CD vs. SACD vs. DVD-Audio vs Vinyl vs...


Which format do you like the most, or find to be the closest to the original master tapes? Or, if you attend live concerts (or play and instrument), which format do you prefer and why?
wenterprisesnw
David99. You have described my addiction exactly. I spend a lot of time at used book stores, Public Library Sales, Record Shows and especially on EBAY. The other day I noticed that there were over 90,000 (yes ninety thousand!) Just records! Posted on EBAY. Even if I only like 10 percent of what is posted, its enough to last me for a lifetime, even if I didn't have to work for a living.
Albert,E-Bay Helped me find a recording on vinyl I was told repeatedly was not on vinyl.What a surprise when I saw it.It will cost me more than a quarter but I'll splurge this time.ha,ha.The way the bidding is going it still will cost me less than the C.D. Anybody can run to the store buy a C.D. player,Go to the closest music store,plop down 20 bucks and walk out with about any C.D they want.I feel to get the most out of anything one has to work at it. I have never heard S.A.C.D. but I could care less because out of the 50 recordings there are none would interest me.It will be years before there will be enough to even tempt me.So My money is invested in analog.I will continue to refine my playback system and collect my albums while you guys continue to debate which format sounds better.To me its a no brainer!! Thanks for all the help Albert.Your still COOL!!
I have been reading the above discussions about the vinyl vs. digital. It is quite entertaining, but I would like to say something here that is very simple and very basic. What is the digital signal basically? It is a mathematical description of the originally produced sound. This “description” is then be recorded onto a CD or dvd or whatever those marketing scientists produce for us (yes, marketing scientists, not physics). And it is still a description, for Gods sake!!! Further more, this description is as sensitive to the “reading” devices (just as the analogue is). The errors produced during reading are “corrected” by some “cleaver digital processors” who “compensate” the missing data and fix the error? Hello? Then, the remains of the mathematical description go into another processor who is supposed to recreate the originally produced sound? God, please help me see the light!!! Are we trying to clone the sound like we cloned Dolly? Well, I think it is just too complicated, too far away from something that we already have! I live in Bosnia and I have not been able to test equipment expensive more then a $10k. What you guys have been listening, it costs more then Bosnian GDP (Gross Domestic Product), but it seems that discussion is about the same basic things. All of us want just one thing: the absolutely natural sound reproduction. And we do not want any illusions, we want the entire symphonic orchestra in our rooms. Not any illusions and not any descriptions! Is that possible? Well, of course it is, just like it is possible to travel to Mars today and it was not imaginable 50 years ago, but the point is, where do we start from? We should start from the truth, from the basics, and not from illusions that are offered by the marketing experts! The best solutions are the simplest ones, but not too simple”, like our good old Einstein used to say. And vinyl perfectly fits into this. It is simple, but still has some problems that are complicated to solve! Hazim Sabanovic Shazim@bih.net.ba
Yes, analog has problems, so does every format. I like to compare digital to a "connect the dots" picture that children like to draw. After the dots are connected, you can make out the image of the object that the dots represented, but all those straight lines loose the grace and dignity of the object. Yes, it is recognizable, and yes the lines can even be drawn in with a protractor to a more graceful shape, BUT it still does not pass for a good drawing. The point I am making is that there are simply not enough dots in the puzzle to explain a great drawing, and at least in the current digital format, there are not enough samples (or dots) to mathematically present a correct musical presentation. This is not to say that digital cannot be fun or satisfying, but the errors are the type that make it difficult (for me) to set aside my disbelief, and be passionate about the music.
here we go..........imho and iit is h, vinyl is the current best consumer source if only due to the sheer number of titles avail. the satisfying, relaxed, wanting to hear more music, but tired of cleaning feeling one gets compared to 44.1 should convince the music lover ot seek out a good but affordable player, lets face it, most cant afford the sota/vpi/basis etc level of vinyl nirvana (vinyrvana?) that some of you can. my advice is to find as good of a used tt as you can afford, preferably with a tonearm that accepts a universal headshell. that will allow you to change the sound at will to enjoy cartridges in the round. yes the fixed type is more rigid but the flexibility is wonderful. tjere are good affordable arms with this feature such as the sumiko mmt to warrant callng them hi end. enough of that. cd is way more convenient, i have plenty of them, some music is only avail on cd just as it is on LP. the new steely dan frinstnc. i have double inventory on many items when i could get them cheeeep. LPs are usually cheeeep used, plenty of that here in the LA area. ther are some oportunists that consistetly sell for elevated prices. if they need to do that to stay in business then ok. $100 will get you a way better sound than a $100 tt at list prices. but as soon as you get to the 300 range, the reversal starts big time. a trip to the store for music reults in way more used LPs than CDs, and more work but mare satisfaction w/LP. SACD. man, i hope the consumers with expendable income can support this long enough to get the format to affordable stage in a reasonable time frame. i havent heardi a demo yet, but we do rightly trust certain ears.....hp,harley,ahc,valin,holt,brisson(not hirsch,mostly not pohllman) and thats where i feel justified in trusting that sacd will prove to be what weve been waiting for. the sheer sampling rate alone aproaches the analog standard of being always on. now we have nearly non existent noise, appropriate sampling, dynamic range seemingly limited by that of music, and absence of low frequency garbage(one of the bugaboos of LP). bring it on. i think the 24/96 is a great step, but i for one hope that it falls by the wayside. the sacd from sony will play redbook cd AND sacd, thank you sony. what a brillliant and brave first step to stay away from multi channel. hey, i like surround in the proper dose, ive been using a dynaco quadaptor since the 70s to great effect( now have the 5ch, fornt ctr gets turned off for music liosteneing), most visitors not realizing they were listening to 4 channels until the soundfield collapsed to the front upon returning to stereo(and thats with the rear ch adjusted to near audibilty, the way it should be, when there is really rear ch info, youll hear it there) when the multichannel development in sacd comes, im sure sony will make the software backwardly compatable. even at that the pro logics and quadaptpors out there can handle stereo and recover the ambience to an effective degree. i guess some people must have discreet, let them pay for it. give me vinyl, give me sacd, dont take away my cd but dont force me to get dvd for audio. the software ppppurveyors will quickly adjust to the demise of dvd based audio.