CDs are better than Vinyl! Record-ology! 

The main thing I like about CD's is no surface noise, pops or scratches. The thing I like about albums, is the artwork. So I would rather listen to the CD while looking at the album. (lol)

Used CDs are a bargain right now!! 10x cheaper than the same album on vinyl. I sure love my vinyl but that is tough to argue with.

I predict a CD comeback. High quality sound will soon be in fashion again.

I grew up with cassettes, vinyl and then CD. And i gotta say the CD is clearly the best and most convenient physical format there is, pretty much a near perfect invention.

Being someone who grew up with records, tapes and CD's, nobody can tell me that vinyl sounds better than CD

I agree 100% I grow up buying l.p s / singles ,but as a collecter for over 45 years it has to be CDs .

Some of us have both a turntable and CD player.

Thank you for explaining in layman's terms the fundamental differences between vinyl and CD. The only way vinyl sounds better than CD is if it was better mastered and/or without compression of the dynamic range or "brickwalling". However, when two identically mastered formats are compared side by side, CDs are the clear winner for sound quality.

What I think is the most sophisticated thing about CDs is the reed-solomon-code. It corrects a high amount of bit errors thus the contained data stays the same until a certain threshold. For that, the amount of data is slightly increased. QR-Codes make use of the same technique to ensure data integrity. Pretty amazing engineering!

I love vinyl, I own hundreds of records and 3 turntables and yes vinyl can sound great but this video is spot on. As much as I love vinyl I don't pretend that it sounds as good as CD.

Confirmation, with facts, of what I've known all along. CDs are the best consumer audio format we ever had. I lived through the change from vinyl to CD and, as much as I love the mystique of the older format, there never was any contest sound wise. I don't buy much music anymore, but when I do, its on CD

I'm glad to see people who know what they're talking about give CDs the respect they deserve. The rush back to vinyl always seemed to me to be a trend like any other. I never believed the nonsense (taken as the gospel by some) that vinyl sounds better than CD. First off, there are too many variables other than the format itself that affect quality of playback. So universal claims that vinyl sounds better are complicated by the initial quality of the recording, the mastering, playback equipment, room dynamics, etc. etc. etc. The main selling points for CDs are greater dynamic range and no snap, crackle, pop, which is so distracting to my ear that it makes listening to vinyl painful at times. Furthermore, the get a good 180 gram vinyl nowadays will set you back $50 or more. You can find awesome sounding CDs online for as little as $2 a piece. Like Brad Allison says, it's pretty tough to argue with that.

I love both records & cd’s, but as far as the cd’s go, I’m glad they’re making a comeback, because there are CD players that have pitch controls, which I personally love.

Both formats can sound great. The quality of the recording and mastering is what really matters.

This is the most comprehensive explanation I could have asked for. I’ve been buying CDs up out of a desire to own the music I love, and I have to admit that I felt a little bit left out not wishing to spend a tremendous amount of money on a turntable and 3x+ the cost of the same CD on record. I’ve been finding some gems at thrift stores and yard sales, and using eBay for the more obscure albums. Thanks for the crazy in-depth explanation!

Did you hear the latest from NASA? Aliens finally found the golden record on Voyager I. But, they got into an argument about whether to build the player using analog or digital technology and killed each other with ray guns, and they accidentally melted the record.

Back in the 1980s, a lot of albums that were put on record in the past were put on CD with the same mastering as the LP. You can always tell which ones are remastered or re-issues by the date on the CD. If it has only the original release date, it's a re-issue of the original master. If it has multiple dates, it's a remaster. I save a lot of money by buying re-issues on CD rather than original vinyl, and the sound quality is overall better too.

I remember listening to my first CD in 1989, Roxette's "Look Sharp". It was amazing! The LP wasn't even close in sound quality.

Very educative video! I keep coming back because your videos are so nice to follow. Greetings from Belgium 🇧🇪

An interesting presentation. Personally, I think the cd/vinyl debate is getting rather old. I was born and raised with vinyl so I naturally gravitate in that direction. I simply enjoy the overall vinyl experience and the vinyl resurgence has been a big kick for me. But, at the same time, I have absolutely nothing against cd’s and continue to purchase them on occasion.

Very good analysis and review. Although I like many things about LPs, in real life music listening I listen to CDs about 50% of the time, cassette tapes 25%, LPs about 15%, RU-vid videos, downloaded MP3s, and FM radio 10%. The biggest frustration for CD collectors is, quoting from another commenter, "...proper implementation is key....mastering has a big impact on the final sound quality and can diminish the pro's of the CD format...which is not uncommon. Brickwalling is a common practice when mastering music for a digital format. With vinyl that's not an issue, since vinyl can't really be brickwalled due to its low dynamic range. Also vinyl is considered a premium format nowadays, so its not uncommon that the mastering for vinyl is done with more care than its digital counterpart." In many but not all cases, CDs released during the earliest years of the format (1982 through 1994) are mastered with very little dynamic range compression or frequency response limiting. Unfortunately, a few of those early CDs were mastered using third-generation tape copies as source material or other engineering faults like unintended brickwalling (technicians were still learning how to properly engineer and master material for CD), providing a stale or even overly-bright sound and giving the format a bad rap. Having said that, the majority of early-generation CDs were designed to demonstrate the format's superior frequency response, dynamic range and lack of distortion compared to the corresponding LP and cassette editions. Starting in the 1990s, with LPs almost extinct and cassettes starting to fade from the mass market, the emphasis was on making most CDs LOUD at the expense of accurate so an album would sound good on a CD boombox or car stereo, rather than on high-quality home audio gear.

This was a good overall presentation, with a glaring error at the beginning. There is no centrifugal force on the stylus, because it is virtually stationary. The imbalance is caused by drag on the stylus as the record turns, and the tone arm geometry is such that the stylus force is greater toward the inside of the groove, just the opposite of what he said. Good turntables have a compensator of some sort to balance out this force.

As much as I love vinyl records, they're one of the coolest formats, and I think it's awesome they're coming back (and how record players are becoming available.) I'll always be more of a CD person. As someone who does not have unlimited money or unlimited space. I like them, but records are just not that practical for me. I like having my Sony CFD-S70 and a rotating CD shelf type thing. The only analog format I really use regularly is tape, as used tapes are often less than used CD's, like they're dirt cheap, even new ones. Speaking of used CD's, they're way less of a hassle than used records. They never really get that dirty. Records are massive, you have to clean them, anything can get in those grooves, dirt dust, and worryingly germs . Wheras CD's you have none of that, maybe the case could use a wipedown but that's it at MOST. And on top of all that, the vinyl resurgence has actually brought the cost of CD's down, but the cost has gone way down, and it's really nice. I'm pretty much getting my CD collection ready for the day they're considered "retro" and "vintage," some consider them that but they're actually more relevant than people think.

CD's are my favorite physical media source .. But do whatever makes you happy, I say..as long as the music never stops.

Too much frustration with lp's, everytime I ordered a special collector's edition the records arrived damaged due to poor packaging... poor pressings at a premium price ... warped records ... Never again! Collecting vinyl was more frustration than fun.

What made me give up on vinyl is inner groove distortion switched back to cds and haven’t looked back.

It's a no-brainer, CD sounds better. Scientifically proven. Putting aside price and durability, CD sounds better. A great recording will always sound better on CD than Vinyl, simple. People who are used to Vinyl does not mean they "hear better" they just like that sound.

I buy and listen to both records and compact discs. The humble CD does sound better, hands down.

You are not wrong. CDs ARE better than vinyl.

What I like about cd’s: No surface noise and do not have costly maintenance. What I like about vinyl: The artwork of the album is such an aestethic which can be displayed.

I wish this got more views. You explained everything so precisely. Thanks! 🙏

As a teen in the 80’s, I’ve lived through vinyl, tape, cd, minidisk & streaming. I’ve resisted the vinyl revival for as long as possible but ultimately gave in about a year ago now. I purchased a Sony deck and, on the same shopping trip, picked up a few vinyl albums to listen to when I got it home. You do get hit by the ‘warmth’ of the sound but understanding what that ‘warmth’ is is enlightening (thanks to this video). More recently, we purchased a new Lexus hybrid car and they are still fitting cd players in their cars, my wife and I were both hit by how good a cd sounded in the car. All that said, the format I’m enjoying the most right now is minidisk. I know ATRAC is a lossy compression but to my fifty + year old ears it sounds good enough and I love the form factor.

Ah yes, the never ending debate of almost every YT audio\music channel and online audio\music forum on the net. The reality is both formats have their drawbacks or flaws. The reality is I have NEVER heard one person say I completely stopped using either format because of seeing or hearing this debate. It all misses the point of what music listening it about. Which is just to enjoy the music itself.

CDs are way better. And cheaper. Also as an '80s and 90s kid rounding up CDs is very nostalgic.

My 67-years-old ears still prefer the sound of vinyl. As long as LP's and 45's are kept clean and handled properly, their sound quality doesn't degrade with time. And my ears pick up nuances on the vinyl recordings that the CD's tend to miss. Both, however, are great formats for musical media. The one source that tried for many years to keep up with first vinyl, then later, CD's, was the cassette tape. My cassette collection's sound quality ranges from average to very good, depending on the age and type of magnetic tape used, but I still enjoy listening to them. But they could never compete with directly with the sound of vinyl or CD's. I have around 400 LP's, 300 45's, 350 cassettes, and close to 600 CD's. Just fyi

I use both formats. I've always been sympathetic toward the digital argument, but, while records are certainly not perfect, there does seem to be something to them as an "audiophile" format. Regardless of what the technical reason might be, people are getting incredible listening experiences out of their records that are different, and some would say better, than what CDs offer, and that interests me.

I have an audiophile grade CD player and turntable. I find the sound to be engaging and musical on both components. I have far more LPs than CDs, but I prefer CDs. CD players have a remote control to play or skip specific tracks, they play both sides of the LP without flipping them, they don’t have to be cleaned every use, you don’t have to put them away right after use to avoid dust, they don’t pop and crackle, and I can store them in a sleeved CD storage book. The negative I have is that I do have some CDs that have been scratched, and my specific player will at times not be able to play some of the tracks.

If there were no Loudness War Compression on 90% of CD Releases you would be correct. LPs however are EQed to be musical to have Dynamic Range that CDs (If properly mixed at the studio) would have in abundance however the over Compression (by record producers and Sound engineers) has destroyed all Dynamic Range on CDs.

This is most comprehensive video I stumbled into regarding cd vs. vinyl. I got rid of the vinyl that was converted and released in cd format and kept the ones that didn't come out on cd.

a good and in depth informational video about the cd and vinyl formats. I do enjoy both formats and have many of each in my collection. I never got to technical about which is better, for me its just about enjoying music on whatever format you like. thanks for this detailed video

It all really depends on usage. Vinyl can sound amazing, but you have to have some good hardware to get the most out of it. CD has the advantage of pretty much always getting the same result regardless of the player. It also does come down to mastering. Most songs that were released in the vinyl era were mastered to specifically cater to the strengths of the format. Some early CDs lazily used the vinyl master for the CD. The final issue is being able to play the darn things. It's easier to find a decent quality record player than its CD counterpart. Unfortunately CD became popular in the late 80s/ early 90s and that's also when the trend of more disposable electronics began. A lot of CD players are pretty much impossible to repair if something goes wrong. In contrast the record player (besides the cheap ones) was made far more modular with fairly universal replaceable components. This is all before you get into things like not all DACs being equal. Honestly if you're going purely by audio quality reel to reel beats them both, but the limited library of music released for it holds it back.

Hi great video I love vinyl but the one thing I hate when my favourite tracks are near the centre of the record then as you rightly point out the sound quality fades ...I love both cd and vinyl. .the thing I like about cd is all the tracks are on one side of the disc.and of course no distortion. .....😊

Great video. Everything you brought out lines up with everything I have ever been taught on this subject. I rip my CDs to FLAC and put on my server the store away the CD. I bought my first CD player in the early eighties... have not bought another LP since. I have a 40+ year old Technics SL-1500 turntable to play the LPs I do have. But, can't remember the last time I did ;) I even still have my old Teac reel-to-reel. I guess I just like looking at the stuff. I hear the part about having the big album covers, the art work and all that stuff... and that warm (distortion) sound... but that is not my cup of tea. I have noticed that several of the re-mastered CDs I have bought do seem to sound better than the older ones. I understand that has to do with improvements with the technology involved in mastering over the years.

This is one of the best videos I've seen on the subject. There is a relevant question on the quality of the mastering used on some CDs, especially early in the format's life and as loudness became "attractive" and reissues brought a lot of clipping in remasters - but that's not on the format at all. There are still a few records only available as butchered remasters in CDs, which are in fact inferior to original LPs because of this - still, Great content all around.

I still have happy memories of vinyl when I was a lot younger but I don't play them now. Sadly, my hearing isn't what it used to be but CDs still sound pretty good

Even though I love my digital downloads especially while driving sometimes it's nice to pop in a cd, that or a cassette.

Great, comprehensive explanation, and complete demonstration! Thumbs up. I'm a regular viewer. I enjoy listening, and seeing your shows, and demonstrations. I listen to music CDs, but I also like to listen to vinyl, and cassette tapes, especially type 2! For the convenience, the fact that the original recordings were on records, or pre-recorded cassettes, those are my choices. Luckily I have a Sony CDP-CE215 CD Player bought at the end of 1998 connected to my Sony STR-DH520 AV Receiver (2012); but I listen to hi fi audio, I do not require anything with this TV option, by the way if you are wondering. Since I am curious, and a bit experimental, I'm interested in hooking up a SACD Player, too; because of the further advantage that it is supposed to have by what some music listeners profess. Remember it has an even higher kilohertz number! Therefore, my question is what input port on my Sony AV receiver should I connect a super audio CD player to? There is only one SA/CD RCA input. Also, is there going to be more detail in the sound, and music? I am not certain about spending an enormous amount of money on a SACD player, and am wondering if it is worth the time, and cost. Thank you for any sound advice that you can provide.

The clever wording on the title here, is well done.

Can't wait for the comments

I grew up with cassettes and it's nostalgic and emotionally connected to it however when I switched to CDs back in 94 I never looked back

I grew up on vinyl before the CD came out in 1982. You'r absolutely right, the CD beats vinyl, hands down, and vinyl has got too expensive.

this was a perfect explanation: i'm interested in the technical stuff, but not so much that i need to know physics! really good explanation, thank you!

I get LPs to put on frame and hang on wall, and just have a collection while sometimes dropping the needle. I listen to files I ripped from my cds 99% of times

load up on your CDs while they are cheap and complete that collection because its only a matter of time before they too make a big comeback, possibly costing more than they originally did.

When CD’s came out I was able to buy 30 sealed vinyl records for 30 bucks. The reverse is now in effect. I’ve always been partial to the format I first experienced a recording on. Still on the lookout for a cassette of Prince’s 1999 and Iggy’s Raw Power on 8 track. Btw, 8 track was God awful but I’d love to have a copy of that one for nostalgia reasons only.

Great work! Thank you for this explanation. Back when I could first afford a CD player, my vinyl collection was orphaned little by little until it was all replaced and then given away. Today I have a very nice NAD CD player/w digital output that I use for different DAC's and no turntable.

Personally I just like that I can get more stuff in the CD booklet, and sometimes hidden stuff in the case like with the Atlantic Record's re-release of Kid A by Radiohead

I grew up with vinyl and switched to cd in my 20's. I got back into vinyl a couple Christmas' ago when I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to listen to Christmas music on vinyl. I've bought some vinyl since. But, because vinyl costs 2-4x as much as a cd, I usually buy cd's. The exception, again, is nostalgia.

I love seeing RU-vidrs A/V setups. I see you have other equipment in the background but thanks for showing some of your pieces.

Some people prefer CD's and some people prefer vinyl. I'm O.K. with that. I go to thrift stores, Goodwill, Salvation Army and the like. They have old records which are not available on CD. Artie Shaw Plays Cole Porter (1950). The Hit Makers (Tony Bennett, Jerry Vale, Doris Day and other such artists) (1960). Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye (Columbia Dance Party Series) (1954). I appreciate those recordings and listen to them often. One thing I do, is wet clean my records before I put them on my TT. It makes a great deal of difference and with records that are over 60 years old they need it! Stay safe.

I mean vinyl has some really good quality and cds can have some really good quality as well

Truth. Records are fun and quaint and the cover art is amazing, but the sound is decidedly inferior to a well-mastered CD. On my pretty nice sound system, CDs sound WAY better than records. My turntable, cats and stylus are top notch, but the sound has to be cranked to come close to CDs and even then, records sound more compressed, distorted, and lack the dynamic range. I think modern LPs would be much better if we had an update for turntable preamps to give us a better dynamic range for the format.

THANK YOU for explaining this for people who just parrot what they've heard about the supposedly superior sound of vinyl over cds, without understanding anything technical about it. Just a couple of points, though- a stylus does not experience centrifugal force, because it's not spinning; it's just being oscillated by the groove undulations that it's riding. Also, practically *nobody* can hear 20,000 hz- that's pretty much dog territory, human hearing can reach maybe 16,000 Hz for a child, and probably only to about maybe 12000 -14000 Hz for an older adult. No biggie. Some people also complain about a certain harshness in the higher frequencies (due to the 44.1 hz sampling rate). THAT's where having a good DAC comes into play.

CDs are good and I grew with parents using Records and Cassettes, I used cassette and CDs growing up, I didn’t get a proper record player and collecting until around 2010 when I took them more seriously, the most physical media I use is Vinyl , the pop and odd crackle is just nice, I have to say though an excellent condition LP played back can sound awesome.

Have been buying CDs since 1985. First one was Bowie’s Let’s Dance. Couldn’t believe how powerful and clear it sounded. I was an instant convert. Over the years, CDs have stayed the same, but the mastering process has been terrible since the 90s. Modern, ‘loud’ CDs are blamed on the format when it’s how it’s mastered that’s the problem! I will admit that vinyl is warmer sounding.. Even the best CDs and SACDs struggle to replicate that, but I can’t go back to the crackles and pop, the IGD and general wear and tear, of vinyl. Had my fill of that in the 70s and 80s.😁

You did a Great job explaining this..... They ought to play the video in a college class......

Years ago, I was told that CDs are Full of sound gaps .... thousands per second, as you so adroitly point out .... But our human ears can Not hear those gaps because the gaps are so small and short ... and yet the gaps are there. We just can't hear 'em. You did a great job explaining that! I felt like I should have been taking notes, like there was going to be a test at the end of the period! ;-)

Plus you don’t have to stand up to turn the bloody thing over to side B.

CD's in technicality are better sounding. But there's something about the sound of a record and watching it spin that I love. But I'll always buy a CD over a record if it's cheaper.

Pros and cons for both, whether it be technical or nostalgic reasons. Not all past recordings have been transferred to CD and many CDs don't have a vinyl version. Many CDs for nostalgic and technical reasons have been issued as the original vinyl, this can't be said for vinyl. I love them both. One thing I like about CD's is you can make your own compilations with home equipment with very satisfying results.

As a DJ I've also been able to compare the different mediums. Starting out, me and my fellow DJ buds, even mixed cassette tapes! We then went on to mix vinyl. Then CDs. Then MP3s. Each with their advantages and disadvantages. Which runs the gamut all the way down from cost up through technique.

Another advantage of cds is that they don't degrade or wear with use, vinyls have a physical contact and friction going on at the needle meaning the sound slowly changes over time as it wears, obviously you would need to play it quite alot to wear out a vinyl but the factor is still there.

Good video. I'm glad that someone talked about this topic. I hear people saying how wonderful the sound quality of records are, and I wonder to myself if today's music sources(streaming/MP3) are so crappy that people will gravitate to whatever is better, even if that alternative is still pretty bad. Records were left behind decades ago for a reason. I also was able to learn a lot, so thanks. I'm wondering if another episode could be done on the comparison between compressed music and uncompressed, that is, in more depth than what has been mentioned. Thanks again!

It takes a brass set to have a channel Record-ology and speak the truth. Well done!

I think you made a nice explanation for those who don’t understand sound and it’s makeup. Although I knew most of this info, I found it easy to understand for the common person who isn’t a sound nerd like me or others. I haven’t seen too many other videos who take the time to explain it this well. Nice job. 👍 One small point to make: the place where the sound chain introduces noise and distortion for most all sound systems is the speaker output. This is where 24 bit and higher audio can make a noticeable difference for the human ear. So things like the extinct super audio cd do sound better to us, because the sound chain in inherently flawed at the speaker output. Thus, why super audio CD sound is superior. Just my thoughts. 🤷‍♂️

Among other things, many people stuck on vinyl, claim that a cd record will have problems after 5 years or so. I have been collecting cds since 1991. After 30 years, even the first cd i ever bought, sounds (and looks) just like new. Needless to say of course, that i always handled my cds with the outmost care, just like i do with my vinyl records which i stopped collecting and listening, about 20 years ago. I only sell them to viny lovers now and i wish them to have fun with them. But for me, the cd is such a superior means of storing and listening to music, in every way. Just don't maltreat them !

it is very sad that the so called LOUDNESS WAR (dynamic compression, overuse of no noise filters..) has given cd's a bad name. a good mastered cd can sound as good as a good mastered lp, or even better!

I love CDs. (good ones) The ideal balance of sound quality, convenience and interaction with the music for me. No plans to return to either vinyl or cassettes but I’ve just got into streaming at 63. :) But anyway, great hifi set up you’ve got there for not much money!

Actually, a stylus experiences centripetal force, not centrifugal, which is why the anti-skating control actually pushes the tonearm toward the outside of the record to counter that force. This by the way does not apply to linear-tracking tonearms. This is only because of the pivot style tonearms that most turntables use.

CDs aren't better than vinyl, they are simply another way of listening to music. Some folks like me prefer the sound of vinyl and some folks prefer the sound of CDs. Such is life.

Professional studios will record audio at 192Khz or higher, so a CD is still missing a lot of data that was in the original recording.

Wow! Very interesting material. You're talking about the items like good teacher! 👏

my oh my, that's hands down the best explanation on the topic. Thanks for making it

I agree with your statements. Lots of CD haters on here

Technically, yes CD's are better, and on a lot of peoples systems may sound better. BUT with just a moderately good turntable and a CLEAN record, records sound better. Compare cymbals on identical performances on both. On CD they seem brighter, louder, but on record are more harmonically rich sounding. More real sounding. On CD the sound comes from your speakers, Record it sounds like it's coming thru and from around the speakers. Some people base good sound on more boom-chi. Even Mo-Fi say's their engineers can get more sonic information on a record, and they make both. I have many records that play all the way without one pop or tick.

true that by Nyquist's theorem 44.1 kHz sampling is more than enough (assuming human hearing stops at a dead 20 kHz). However, anti-aliasing filters with a sharp cutoff frequence of 44.1 kHz are not easy to design and can affect the sound the worse the filters are. Here comes hi-res. Sampling at 24bit/96kHz gives more room for cheap low pass filters to do their job without altering the sound. It also stores more information beyond 20 kHz. Who knows if there are humans who can hear beyond 20 kHz.

I absolutely concur. I have not bought an LP in years, mainly due to all the fuss and woo attendant to caring for them to get an optimal reading from the recording from one audition to the next. Meanwhile, I can pop in a CD, and the earliest ones I bought in 1985 play the same for me as ones I got last month.

I've been told SO many times that vinyl records sound better than CD's. And I always think those people are crazy when they say that. On a record player/turntable, you can hear static, hissing, and the sound of the needle rubbing on the record. You don't hear any of those things on a CD (unless it was recorded poorly). Not to mention, the fact that most CD players have a remote control that allows you to switch tracks etc. makes CD's even better. I noticed that video game companies these days keep releasing game soundtracks on vinyl records instead of CD's. And that frustrates me to no end. Makes no sense. I may have a bit of nostalgia for records, since that's the era I was born in. But I have good enough hearing to know that CD's sound way better. Not to mention, records gets scratched and broken (or in some cases, warped from heat) way easier than CD's.

Yes, by the numbers, CDs certainly outperform vinyl from that standpoint. Keep in mind, however, that when the original research for the digital representation of music began in around the mid sixties, researchers were looking for a way to play music repeatedly without the medium wearing out. That was the true goal. It wasn't really about improving the quality of the sound, but rather preventing the degradation of recorded sound.

Another cool feature of the CD that vinyl can't replicate, unless through a fairly laborious manual process, is the glorious art of programming. Or sequencing. Granted, this is something that I don't think I've ever attempted but the option is there. I look at this as more of the lost artform of the "mix tape." Better suited, if romantically done through the use of a physical medium, by way of the cassette tape recorder. It's here that the advent of the CD-R really shines!

Can someone advise me on how to know whether a CD has been produced using the dynamic range method?

As long as you have a good quality turntable or equipment.

I love records, CD's, cassettes, reel to reel and 8 Track, minidiscs...and Spotify. All of these formats have benefits and limitations. I'm thankful for the ability to enjoy prerecorded music regardless of the medium on which it's reproduced. Yes I think CD's sound better in some respects. In other ways vinyl sounds superior. Both can coexist and be equally enjoyed. As another of my favorite RU-vidrs says, "The only person who has to enjoy how your system sounds is you."

I collect CDS been collecting since elementary school. I collect both cds and records good video.

His graphics and charts are so "analog," which are great!!

A few notes: -The Left and Right channels aren't determined by the left and right sides of the groove. One channel is determined by the left and right vibrations and the other is determined by the up and down vibrations. -The inner vs outer groove issue was usually solved by putting the softer songs from an album at the end of each side so that the waves weren't as pronounced and clustered next to each other. -The thing you didn't cover regarding Lossy and Lossless compression is the use of codecs. A codec in Lossy simply takes out a range of data, often random but some more advanced ones can identify the right places to remove data in order to decrease storage. On Lossless, the codecs are advanced enough to recognise patterns and simplifications, like if it sees a pattern of 111000 or whatever it's programmed to identify, it subtracts those portions and replaces it with a similar code that's smaller in storage but means the same information. -There should be a distinction between File Compression and Audio Compression. The former, as mentioned, deals with the binary code and patterns, whereas the latter deals with the highs and lows of dynamic range, boosting the quieter portions while levelling the louder ones. Analog compression has been adapted to Digital mediums like Pro Tools and Logic, but it's the same idea. File and Audio compression are two very different concepts. -Your argument that higher bit depth = better quality isn't quite fair because for one, you're comparing Digital, something that is built on Bit rates and depths, and Analog, something that is not. You said that converting analog to digital removes noise but that's really not true. As long as the source signal is a pure waveform, digital does little to change the analog signal, or at least what's audible to the human ear. -The misconception that the highest and lowest frequencies can't be heard on Vinyl isn't true. They are there but they are so quietly included on the pressing but just enough to where the built-in equaliser in the record player itself picks it up and amplifies it. If you have a good quality record player with a great equaliser, then you can get those highs and lows. My ION ITTUSB picks up these frequencies amazingly. As for what is considered "better quality" is entirely subjective to the listener. Vinyl and CDs are both great quality, but what you haven't mentioned yet is the fact that they sound completely different. Not just about what the bits and frequency ranges are, but the fact that the master recordings are completely different. CDs are mastered much safer and can include all the big bass booms and compression which some people love but some people also really hate, if the loudness wars of the 90s-2000s was any evidence of this. Vinyl, however, is very tricky to mix for and you have to be a pro to mix it properly. You can't over-compress master recordings like you can on CDs, and this happens all the time because it's perceived to be a louder and more pronounced sound, but the downside is that the dynamic range is heavily reduced and the flow is more inconsistent between the more compressed and less compressed portions. On Vinyl, this kind of master medling isn't possible because over-compressed grooves on a record sound like shit. The grooves thrive on the range of dynamics and the flow of the waveform, which is completely destroyed when you over-compress. Because of this, the Vinyl master is always different from the Digital/CD masters and that's what people love. It's a good alternative to guarantee that the recording isn't going to have over-compression because it's simply too expensive for the mastering engineer to get wrong, so he has too put as much care and precision into the mastering. If you have a good mastering engineer, then you got a great-sounding record with a smooth flow and a unique leveling. My copy of Images & Words by Dream Theater, pressed by Music On Vinyl, is probably the best version of the album I've ever heard because of its precise mixing and smooth range. Compared to the digital recording, it's so much easier on the ears for all these reasons. I even did a side by side listening between the two and I was shocked at how much better the Vinyl version was.

CD's all the way for me. I recently sold my record collection for a very tidy sum. Pleased to see the back of them. Spent the money on more CD's. My two CD receivers I have at home sound gorgeous. Modern DAC's separate the instruments beautifully. Never going back to plastic. I'll just wait until the compact disc revival in a few years time.

I recently bought 2 Bowie records, and a record player Changes Two Bowie - £10 Space Oddity (1972 re-issue) - £15 + £4.69 delivery = £19.69 Fenton suitcase style record player - £10 + £6.50 delivery = £16.50 total = £35 + £11.19 delivery = £46.19 Not the cheapest hobby, but what I like about my records is the fun factor. I'm 16, I haven't had records present in my life time (only once my mum played some of her old Polish records), but I have had CDs in my childhood. I like CDs, but they're slightly mode boring - all digital and perfect - still more fun than streaming online. But records bring the fun up to another level. Every time you play it, it will sound slightly different, also you can play them at the wrong speed, which is always interesting. I also love the start up and slow down sounds of records. The crackles and pops give it a certain charm. In the last song of side one on Space Oddity, Cygnet Committee, you can hear the quality gradually decrease, and crackles and pops increasing. Interesting. All these artifacts, I find interesting. I am fascinated that the sound is comming from a moving disk. You can also hear the sound physically comming from the record, but quietly. Basically, I am only interested in records because of the imperfections. I also like experiencing the songs as people in the 70s would have. Basically, the journey to get the sound is what fascinates me, and the legacy, not the obviously worse quality. Saying all this, I do want to experience sound from a tape.

Years ago, I had one of the best ever made Analog to Digital Audio encoder cards and encoded an album. I had one of my Audiophile friends without knowing what was playing tell me which of the three sounded better, saying that two might be the same done twice. He said I played the vinyl twice and they were nearly identical when one that was the Analog to Digital encoded and he unknowing picked that one as sounding slightly better.

I was in the audio business when the CD came out - the sound was DRAMATICLY better. It is in no way as romantic as turntables, cartridges, tonearms and LP's.