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Can you imagine a world without vinyl?

Can you imagine a world without vinyl?
I have been into vinyl for 49 years - since the age of 8 & cannot imagine a world without vinyl.
I started out buying 45's & graduated to 33's (what is now considered LP's).
I have seen 8 tracks come & go, still have a kazillion cassettes, reel to reel & digital cassettes - have both the best redbook player & SACD players available, but must listen to my "LP's" at least 2 hours a day.
I play CD's about 6 hours a day as background music while I'm working, but must get off my butt every now & then & "just listen to real music".
I admit to being a vinyl junkie - wih 7 turntables, 11 cartridges & 8 arms along with 35K albums & 15K 45's.
For all you guys who ask - Is vinyl worth it - the answer is yes!
Just play any CD, cassette, or digital tape with the same version on vinyl & see/hear for yourself.
May take more time & energy (care) to play, but worth it's weight in gold.
Like Mikey says "Try it, you'll like it!"
I love it!
paladin
rauliruegas
9,123 posts
 
Dear Eldartford: In the digital domain we can work almost at any bit level: 32/64/128/etc/etc, there is nothing that can stop about, the problem is in the analog domain where we have a serious limitations, example: a resolution of true 24 bits needs a dynamic range of 144db and 32bits a dynamic range of 192db: there is no single digital player and analog preamp that could achieve that kind of dynamic range.

The best today preamps ( I don't know any digital player ) has around 125-130db on dynamic range ( btw, the Essential 3150 has 131db. ), this means 20 to 22 bits. So, it is almost imposible to achieve 24 bits on analog: yes, the analog domain is the whole problem, dynamic range and noise.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Agree that it makes sense for the LSB to lie below the noise floor, or for the system S/N ratio to be defined by that noise floor rather than the bit-depth. What I meant to suggest was that beyond a certain point there ceases to be a real world advantage to increased bit-depth in a multi-bit scheme, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Three audiophiles agree on something!!! The planets must be aligned.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
130dB dynamic range is more than sufficient for our ears I think, but Eldartford's point about the resolution of low-level signals with fixed vs. floating LSB schemes is interesting, and seems like it could possibly have some bearing on why audiophiles hold reservations about the naturalness of digital sound. Anybody know of any subjective audition testing done in this area?
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Zaikesman...."subjective audition testing done in this area?" That is exactly what I did with my Behringer DEQ2496. I noticed that the input signal level, displayed by a string of LEDs, never got even half way up, meaning that only the lower bits of the A/D were being used. Upon consideration this is not surprising since the DEQ2496 is professional gear, and expects line level signals to be higher than typical consumer electronics. I have introduced attenuation between the output of the DEC2496 and my power amps, and cranked up the preamp gain so that the peak level for a complete CD (detected and loged by the DEC2496) is 6 dB or less below cliping. Now I am utilizing all the bits I paid for. In my subjective opinion, it sounds better.
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