Going back to CD a good idea? hmm

[Supreme]

More and more artists brings their album on vinyl. Why? Because it is the best sounding! Forget CD!

If I could swap all 700 of my CD's for 700 copies of vinyl I would.

 

[ISAC69]

More and more artists brings their album on vinyl. Why? Because it is the best sounding! Forget CD!

I admit that the sound of the Vinyl is the best because it is a pure analog technology the big problem is that after using a LP couple of times it tends to scratch so the quality of the sound declines dramatically thus my glorious vinyl collection after many years can not be heard anymore so I had to get rid of it .

The CD is a good compromise and you can hear one single CD thousands times without any damage to the CD .

 

[Captain Duff]

For me if I wasnt the best sound quality on my own system I reach for vinyl. If I want easy press play and forget I use the streamer (although in fairness it is mainly used for internet radio).

CD falls somewhere inbetween these two extremes, despite having a player with a sound that almost (but not quite) matches vinyl in delivery. The other bug bear I always feel about far too many CD's is the compression used on them ruins the sound.

I suspect that if I had a very expensive media player (instead if the cheap - but good in my opinion - one I own) I would probably change my perception with all this, but as the technology is still new enough to have large mark ups on it I have resisted that and will continue to do so until quality media players/streamers come down to similar prices that you pay for decent quality CD players (and in fact with far less parts they surely should end up being a lot cheaper?). In the meantime I have enough vinyl to keep me entertained when I want music at its best.

 

[BigH]

At least with CD you get to own the music in a tangible format. If one day Spotify goes pop you are left with nothing.

also....could someone tell me how I could stream music from YouTube through my system without using a pc/laptop. Is there something out there that will do this? Sonos?

Actually there are plenty more streaming services, like Deezer, Rdio and Music Unlimited, Google may launch thirs in the UK soon, not sure where this will all end though. The annoying think is 1 day an album is on spotify and then the next its gone but again it works the other way like Pink Floyd and Eagles are now on. The problem with cd is you are stuck with them, if a new better format comes along maybe Blu-Ray Audio is that format, time will tell.

As for Youtube, I think some TV and dvd palyers have wifi so don't see why youtube can't be streamed through them, would Apple TV work?

 

[peterpan]

[/quote]

I admit that the sound of the Vinyl is the best because it is a pure analog technology the big problem is that after using a LP couple of times it tends to scratch so the quality of the sound declines dramatically thus my glorious vinyl collection after many years can not be heard anymore so I had to get rid of it .

The CD is a good compromise and you can hear one single CD thousands times without any damage to the CD .

[/quote]

Not anymore, because of the loudness war. That's way Vinyl sounded better.

 

[DIB]

More and more artists brings their album on vinyl. Why? Because it is the best sounding! Forget CD!

Some do possibly.

However, a rubbish album sounds rubbish on vinyl, cd, or any other format you care to mention. Personally I can't be doing with this ALL vinyl sounds so much better than CD talk. I gain equal amounts of pleasure from my music irrespective of format, It's just that I find CD the most convenient, most of the time.

.

 

[manicm]

The other bug bear I always feel about far too many CD's is the compression used on them ruins the sound.

On modern recordings this has got nothing to with the medium but the recording itself. The vinyl album would sound equally bad.

 

[Overdose]

Sorry about the empty post for some reason the text has not shown up. Yeah im thinking of going back to CD...as for a few years now i have had my music on my hard drive ripped as WMA lossless, but for some reason im fancying going back to CD..for optimal quality and it would be nice to make use of the 2,000 + CD's i have rather than just having them as back ups, and theres something attractive about playing a CD rather than clicking on a file...

If you really want to go back to playing CDs, it might be better to consider a universal player so that you can use it for DVD and Blu-Ray playback also.

The more expensive choices of the CA751/2BD and the OPPO 103/5 would be where I would start and any others that have similar functions.

Playback from a computer based system will not be bettered in terms of sound quality by the way, it may be matched perhaps, so buy the disc player for the other reasons that you mentioned, such as nostalgia and having a physical format and inlays to hand.

 

[BigH]

I admit that the sound of the Vinyl is the best because it is a pure analog technology the big problem is that after using a LP couple of times it tends to scratch so the quality of the sound declines dramatically thus my glorious vinyl collection after many years can not be heard anymore so I had to get rid of it .

The CD is a good compromise and you can hear one single CD thousands times without any damage to the CD .

[/quote]

Not anymore, because of the loudness war. That's way Vinyl sounded better.

[/quote]

If you buy recent recordings then yes many cds quality is not so good. The problem with vinyl is all the other noises apart from the music, I have heard high end systems but I could still hear the pops and crackles even when the music is playing never mind all the noise in between the tracks, I even went on a Turntable website and it was the same on 2 out of 3 recordings. I grow up with vinyl and I never liked the noise. The other problem is caring for the records, really you need a cleaning machine which are not cheap about £400. For me I will probably wait to see if Blu-Ray Audio takes off.

 

[davedotco]

I love vinyl but gave it up.

Why? Because to really get the best from it and reduce the surface noise to inconsequence you need a pretty decent player and they are expensive. Expensive to buy and expensive to run too, especially as they become more of a minority interest and prices rise accordingly.

My preferred cartridge now costs in excess of £3k and given my usage, needs replacing every couple of years, a modern spec Xerxes cost £4k+ without arm and in my view none of the less expensive pretenders get close.

One of my dealer friends reckons that a Clearaudio Concept MC is a decent budget option, not heard it but I though the MM version to be pretty average.

Many people seem to get a lot from vinyl with budget players, good luck to them, doesn't work for me though.

 

[Cypher]

I don't like vinyl at all. I used to buy LP's and then I got my first CD (Metallica - and justice for all). I could not believe I could hear the album without scratches and without all the other noise.

CD's are also on their way out. It's not going fast but it will eventually.

 

[davedotco]

I don't like vinyl at all. I used to buy LP's and then I got my first CD (Metallica - and justice for all). I could not believe I could hear the album without scratches and without all the other noise.

CD's are also on their way out. It's not going fast but it will eventually.

A really good record player does exactly this, well not exactly as the clicks and scratches are still there, but they are now so far removed from the music that they are really not heard at all.

 

[Cypher]

But, as you said, a really good record player is very expensive. You can buy a good cd player for 300 pounds these days

 

[davedotco]

But, as you said, a really good record player is very expensive. You can buy a good cd player for 300 pounds these days

Exactly my point, though I prefer to stream lossless, the logic is the same.

Slightly off the point, I am fairly surprised at the number of people who profess to love vinyl, hardly a decent player to be seen..... :?

 

[Al ears]

You can buy a CD player for £300 these days but how good it is depends on the ears of the beholder.

You can also spend the equivalent of davedotco's Xerxes / tonearm combination on one, but how much better that is is debateable.

Each to his own i say. leet those who want to stream do so. Decent streamers are also expensive and they don't include the source. Factor in this cost as well and they can become a very expensive option.

This might explain the Oppo in my sig.

 

[ISAC69]

The more you hear same LP the scratches and the noise become more obvious . I had a large collection of vinyl but after 20 years of use I couldn't

play them anymore so I had to get rid of it . When the LP is new the sound is amazing but It is hard to maintain a vinyl collection .

Sadly not for me anymore .

 

[BigH]

I got so used to scratches on some music that when I heard it without them it did not sound right, still did not like them.

 

[chebby]

'Back in the day' I'd buy a brand new TDK SA-X (or AD-X) C90 with every new LP. Within a play or two i'd have recorded the album (and maybe a couple of the best tracks onto a compilation tape as well).

Subsequently the cassette version would get played more and the LPs would only get used for a bit of 'serious listening' occasionally (back when I used to do 'serious listening' without having to laugh at the seriousness).

I never had Nakamichi grade cassette decks but I had a Sony WM-D6C 'Pro' Walkman and then a Yamaha KX-580 SE for many years. (The Yamaha was my last cassette deck between 1996 - 2007 and my older brother is still using it regularly in his system. It's a real trouper.)

Consequently, those of us regularly taping our LPs (whilst they were still new) kept our vinyl collections in better nick due to only occasional and careful use. Plus regular stylus cleaning, a carbon fibre brush, good alignment, intact styli replaced before worn out or damaged, correctly applied tracking force and properly stored records (with anti-stat sleeves) ensured clicks and pops were virtually non existent (and if they were found on a brand-new LP you took it straight back and got it exchanged).

Needless to say I have very little interest in the music I listened to in my teens, twenties and thirties (because my tastes have changed so much since) so there wasn't much (LPs or tapes) that I wanted to hang on to.

I sold the last 90 LPs to a local record shop very recently - after years of not being played - and there was nothing there that I missed. (I don't do nostalgia much.)

 

[MajorFubar]

As far as CDs vs streamers / computers goes, arguing over which is best in terms of features, tactility and basically what you prefer, is an unresolvable debate.

However, there is one worrying notion which has been mentioned in-passing a couple of times in this thread, and it's a rumour / belief which needs stamping out quicky, before someone starts to think there's some ounce of truth to it: CDs themselves will always inherrently sound better than rips of the same thereof, because it's not possible to get an accurate rip which sounds as good as the CD.

For the record (no pun intended), can we agree that this notion / idea / belief is COMPLETE AND UTTER BILLSHUT OF THE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST CALIBRE.

Thank you.

 

[mitch65]

As far as CDs vs streamers / computers goes, arguing over which is best in terms of features, tactility and basically what you prefer, is an unresolvable debate.

However, there is one worrying notion which has been mentioned in-passing a couple of times in this thread, and it's a rumour / belief which needs stamping out quicky, before someone starts to think there's some ounce of truth to it: CDs themselves will always inherrently sound better than rips of the same thereof, because it's not possible to get an accurate rip which sounds as good as the CD.

For the record (no pun intended), can we agree that this notion / idea / belief is COMPLETE AND UTTER BILLSHUT OF THE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST CALIBRE.

Thank you.

I'm in the process of dusting off my old Rotel CD player as we speak and will give it a good playing over the next few days against the Sonos whilst the wife and kids are visiting the inlaws (bliss!)

 

[CnoEvil]

CDs themselves will always inherrently sound better than rips of the same thereof, because it's not possible to get an accurate rip which sounds as good as the CD. For the record (no pun intended), can we agree that this notion / idea / belief is total and utter lobbox of the absolute highest order.

Thank you.

I strongly believe that a perfect rip, played by a good streamer, sounds better than a CDP of a similar value, playing a CD.. I have heard this in practice, where the cheapest Linn Streamer embarrased their fairly expensive CDP. They also thought this, as they stopped the production of CDPs.

At home I still have a Linn Karik/Numerik which is easily outperformed by my Linn Majik DS....even though it was more expensive in its day.

The reasons why a Streamer should sound better are quite logical.

 

[stevebrock]

CDs themselves will always inherrently sound better than rips of the same thereof, because it's not possible to get an accurate rip which sounds as good as the CD. For the record (no pun intended), can we agree that this notion / idea / belief is total and utter lobbox of the absolute highest order.

Thank you.

I strongly believe that a perfect rip, played by a good streamer, sounds better than a CDP of a similar value, playing a CD.. I have heard this in practice, where the cheapest Linn Streamer embarrased their fairly expensive CDP. They also thought this, as they stopped the production of CDPs.

At home I still have a Linn Karik/Numerik which is easily outperformed by my Linn Majik DS....even though it was more expensive in its day.

The reasons why a Streamer should sound better are quite logical.

+1

MacBook Pro via optical into Rega DAC playing ALAC files sounds better than Apollo R/DAC - thats why I binned the Apollo R

 

[mitch65]

CDs themselves will always inherrently sound better than rips of the same thereof, because it's not possible to get an accurate rip which sounds as good as the CD. For the record (no pun intended), can we agree that this notion / idea / belief is total and utter lobbox of the absolute highest order.

Thank you.

I strongly believe that a perfect rip, played by a good streamer, sounds better than a CDP of a similar value, playing a CD.. I have heard this in practice, where the cheapest Linn Streamer embarrased their fairly expensive CDP. They also thought this, as they stopped the production of CDPs.

At home I still have a Linn Karik/Numerik which is easily outperformed by my Linn Majik DS....even though it was more expensive in its day.

The reasons why a Streamer should sound better are quite logical.

+1

MacBook Pro via optical into Rega DAC playing ALAC files sounds better than Apollo R/DAC - thats why I binned the Apollo R

Not literally I hope.

 

[MajorFubar]

I strongly believe that a perfect rip, played by a good streamer, sounds better than a CDP of a similar value, playing a CD.. I have heard this in practice, where the cheapest Linn Streamer embarrased their fairly expensive CDP. They also thought this, as they stopped the production of CDPs.

At home I still have a Linn Karik/Numerik which is easily outperformed by my Linn Majik DS....even though it was more expensive in its day.

The reasons why a Streamer should sound better are quite logical.

Indeed. Bit-perfect rips have the potential to sound better than their source CDs, not the other way round, for all the feasible reasons which have been said on this forum many times before.

 

[stevebrock]

No I didn't bin it literally - a local oldish chap bought it - I even took it to his for a demo with his old Brio and Celection DL4 speakers - he was over the moon with it.

I am actually sold on a high end streamer tbh - Bet the Sneaky dunt alf sound good!

I dont buy cds much now so I will stick with what I have!