CD/Record Comparison

[drummerman]

Just a quicky. I got the original CBS Recording on LP of Brubecks Time Out (and Further out) as well as the CD CBS Maserpieces one re-mastered from the original Analog Tapes (rather than the numerous re-issues after copyrights expired, which allowed anyone to make copies from whatever sources - beware if you're buying re-issues, whether on lp or cd. Some are better than others)

Anyway, played on the Thorens through my lovely Sony receivers built in phono stage and both from a Denon CD player direct and through the DACS of the Sony ... sorry, no comparison.

LP wins handsdown imho. Sure, the odd click/popp (it is a 50 year old recording/lp) but the dynamics, ebb and flow just are better. It sounds alive and more real.

Its not always as simple and straight as this but its why I am glad I've started collecting records recently.

regards

 

[Frank Harvey]

There's quite a few albums like that. I think I've mentioned it before here, but in the early 90's I played Tears For Fears' Sowing The Seeds Of Love to death. I then managed to pick up a used vinyl copy from the local market for a few quid, and if I'm honest, it sounded like a different album. I think people get caught up in the numbers game, and automatically assume digital is better. Yes, it might be from a distortion point of view, but many CDs just can't compare to what you can get off vinyl. Why? I don't know. Vinyl, when reproduced well, just seems to have 'soul', it just sounds right, more natural, and not flat and lifeless as digital can be. Most of the new albums I like I'll usually buy so I can transfer to my iPhone, play at home, and also use in store for demos, but I'll also track down the better stuff on vinyl.

One of my work colleagues recently bought the Deluxe edition remaster of Rainbow's Rising, basically because it was a remaster. He and his father, didn't like it, even when compared to the original CD. The way I look at it, the album was recorded for a vinyl generation, and it'll more than likely sound better on vinyl, like a lot of other 70's music. I'm glad I have it on vinyl 🙂

 

[matthewpiano]

Which Thorens do you have DM?

 

[stevebrock]

Shocker.................................Vinyl sounds better than CD

 

[CnoEvil]

I have this one (I think), which sounds very good indeed through my system...........don't have the vinyl (or a TT) to allow a comparison. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Out-Dave-Brubeck-Quartet/dp/B000024F6I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376230821&sr=8-1&keywords=dave+brubeck+time+out

 

[stevebrock]

Drummerman,

just checked my copy of Take Five

its CBS 32084

A2

B2

nice recording!

 

[drummerman]

Drummerman,

just checked my copy of Take Five

its CBS 32084

A2

B2

nice recording!

Innit ... 🙂

@ Matthewpiano

TD115

regards

 

[matthewpiano]

Not seen one of those before. Looks good. Love the old Thorens decks. Still hanker after another TD150 or TD160. One day I'll find a mint one and it will be bye-bye Rega.

 

[Anonymous]

Not seen one of those before. Looks good. Love the old Thorens decks. Still hanker after another TD150 or TD160. One day I'll find a mint one and it will be bye-bye Rega.

Plenty on the bay going for not bad prices.

Drum, I agree some recordings are far far better on vinyl, but you need to watch the masters.

 

[eggontoast]

There could be another school of thought, maybe the cd is how it should sound (ie as close to the original recording as possible) and the LP has been coloured by the application of RIAA equalisation during the recording & playback process.

 

[lindsayt]

Eggsontoast, I just can't buy that. We all know what real instruments sound like when played by real people. We also know how people sound when they sing. When I've compared vinyl to CD on my system, so far my experiences have been the same as drummermans for every album. And albums sound worse than 12" singles. And drummerman could squeeze more sound quality out of his vinyl with a different (and probably more expensive) tt / arm / cart phono amp combination.

At what point do you say it's down to the mastering. or down to nice colourations on vinyl, or do you start saying that there must be some ways in which vinyl is technically better? Even though it may be a way that is not easily measured by laboratory equipment.

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter about the technical merits or demerits of vinyl and CD. If you get more enjoyment out of one particular format then it makes sense to concentrate your music buying on that format.

 

[abacus]

Using your own turntables system and discs, rip them to CD and see if the CDs sound the same as the vinyl, this way you remove any outside influences.

Bill

 

[mitch65]

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter about the technical merits or demerits of vinyl and CD. If you get more enjoyment out of one particular format then it makes sense to concentrate your music buying on that format.

That makes perfect sense to me...... :rockout: :rockout:

 

[Covenanter]

There could be another school of thought, maybe the cd is how it should sound (ie as close to the original recording as possible) and the LP has been coloured by the application of RIAA equalisation during the recording & playback process.

That's my view.

Chris

 

[drummerman]

There could be another school of thought, maybe the cd is how it should sound (ie as close to the original recording as possible) and the LP has been coloured by the application of RIAA equalisation during the recording & playback process.

That's my view.

Chris

I dunno.

All I know is what moves me. Whilst the CD is nice, the vinyl version is tangably, ear flappingly good.

@ MatthewPiano

Yep, I'm still looking for a 150/160 but just bought a Technics SL-7 to add to the collection. Got TT's coming out of me earieholes.

The 115 is, imo, very under rated. A lovely piece of technology with a great arm. I am looking for a better cartridge for this one, probably an AT440. The one that is getting used most at the mo is the sony though. Unusual and really very, very good.

regards

 

[Electro]

Using your own turntables system and discs, rip them to CD and see if the CDs sound the same as the vinyl, this way you remove any outside influences.

Bill

I have done this but using a Phillips Cdr recorder and the Cdr copies sound exactly the same as the original LP and I mean identical !

And yes I have done a blind test 🙂 😉

 

[Frank Harvey]

I have done this but using a Phillips Cdr recorder and the Cdr copies sound exactly the same as the original LP and I mean identical !

And yes I have done a blind test 🙂 😉

All that proves though is that a CD/CDR can capture what vinyl is all about. Whether or not you see this 'outside influence' as a positive or negative thing is down to the individual. All I know is that real instruments can sound more natural, and the whole performance is more three dimensional thatn pre-recorded CD. If someone proved to me that vinyl wan't representative of the original master tapes, I wouldn't care - it sounds better!

 

[lindsayt]

When I made some digital recordings of some vinyl tracks the sound quality was a few steps down from listening to the vinyl direct. That was using the inbuilt ADC in my desktop PC. Someday I might try it again with a different ADC...

 

[chebby]

Nat King Cole 'After Midnight' (the original 1957 LP, or 1999 Capitol Jazz/EMI CD remaster, or 2011 APO hybrid SACD) would all take some beating.

It's one of only three SACD (hybrid) disks that I own and it's hair raising stuff! (Even my ALAC and 320K AAC rips from it don't lose the 'OMG!' effect.)

APO also made an LP version but you'd be better off finding an original because the remastered set is so rare (and expensive).

 

[The_Lhc]

It's one of only three SACD (hybrid) disks that I own and it's hair raising stuff! (Even my ALAC and 320K AAC rips from it don't lose the 'OMG!' effect.)

There may be a conclusion to draw from that...

 

[chebby]

It's one of only three SACD (hybrid) disks that I own and it's hair raising stuff! (Even my ALAC and 320K AAC rips from it don't lose the 'OMG!' effect.)

There may be a conclusion to draw from that...

Knowing you, that's going to be ... "because your system is s##t" 🙂

 

[eggontoast]

All that proves though is that a CD/CDR can capture what vinyl is all about. Whether or not you see this 'outside influence' as a positive or negative thing is down to the individual. All I know is that real instruments can sound more natural, and the whole performance is more three dimensional than pre-recorded CD. If someone proved to me that vinyl wasn't representative of the original master tapes, I wouldn't care - it sounds better!

I'm not going to disagree with you as you listen to what sounds best but, don't you think it kind of makes a mockery of Hi-Fi. Most people strive to get the 'cleanist' audio paths ie: no tone controls etc yet a lot of people agree that the coloured sound of vinyl is best; a signal which has been mechanically obtained, amplified 100 times (or 1000 times with MC pickups) to line level then passed through an RIAA filter network (during mastering) then back again (during playback). It kind of makes cable swapping, mains filtration, isolation platforms all look a bit silly don't you think.

 

[matthewpiano]

It's one of only three SACD (hybrid) disks that I own and it's hair raising stuff! (Even my ALAC and 320K AAC rips from it don't lose the 'OMG!' effect.)

There may be a conclusion to draw from that...

Knowing you, that's going to be ... "because your system is s##t" 🙂

I think it just goes to show it is more about the original recording and mastering than the file format/resolution.

 

[The_Lhc]

It's one of only three SACD (hybrid) disks that I own and it's hair raising stuff! (Even my ALAC and 320K AAC rips from it don't lose the 'OMG!' effect.)

There may be a conclusion to draw from that...

Knowing you, that's going to be ... "because your system is s##t" 🙂

I'm afraid you've misjudged me. As the owner of one of the s##test systems here I wouldn't dream of putting anyone else's down.

 

[The_Lhc]

It's one of only three SACD (hybrid) disks that I own and it's hair raising stuff! (Even my ALAC and 320K AAC rips from it don't lose the 'OMG!' effect.)

There may be a conclusion to draw from that...

Knowing you, that's going to be ... "because your system is s##t" 🙂

I think it just goes to show it is more about the original recording and mastering than the file format/resolution.

*Points* There you go...