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Why vinyl?

I understand the thoughts of a lot of you that digital is harsh and bright and has an edge. I know that analog has a warmer fuller sound, otherwise why would so many people put up with the inconvenience of records, cartridges, cleaners, tone-arm adjustments, etc. I used to be there. Of course all I had was a Garrard direct drive turntable. If the idea is to get as close as possible to the original source, why has not open-reel tape made a huge comeback. After all that's how most of the stuff was recorded in the first place. Very few were direct to disk recordings. Why would dragging a stylus through a groove be better than the original? There used to be a company out there called In-Synch that used the original masters and sold cassettes of them, dubbed at 1:1 ratio. I was the happiest person in the world when CD's came out and I could throw out my disk-washer and everything else that went with it, including the surface noise and the TICKS and POPS. Just something I've wondered about.
elmuncy
danner
202 posts
 
I've tweaked my CD-based system to where (to my ear) there is a rich and warm midrange with no harshness or glare (so long as I don't do a direct comparison to vinyl). Like Kthomas, I ride the happiness of listening to the music and have let go of the temptation to create dissatisfaction with what I have. Owning a turntable would only create frustration since I know that I want the convenience and selection available with CDs.
phild
603 posts
 
Hey Marakanetz...15ips and 30ips are both used. It depends on who's doing it, what equipment they have, what kind of music they're recording, what sort of sound they want, and how many reels of tape they can afford to buy. :-) I've read interviews where guys said they preferred 15ips for rock because they liked the way it compressed certain instruments, even though 30ips was *technically* better.

Elmuncy...I think the main reason people still prefer the sound of analog to digital (and I happen to be one of them, but I still love the sound of my CD player and listen to it more often than LPs) is the fact that the 16 bit, 44.1khz CD technology is dated and compromises the sound to a certain degree (and it is noticeable on good systems). I don't think people will mind digital as much when(if??) a good high-resolution technology is widely adopted and executed properly. Although there is a sentimental side to vinyl that will probably never be replaced, and there is a certain "something" that the physical needle on vinyl contact provides...something that digital never will, no matter how high the resolution.
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Thanks for the kind words Judit. Marakenetz, I was speaking of archival tape recording and 30ips is commonly used in this application as well as in many studios. It is a superior alternative to 15ips assuming the caveat that you identified of reduced recording time.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
blkadr ... you're right. Sound quality aside, LPs are much more treasured posessions than CDs. And LPs look so cool spinning on a good deck.
As for sound I like both. CD for classical (because of low background noise) LP for rock (AC/DC, Zeppelin etc etc).
natalie
404 posts
 
I belive there is a happy medium and both can co exist quit nicely.
I have over 800 Lp's the cost to replace them made my choice to buy a Turntable a no brainer.
When I want to get the best out of music I spin Viynl, When I want convinince I load up the 7 CD music bank and away I go.
Nice to have the best of both worlds.
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