze to collect, again. So. IMO buy them now, before the prices goes up ten times.. (and remember records, everyone said records are DEAD, well?) |
A very subjective question. Personally I prefer..............wait for it...........both. I may be somewhat nostalgic, I run two seperate systems, one strictly analog ie tube equipment, TT, Cassette (soldRTR) and one digital ie CD, Processor, Server etc. Both have awesome sound and SQ. Depending on the mood I prefer one over the other. I certainly prefer the simplicity of digital all the time but I enjoy the labor intensity of analog at certain times. I have noticed that some recordings just sound better (warmer?)on vinyl than Cd at least to me. Maybe it's the recessed memories. Either format is fantastic. |
My system can reproduce EITHER, with excellent result, AS LONG AS the source material is well recorded, mastered and pressed. Of course, when new my tubed output, CDP(BAT VK-D5) was over $5K and I installed six mid-60’s, grey shield, Siemens CCa’s(over a grand, THEN). I haven’t spent nearly as much, on my analog rig, though I’ve upgraded the power supply of the phono stage and completely redesigned the turntable/motor assembly. I try to listen to CDs, when I want to do some reading or work a crossword, but(generally speaking)- I’m transporting elsewhere, by the music, anyway. Regarding vinyls: "Clicks", "pops", "ticks", "hiss"?? I suppose, if you’ve got cheap recordings/pressings, and/or no record cleaning machine(and/or- way to eliminate static), you’re going to have those. I RARELY have, in the past four decades. |
I discovered serendipitously, about 35 years ago that the phono section played a huge role in how many ticks and pops you get with LPs. Since I am a designer as a result I'm used to not getting ticks and pops. To avoid wear, I use a Triplanar arm. It never mistracks so I'm not encountering wear. Surface noise otherwise really isn't much of an issue for me- I only use a dust brush and don't feel the need to otherwise clean LPs- I've not used my LP cleaner in decades. I listen to the music, which exists in 3D; surface artifacts exist in the speaker, so I have no problem listening past them. I don't mind digital these days at all but much depends on quality. In the old days when my hearing was more intact, I ascertained the quality of the playback by how long it took to give me a headache. A good player was 2 minutes and bad one was 30 seconds. About the late 90s I heard the first DAC (Appogee) that didn't give me a headache. These days getting a headache is a rare thing; the last time it happened was 3 years ago at RMAF. Anyway, the better systems are pretty convincing but oddly, price isn't the variable- whether the stuff works right or not is. So digital can be really cheap or really expensive, but if it works I'm fine with it. To this end I regard it as bad news that Oppo is out of the game. My biggest objection to digital is the distortion in the highs which in the digital world is known as aliasing. The ear converts it to a sort of brightness. These days its not nearly the problem it was years ago so I can listen to digital without much complaint. But when I play the LPs for my girlfriend, she hears the improvement right away (extra detail for some reason) and she hears the same things I do, so I think digital still has a way to go. Her daughter, who is 30, can't listen to digital at all; she says it makes her jittery and annoyed. She's not particularly pleasant to be around in that state, so when she comes over we have to have the stereo either off or on LP only. I like the streaming aspect of digital- find what you want and just play it. But I don't like the ads, the subscriptions and the feeling that it isn't permanent. Not that LPs are permanent, but I have some made 55 years ago that still sound great, with no wear or ticks and pops. Maybe its a comfort thing... |
@atmasphere Ralph, you mention aliasing. Do you think that you are hearing aliasing or the phase shift introduced by the brick wall filters, which are there in an attempt to prevent aliasing? Or, is it the number of samples per waveform; that is, at 15KHz a waveform is sampled 3 times (Redbook), which is not very many. But I hear the distortion the same way: brightness causing headache, jitters, and irritability. Solved it with simple RC filters at 3KHz, and now I can positively enjoy a digital background. |
nkonor said: "tattooedtrackman, Thanks for this thread and All that have kept it civilized while expressing your opinions. Wish the rest on this forum would pickup on this." That's real nice, but y'know ... wspohn did call all the people that have pops and clicks "TOO LAZY". And the fact that I actually am, extremely lazy, is not the point, LOL. Dave |
Do you think that you are hearing aliasing or the phase shift introduced by the brick wall filters, which are there in an attempt to prevent aliasing?I know it was audible in the old days. I've not run a test recently to tell if its still a thing. How I did it years ago to prove that I was not making it up to the pro-digital guys is I recorded a 20-20KHz sweep tone from an *analog* sweep generator, set to a slow sweep. The playback contained what is known in the analog world as 'birdies', chirp tones that were present along with the actual sweep tone. They are interactions with the scan frequency- IOW, aliasing. But in any other world, they are distortion, also known as 'inharmonic distortion' since they are based on the scan frequency and an interaction with the fundamental tone, and IME a special case of IMD. So very easy to hear as brightness, since the ear converts all forms of distortion into some sort of tonality. A bit of the aliasing is built into the recordings, so no matter how good your playback is, some recordings will have more than others. I think the pro audio ADC I used simply was not that good, but it was a long time ago and certainly made the point, since it was also a popular unit. |
I haven’t delved much into vinyl as I don’t have the room for a vinyl rig, or to store vinyl in my current apartment. So instead I invested in a world class cd player (Vitus SCD-025 Mk2) which I placed on Stillpoints Ultra 6 feet + Ultra bases, Ultra LPI + paired with Jorma Prime cables to optimize the player. I’ve heard my friends vinyl rigs and admit they do sound great. One of my friends owns a Kronos Pro Limited tt + SCPS-1 psu connected to a Vitus MP-P201 phono stage, and another friend has an AMG Viella V12, AMG 12JT Turbo tonearm + DS Audio Master 1 cart/EQ. So not cheap! But whilst current vinyl pressings are expensive and by and large are more cheaply pressed, and with lower SQ than in vinyl’s heyday, audiophile cd’s have been closing the gap with formats such as XRCD24, UHQCD, DXD, SHM/Platinum SHM, Mofi Gold, K2HD etc. Playing a DXD or K2HD cd through the Vitus really wows you with it’s resolution, quietness, dynamic range, body and staging. For all the fuss and inconvenience of vinyl, i’m happy to stick with cd’s! |
atmasphere wrote: "
My biggest objection to digital is the distortion in the highs which in
the digital world is known as aliasing. The ear converts it to a sort of
brightness. These days its not nearly the problem it was years ago so I
can listen to digital without much complaint. But when I play the LPs
for my girlfriend, she hears the improvement right away (extra detail
for some reason) and she hears the same things I do, so I think digital
still has a way to go. Her daughter, who is 30, can't listen to digital
at all; she says it makes her jittery and annoyed. She's not
particularly pleasant to be around in that state, so when she comes over
we have to have the stereo either off or on LP only.
" I agree the high frequency problems in digital have generally needed to be masked by other equipment, or artially solvedwith big buck equipment.When I recently bought a $7000 SACD/DAC Marantz SA-10 it was for one reason. That DSD upsampling (even for CD data) almost completely solves the digital glare. (and a lot better than cheaper DACs)I still can hear some problems on a few less well recorded material,(particularly as I reestablish the clarity throughout the system, which had been set to hide the worst of the HF grunge) and I still use a glorified tube buffer to ameliorate the small issues. but now I can get my system to be more revealing and not wince! |
I tried to get into vinyl 20 years ago. Completely unimpressed. I can't do the hiss and pops. I can't deal with a radio station that has low level static or very high hiss like the university station near me. So far I haven't heard any digital that grates on my ears like the noises associated with vinyl. I'm pretty sure it's just me and my ears, but I didn't grow up listening to all that and I never learned to listen past it on any medium. |
I havent listened to LPs and have not had a TT in about 20 plus yrs. As i try to think back about the sound of the LP its very hard because of all the years of listening to cds. I do know that some cds sound alot better than other cds prob the way the recordings were made. As i think back to my early days of playing LPs , i cant remember if some LPs played like cds, meaning do some LPs sound better than other LPs because of the recordings like cds sounding better than some other cds? Is that the case with LPs too? As i try to remember the sound of the LP to me all the LPs th sounded the same . Meaning the recordings on the LPs were very good. Now i am going by that i used to buy all my LPs in record stores 25 or so years ago. Same with all my cds back then too when the record stores didnt sell LPs no more and changed over to CDs. Now there are not even those old CDs stores anymore around. Just like back then when all the High End audio stores disappeared. I have no choice now than to buy CDs on line like on Ebay. Are those CDs that you buy on line now are the same digital quality as those bought in CD stores years ago? Sorry for a few different questions in this post but any feed back will be appreciated.And i hope im making sense.. Thnks . |
My opinion: The CD format will always kick the LP's ass when it comes to having the capability of providing better fidelity,
greater
dynamic range, clear channel separation, no surface noise, little mechanical (drive) noise and playing a media that last a really long time (as compared to records). Does that mean that you will always like the sound of a CD better? Don't think so. But when people say "LP's sound better than digital," what they really are saying is "I like the sound of LP's better." Because..... Listening to records is an experience. One upon which I was raised. Today, the turntable is complicated looking and cool. An LP is big, flat and interesting. The album cover has tons of info and the paper sleeve is an added attraction. the LP is carefully slid out of the sleeve making sure the fingers only touch the center label and the edge. The vinyl sparkles when new and clean. The manual turntable starts turning with a click and the tone arm is raised with the cuing lever. ..carefully moved to the desired starting positing and lowered by the dampened arm. There is a satisfying sound as the needle first tracks in the grove...knowing that soon the music will start. Vinyl record listing is not just about the music; it is about the whole experience. If you like records better, no one should have a problem with that....unless you follow with the nonsense phrase: "LP's sound better than CD's." |
Don’t get me wrong @dynaquest4, I prefer cd’s to vinyl for the convenience factor & have invested a lot of money in my player (Vitus SCD-025Mk2). Playing some audiophile cd’s such as those I mentioned earlier, the sound is amazing. That said, i’ve a-b compared my friend’s Kronos setup to this Vitus transport/dac (see my previous post) and it was clearly better on well recorded 180gm vinyl. You pays, you gets as they say.. |
Both LP's and CD's can vary in SQ depending upon the mastering. For LP's I prefer first (earliest) masterings. CD's - sometimes first masters sound better, sometimes not. One can only listen. I buy my LP's and CD's online: EBAY and Reverb. Both new and used. Great selection and easy to compare prices. My last purchase from the BAY was Converge's Jane Doe ($5) and the White Stripes's Ickg Thump ($1) + $5 shipping. $11 total. Seller was enientertainment. Check them out - 4000 + CD's at good prices - and will combine shipping! |
I can't do the hiss and pops. I can't deal with a radio station that has low level static or very high hiss like the university station near me.These are not problems of the format, they are problems of the setup. If you don't like those things, you can simply do a set up so they don't happen. My opinion: The CD format will always kick the LP's ass when it comes to having the capability of providing better fidelity, greater dynamic range, clear channel separation, no surface noise, little mechanical (drive) noise and playing a media that last a really long time (as compared to records).The Library of Congress did a study of recorded media about 30 years ago and came back with some interesting results. Any laminated media like tape and CD will fail in years or decades, where non-laminated media like LPs and the stampers to make them can last over a century if properly stored (I have LPs that play fine that were made over 60 years ago). As far as fidelity goes, the LP has bandwidth to about 40KHz and has since the early 1960s (The Westerex 3D cutterhead and electronics were bandwidth limited at 42KHz and had to be for a good reason; cartridges of that era didn't have that bandwidth, but they do now and have for several decades). Dynamic range is the purview of mastering, not the media, and since CDs are expected to be played in cars, the LP typically has a greater dynamic range. When we are mastering an LP, we usually have to be clear with the producer of the project that we need the master file, not the one made for CD mastering for this very reason. I've found that surface noise has as much to do with the phono preamp often moreso than it does the LP surface itself. I think I explained that in my prior post. If not I can as many here know go into it in some depth :) I do think digital will overcome its current limitations, but IME it won't be done with CD- it will be some sort of memory. Right now the Cloud seems risky to me- I know too many people that have lost their music to the cloud, due to security and in particular where the software suspected the music of not being the right providence. |
IMO, there is no better medium than reel to reel running st 15ips. I think they went out of favor, due to inconvenience. When I did my internship at MCA in Nashville, we ran off demos from rtr onto cassettes. The quality difference was unmistakable. I no longer own a rtr, but if they still made prerecorded tapes, I would be there. 30 years ago, I would buy an lp, transfer it to cassette and put the album away. That's why all my LPs sound like new. However, due to the tape size, there's simply not enough room to get the dynamic range u want on a cassette. I think older pressings of lps, not involved with any digital source, sound the best. Many here know of the better pressings than I. I have bought new vinyl that sounds bad. As far as the pops and clicks, it depends on the vinyl quality and how you care for them. I played a 35 year lp of Justin Hayward and John Lodge today. It was pristeen. |
I failed to mention, CDs definitely have a place in my system. I have a Theta Miles CD player and there’s a huge difference between it and a standard CD player. I’m sure there are much better ones available now, but I love the Miles. I can play a CD at much higher db levels than my vinyl, due to acoustical feedback. CDs are convenient, but they’re somewhat sterile. They lack ambience to me. BYW, I’m running my Miles straight analog (using the built in dac) to my linestage preamp. I have a Kora Hermes II DAC, I’m going to reconnect. All tube DAC and preamps. Very warm sound, but still lacks the ambience of an LP or rtr. |
Picking up on Atmasphere’s comments about lp vs cd’s bandwidth, yes rbcd standard is recorded at 16bit/44kHz resolution, however doesn’t take into account three things; firstly the mastering process, upsampling in the dac, and the quality of the disc itself. RBCD’s such as XRCD24 and K2HD are mastered at 24bit/100kHz resolution which is then down-converted in the dac. Whilst DXD cd’s are mastered at 24bit/352.8kHz resolution, which again is then down-converted in the dac to rbcd standard. Upsampling if properly implemented can restore much of the resolution lost in the down-conversion process. My player (Vitus SCD-025 Mk2) utilizes an EngineeRED Q8 upsampling module which is a stereo synchro-upsampler that accepts PCM signal from 32 up to 384 kHz, but also DSD64 and DSD128 (2,8224 MHz and 5,6448 MHz). It delivers a PCM 24/384 kHz signal which is then sent to the two AD1955 D/A converters operating in mono configuration. It is a true extrapolation system, and not just adding 8 empty bits. Next is the quality of the media. New discs which specifically address inherent issues with disc quality, accuracy, frequency range and longevity have entered the market such as UHQCD, XRCD24, SHM (incl: SHM Platinum) and DXD. Having several of those discs in my collection, I can attest to their stunning SQ, resolution & palpability. Just sayin’. |
If one has "high end" digital reproduction equipment and "high end" analog reproduction equipment, it will come down to how the music was recorded and mastered in the first place. A digital recording stamped onto vinyl to me sounds pretty much the same on my digital rig and the vinyl rig. however, an analog recording played on my analog rig vs "re-mastered" into digital and comparing the two, the analog wins hands down. Digital sounds quite nice now. I have older digital recordings, where the music is great, but the recording quality absolutely sucks. Also, you do get some artist that compress the hell out of their digital recordings and record them way too loud. But digital is easy and convenient. Analog requires one to keep getting up. sigh. Also, I agree with Ralph that the tick and pops are indicative of album condition and tonearm tracking, not the medium. I listen mostly to digital due to convenience. However, when I really want to relax and enjoy, I play some albums and really smile. enjoy |
Also, I agree with Ralph that the tick and pops are indicative of album condition and tonearm tracking, not the medium.@minorl You may have missed my point- just checking; while the above is true, most ticks and pops are actually the result of poor RFI and overload margins of phono preamps. IOW I am saying that you can change out the phono preamp and thus rid yourself of a lot of ticks and pops. The reasons why this is so are pretty technical- I can go into it if you like. |
@atmasphere The bottom line for me is that it’s vastly cheaper to put together a digital source that sounds better to me than vinyl. Regardless of the technical reason, it's a failing of the technology and it's expensive to eliminate. As an aside to the crowd, why’s everybody calling vinyl an "LP". LP refers to the length of the program. "Long Play". As opposed to a shorter format called an EP. LP’s come out on any physical medium. |
Regardless of the technical reason, it's a failing of the technology and it's expensive to eliminate.@kosst_amojan IME this statement is false, unless you bought your digital gear at Goodwill. People call the LP that out of tradition. Its easier to type too :) Really, real people don't call CDs LPs. Just ask anyone. |
long time ago, I used to hear quite noticeable hiss from the record, but I barely notice it today. I asked my daughter (she listened to stereo with me since she was 3) if it is because I am getting old? She says "no, your system sounds much better than 20 years ago, hiss is not as noticeable as before, with much blacker background" She is not an audiophile, and I trust her ears. My conclusion is: today's good turntable do reduce the hiss and brightness of the record. My turntables system (have been upgrading a couple times) is much better than what I had 20 years ago. |
The last turntable I heard was this monster a guy built out of what looked to be 3 inch chopping blocks. He had it up on isolation. The tone arm was a 16" plank of what looked like walnut. The arm hung from one polyester string tensioned with neodymium magnets. The AC motor drove the platter with 1 polyester thread, and the motor was driven by a class AB audio amp being fed a sine wave from an iPod to adjust the speed and torque. It was a beautiful turntable. I had high hopes it wouldn't be full of hissing and popping. I was wrong. Everything that grates me about vinyl was still there. I've tried to give it a try over the years. My mom gave me a crate of old vinyl including some highly desirable albums. I gave them away with my Technics turntables. I don't know what you have to spend to make vinyl sound good, but I've yet to hear it. |
Album is the term that Lps and Cds share. Sgt. Pepper’s is an album whether it’s on Lp or Cd. The term album comes from the days before vinyl. You could only fit one song per side on 78s made of shellac. So if you wanted a collection of your favorite performer’s music, you would buy an album bound with leather or cardboard. The pages would be paper sleeves that you would store individual 78s in. I suppose you could buy an empty album or one already filled with 78s. It’s the same idea as photo albums, which you buy with empty pages and slide pictures into the pages. The name transferred to Lps, which are also collections of songs. You younger people, ask your parents or grandparents, they probably have a photo album somewhere. Maybe even an album of 78s. Imo, record, short for a recording of music belongs to both formats too. |