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CD vs. Vinyl

I've personally had to opportunity to listen to identical music on vinyl and CD on an extremely high end system, possibly a seven figure system, and certainly recognized the stark difference between the vinyl sound and a CD.

What makes this difference? Here are three situation to consider assuming the same piece of music:

(1) An original analogue recording on a vinyl vs. an A/D CD

(2) An original analogue recording on vinyl vs. an original digital recording on CD

(3) An original digial recording on CD vs. a D/A recording on vinyl

I wonder if the sound of vinyl is in some ways similar to the "color" of speakers? It's not so much of an information difference, just the sound of the medium?

Any thoughts?
mceljo
oakleys
78 posts
 
What makes this difference? YOU. You and your alone personal response to the music you are hearing. Don't matter to you what my stereo sounds like...and nothing anyone tells you is going to change this fact.

I too often wonder about the "color" of reproduced sounds, especially in relation to colorblind persons. wonderful.
rgs92
958 posts
 
I've been to the NY audio show (and various dealers) several times with lots of vinyl and digital rooms. FWIW, all the systems that haunt me still for their sheer beauty of sound happen to have been digital. These include systems with Dynaudio Evidences, JMLabs Grand Utopias, Von Schwiekert VR9s,
Avantgarde Trios, Aurum Acoustics, and Apogees. (Digital was from EMM, Linn [CD12], Levinson, and others I've forgotten.)

And you know, I grew up happily with the joy of LPs and my AR turntable. Now, with an EMM front end and some Senn HD800s with a good tube headphone amp and good cables, the music is just so breathtaking and true and flowing and joyful I don't want to change a thing. I often say to myself I wish some of the good folks here on audiogon could hear what I hear. (OK, I do need to warm up the system for a while to get to this level...) So I have embraced CD sound without reservation.
orpheus10
5,988 posts
 
Imagine two ladders, one has 10 rungs, the other has 15. The vinyl ladder has 15 rungs if you got the $$$$ to get to the top.
orpheus10
5,988 posts
 
I was born listening to scratchy 78's. Records slowed down to 45 and after that 33 1/3; now they got a 45 craze going. Their noiser than CD's at any speed.

I'm not sure whether or not "analogers" are smoking something or what; their claiming that those old "mid fi" tables sound better than CD's. Maybe they have become addicted to "record noise".

CD's are the best thing since sliced bread.
clio09
2,978 posts
 
CD's are the best thing since sliced bread.

Yeah, Wonder Bread.
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