Hello from the UK! I loved this video! I'm 22 and I got into vinyl collecting a few years ago. I've got a £300/£400 setup and I mainly collect Morrissey, The Smiths and The Beatles. I've been tracking down original LP's meaning I end up spending £100+ on one alone, but I've now got a collection of about 200 12" and 7" and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. It's no longer something I play in the background, but something I now take the time to sit down and listen to properly. I'm very thankful that I decided to collect during the "revival" but I find the quality of the newer releases weaker compared to the vinyls I've got from the 70's-90's. Owning physical media is such a joy and I find I have a new found respect for music.
Hi Thom! Thanks for sharing your vinyl story. I love knowing that the younger folks are keeping the vinyl flame alive and enjoying the format 🙂. BTW, you're not the first to point out that some re-releases don't have the same quality as the originals from decades past. It makes those older albums much more valuable, especially if they were taken care of well. Thanks again I good luck on your journey!
Interesting video. It befuddles me though that so many people parrot that vinyl is richer & warmer than cds, without having heard the better cd players. Some have heard expensive players, but were they the ones that are good enough to justify their expense? That's true with cheap or mediocre cd players about the warmth, but I currrently have a cd based system hooked up and I would like to actually lose a little bit of warmth (and a little bass too).But it is beautiful as it is. On the PS Audio channel, Paul said he thinks the warmth of vinyl is due to phono cartridge resonances. In other words, what plays back the viny; not necessarily the vinyl itself. Vinyl can never really be isolated, in that it has to be played back with something; a phono cartridge. Resonances, whether it is going on inside a speaker or in a phono cartridge always emphasizes warmth. The old vintage speakers from the 1960s, before internal speaker cabinet bracing became commonplace, seem to always have that rich sound, due to cabinet resonance. The one problem I did think cds had inherently, was edge accentuation. More edge & less tone. I now know that is only an artifact of sub par cd players, not the cds themselves. I have collected both cds and vinyl since the 1970s, and I like them both. But recommending that newcomers should consider vinyl with prices usually between $30 and (over $100 for some audiophile lps or the best coveted pressings). I couldn't in good conscence do that. My cd playback sounds about as analag as reel tape. That's where you have the real analog sound. Lps have been given too much credit for that. Lps do not sound like reel tape. They have a whitish character versus rich warm reel tape, as former editor of The Absolute Sound, Harry Pearson pointed out. Some people just like doing things the hard way, (and the expensive way). Does vinyl have any special qualities like some want to think. As someone who is familiar with real high end analog AND digital. I would say if there is any it is miniscule. Not worth all that expense. I do like the bigger lp cover pictures though.
Lots of ways to warm up your sound. Cables, room treatment, isolation items underneath source and componentry, speakers, cd mats on top of cds, even an extended warm.up before play. I play a cd at low volume before listening at regular volume to warm up everything. And of course inserting something with tubes into your system. If you have an annoying peak in the midrange; problem. Getting more warmth; not a problem. Excessive warmth causes a murky dark sound and extinguishes any sense of transparency. In audio reproduction warmth has always been a nemesis of transparency. But not in live music; which is different. I like just the right amount of warmth.
Thanks for the insightful comments! I side with Paul McGowan from PS Audio when it comes to vinyl warmth. I also think this is not because of resonances in the vinyl recording itself but through the playing process introducing noise or 'resonances' as McGowan says.
For me personally, a tube preamp and cables that don't shortchange one on warmth has resulted in a cd player based sound that has a tiny bit more warmth that usual; even compared to lps.. But it is nothing I am sure I'd want to change at all, at this time. Reminds me of reel tape; which is a compliment.. Music like Supertramp, The Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones etc. can use a bit of extra warmth, and you'd be surprised what wonders it does for their recordings. Classical also benefits as does Jazz pianists and upright bass players. Of course when you introduce tubes into the signal path, you generally are sacrificing a bit of purity and high end detail and analysis. But in exchange, the sound has no thinness, more body and much more air around the instruments along with smoother textures and a more likeable sound. I absolutely cannot hear even a slight hint of digital when I play cds. So I'm glad I have the vinyl lps I do have, but it's $3 used cds, instead of $30 records for me. A used cd is the equivelent of a new piece of vinyl. Cds can have dozens of scratches and chances are they'll still play perfectly. Unlike vinyl. With vinyl you're dealing with much noise and inner groove distortion etc. etc.. And I cannot think of any area that vinyl sounds better now. Maybe those guys with $30,000 turntables have something that could teach my cd player a thing or two. But for all intents and purposes that kind of stuff might as well not even exist. In the realm of the rational, I'm sure my cd playback equipment would give any 2 or 3 thousand dollar turntable/cartridge fits.
@@sidesup8286 Great thoughts! CDs can sound amazing with the right equipment, specifically good quality DACs. DAC technology has really improved over the years. A good DAC will retain the transparency and detail while allowing the music to breathe naturally. Add a tube amp to that and the 'digitalness' becomes hard to find. Vinyl is imperfect for sure, but I'm fortunate to have a very good vinyl system so for me I still prefer listening to vinyl at the end of the day for all the reasons I stated in the video. I do agree though that it can cost more to set up a great vinyl system than a great CD system.
Great posting and Amen to most of what you said. You didn't mention that a severe limitation of vinyl is often the pressing quality. This seems to have got worse (in my experience) since the late 70s. My own vinyl journey is similar to yours with some key differences. I did sell quite a lot of my collection- either on a foolish whim or out of financial necessity- back in the 80s. Always regretted it! Don't forget, there are old British turntable manufacturers of great renown. Some like Garrard, have long ceased trading but others like Rega and Linn are still very much in the game. Unlike you, I never fell for the glitz and seeming infallibility of CDs. Never collected them and am way too old to start!🤣
Thanks Bruce! Excellent point on the quality of the pressing. This is definitely a variable that folks should be aware of. Although there are some reliable brands out there that consistently have good quality pressings (I'm thinking of VMP, Analogue Productions, MOFI) there are still many poor quality pressings poor quality sources used. The buyer needs to be careful for sure. Rega makes some amazing tables, as well as Linn. The Brits have always been strong in the hifi area.
My music was exclusively vinyl from about '66 to c. '85. I never messed with reel to reel, and cassettes were never a thing with me. At the end, I had upwards of 3k LPs. But the convenience and lucid sound quality of the CD won me over. Since the mid-90s I've been 100% CD. I think it's perfectly fine that an archaic sound reproduction medium has become relatively popular. There is an undoubted romance and mystery to what is encoded in those little squiggly black grooves. And at its best, the sound quality can be spectacular. But getting there is not easy or inexpensive. I wonder if most vinyl listeners aren't hearing anything better than they would get out of a CD. And Let me count the hassles... Disc cleaning. Disc flatness. Turntable vibration isolation. Arm alignment. Cartridge alignment. Stylus vulnerability (ooops, contractor's ladder bump just outside my listening room knocked my $300 moving coil to oblivion; don't laugh, happened to me). Clicks and pops. Disc wear. Stylus wear. Multiple flips required by longer works. Nope, no thank you. I'm fine with the little silver discs.
I can completely understand your perspective. Vinyl can be a total pain in the butt but for me personally it's just my preferred format right now. I do think there's a certain romantic vibe to it like you said, maybe that has something to do with my affinity for it as well. Speaking of stylus vulnerabilities, I've been there as well. I once hooked my sweater sleeve on a $500 cartridge with less than 100 hrs on it. I learned an expensive lesson that day 🙂
@@MusicMentionsReal I feel for you, friend, re. that sweater mishap. I still remember seeing my lovely Ortofon MC resting on the platter, the stylus smashed. Ouch.
I have been collecting CDs since the early 90s and in the words of Van Morrison "It's Too Late To Stop Now!" I do have a record player and some vinyl, but i hear no difference in sound quality (but then i'm not a musician/audiophile). CDs for me are best as they are far cheaper, more convenient and you still get liner notes and artwork, and often additional tracks, even discs. As its a physical product you are supporting the artist and it's not as soulless as streaming. The one upside of vinyl imo is the artwork. But i buy loads of CDs every year so theres no possible way i could afford to switch to vinyl. And to be honest i dont want to. In many ways its a golden age for the CD as prices have dropped and you can get some real bargains. But that's just my take, of course. Everyones tastes differ, both in the music we buy, and how we choose to listen to it! Stuart
Hey Stuart! CDs are still a great format to have and I still enjoy listening to mine once in a while when I'm feeling too lazy for vinyl 🙂. This is why I refuse to get rid of mine to 'lighten my media load'. With today's DACs and CD players, CDs can truly sound astonishing. As you said, we are in a golden age of used CDs but along with the vinyl resurgence there's been a resurgence in CDs and used CD prices have also been ticking up. A few years back you could get great CDs sometimes for under a dollar. Europeans and people in many other parts of the world also still have a thing for CDs so the format isn't going to go away any time soon.
GM ❄️🥶☕️from Toronto. Yes, there’s a vinyl revival..but the issue is you’re going to get mediocre quality of records and most new people to this side of the hobby won’t appreciate what it takes to get the best out of their records ….everything has its own sonic signature. Vinyl , cd , stream, Reel to reel ..all have their strengths and weaknesses . Have a great weekend. It’s a nice
Hey Carmine! It's true that most newbies to vinyl won't fully appreciate what they can get out of it when they start. But I think many do catch that initial bug and then upgrade through time to get more sound quality out of what they play. Also agree that the different formats have their own strengths/weaknesses. Thanks for the insightful comments and stay warm up there in Toronto!
Hi, you mentioned that buying a vinyl record by an artist helps support that artist whereas streaming does not. Does the same hold true if you buy a cd by that artist instead of a vinyl record?
It isnt analog over digital. It is the mastering for vinyl that is different. You have to include more dynamics and less info above 14k in order to cut. You are conflating this with it being 'analog'. You can take a digital mix, master for cd, then master for vinyl and the vinyl master will be more dynamic. It isnt the analog you like, it is the lack of over compressed loudness war cd masters you think sounds better.
Good comment! I should have mentioned the difference in mastering between the two formats. It's true that the vinyl masters are often more dynamic than CD masters and most certainly plays into my preference for vinyl. However, I don't think this difference accounts for the full reason I prefer vinyl sound quality. I actually think that there's a consistent noise (not clicks or pops) near the sound floor with vinyl that bestows a certain richness or fullness to the sound that digital recordings don't have. My ears prefer this 'noise' even though you can't even hear it on good vinyl systems. Anyway, that's my 100% non-scientific theory.
I want back on the vinyl bandwagon as it was starting to come back from the dead. Slowly I was able to get some good turntables along with accessories. I did not get rid of my albums when I went to CDs so I took them out of storage and started playing them again. Then I replaced some of the classics with 180 gram vinyl. I have about 100 180 gram albums, about 25 percent replacements of my classic popular music era and the rest of newer artist I have discovered in recent years. By the way did you check out Valerie June? I have a killer stereo system to play all these albums. I also hit the thrift stores where I picked up many great finds but that supply has dried up to here it is nothing but late 1950s to 1960s easy listening stuff. Jim Nebors anyone. In more recent times I have accumulated a great many CDs of high quality at thrift stores. If I buy a new release from an newer artist I like it is on vinyl. I usually listen to CDs while doing projects around the house so I don't have to change the album over, continuous flow of music and vinyl for when I am relaxing and want to get deep into an album. Cost of new vinyl is very expensive, I wish that would come down a bit. Good video.
Thanks for the comments! Yes I did listen to Valerie June and thought she was great. Thank you for that recommendation 🙂. Great to hear you're also back on the vinyl train! You're very similar to me, if I really like something I hear (usually through streaming) I'll buy it on vinyl these days. Thanks again for watching!!
There are some lp records that were releasd by the defunct but great audiophile label Classic Records, where they released both a 180 g pressing and a 200 g pressing with the same mastering. Often the lesser heavy pressing was preferred for sound quality. Heavier vinyl sounding better? Sometimes, but overall it could be a vinyl myth. Digital has their own set of myths too. Like the myth that high quality streaming is as good as playing a cd. If you have a great cd player that is not so; or even anywhere close to so, regardless of sampling rates and bit numbers.
@@sidesup8286 Agree that the heavier vinyl formats (180 or 200 g) don't have much impact on the sound quality. Also I'm glad you mentioned streaming vs CDs. My experience is that a good CD player/transport and DAC beats hi-res streaming. Not by much but it's noticeable on my system.
To a certain extent you're right but a lot of people don't realize that vinyl can sound so much better because all they've heard were those pops, clicks and surface noise. Thanks for watching!
Old Men and Hipsters are trying to bring back vinyl. If you are truly a music lover there is no earthly reason you need vinyl except for hard to find recordings. A really well made digital recording will slay vinyl every time. The wear and tear factor in vinyl and the exhorbitant cost of Vinyl playback devices is a real problem. Vinyl is a audiophile fetish now. Its like engaging in S&M when you have sex. It's not necessary but some idiots like it. Its like saying a Laser Disc is better than a 4k Ultra Disc.
Thanks for watching! I don't agree but appreciate many people feel the same as you do when it comes to vinyl. BTW, 1 out of every 15 vinyl albums sold last year was a Taylor Swift album. I don't think it's Old Men and Hipsters buying them 🙂
