Digital Support

Robedk: If they bug you so much, then don't become one of them (on the other side of the fence). This is a natural reaction of course, but get a grip before it happens. My next plan of attack is to add vinyl to a CD based system. The reason for this being that in the LA area (where I live) there are literally thousands and thousands of good LP's available in the local thrift shops for 50 cents to a dollar each. Seeing all of this music and not being able to play it is driving me a little nuts and I have already started purchasing LP's without any method of playing them. The original plan was to just do a CD based system because of space and budget considerations, but in the end it looks like music will win out in our household. In this case, considering the starting budget, the digital will beyond a doubt sound better, but time, money and trial & error will eventually be the equalizer as it usually is in this hobby.

The worst thing that happened to Hi-End Audio was the birth of the Digital Recording Technology.....and the constant false informations regarding the superiority of the so-called digital medium...........

Digital sounds better. All I remember about vinyl is popping,crackling,scratching and skipping. Digital is more convienient,versatile,flexible and ever improving. Besides, it's all about the software. Do they even make albums anymore ? I can't remember the last time I saw any in the store. What is there to listen to anyway (Perry Como,Dean Martin)?

Never mind.

Robedk, when I first started out in this hobby I used to feel as you do. The surface noise of vinyl turned me off, and CDs were so clean and clear-sounding. One day, Mike O'Keefe, then a salesman at my local stereo hangout, asked me to listen to a then high end analog system consisting of a SOTA Star Saphire, SME arm and Monster Alpha Genesis 1000 cartridge. My first reaction was to ask what happened to the surface noise--a good turntable setup will greatly reduce that noise. Next I jumped at the dynamics I was hearing, something I didn't realize from my cheap turntable setup was possible. And I found I could really get lost in the music far more easily than I could with CDs. I wound up buying a Well Tempered TT and have been enjoying vinyl, as well as digital, since. In answer to your questions, yes there are still new releases on vinyl, much of them new rock albums as well as superb reissues of rock, jazz and classical from Classic Records, DCC, Speakers Corner, Testament, King and others. No Perry Como, either, thank goodness. You can get them from mail order and on-line dealers such as Music Direct, Elusive Disc, Analog Productions and others, and there are literally millions available, for a song, at used record shops.

I won't dispute the advantages of digital that you mention, but vinyl has certain advantages as well (check out the many threads at this site), and is likely to be a lot better than you remember it. My advice to you would be to go listen to a well set up turntable as I did and give it a fair listen. If you can't get past the surface noise and ticks, and there are many out there on who cannot, fine, digital is better for you. But you may find, as I did to my surprise, that vinyl's strengths (ease of presentation, warmth, realistic dynamics and the ability to listen at higher volume levels because there is no harshness for high level dynamic swings, among others) are worth investing in a good analog setup to go along with your digital setup. In any event, happy listening!