Would I miss vinyl?

matthewpiano

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I'm interested in hearing from those people who have finally given up on vinyl. Do you miss it?

I ask the question because my turntable is proving to be an expensive dust ornament. I'm hardly using it. Instead I'm finding that I'm streaming a lot of my music ripped in FLAC from my CDs. When I'm not listening this way, I'm either using CD, internet radio, or trying out something new through Spotify.

I've already decided the Marantz will probably be my last CD player, although I'll continue to buy CDs while they are still available as I'd rather rip to FLAC and have the original discs there for back-up and the booklet/artwork.

Is it finally time to say goodbye to vinyl?
 

drichardb

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Absolutely not!! If anything now is the time to be getting back into it as so many of today's CD's and digital downloads sound terrible (plenty of threads on this forum about it).

If the sound quality issues were resolved then I'd say fair enough but until there is a medium that can genuinely compete with vinyl in that department then I would urge you not to get rid of it.
 

CnoEvil

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Hi MP, as you've probably gathered, I gave up vinyl 20 years ago (triggered by the birth of first child).

I did not get on with the CDPs of that period, and thought that a Rega 2 sounded better than most of them. Since I had an LP12, it wasn't until I heard a Linn Karik/Numerik that I was happy to contemplate changing.

With this CDP in place, some recordings sounded similar and some worse, but it was certainly good enough to live with.

Skipping forward to the present, I think the musicality of the various DS models, mean that it is possible to get a solution to keep the Vinyl connoisseur happy. The trouble is it starts at £900 + gubbins.

I think with a clever choice of amp and speakers, digital can sound stunning, and the latest batch of great sounding, affordable Dacs, help make this possible.
 

Paul.

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I sold my turntable and phonostage nearly four years ago. I have no desire to buy another right now, but I can't bring myself to sell the vinyl just in case. Vinyl doesn't fit with the way I listen to music, mostly with a short attention span. I rarely listen to whole albums these days, and I found myself constantly rummaging rather than listening. I'm sure one day I'll buy another, but won't go as crazy as I did last time.
 

chebby

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matthewpiano said:
I'm interested in hearing from those people who have finally given up on vinyl. Do you miss it?

Playing records? Not at all.

Although, oddly enough, I miss turntables more than actually playing records. (Yeah I don't quite get it either.)

If I got that lottery jackpot win, then I would probably have a vintage hifi 'play room' with a beautifully restored 1970s Thorens with SME arm and a big open-reel tape deck (Revox A77?).

Not because they would necessarily sound better (the 'jury' will always be out on that one), but because such objects were wonderfully [over]engineered machines and iconic of the best their era had to offer.

I had various record players, from the Connoisseur BD1 (handed down to me by my older brother when I was about 14) until I sold my last one just over two years ago.

Over three decades (mostly without a CD player or any other form of digital) should have made me a life-long vinyl fan, but I can no longer contemplate using it as a regular source as I once would have.

I will weep when FM radio eventually gets switched off, but I have no such sentiment for playing records.

However, I enjoy the subject.
 
T

the record spot

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I don't miss it MP - I have my turntable set up, but it's barely been played five times. I use CD at home, the occasional rip from the hard drive, DLNA from the laptop and Spotify the rest of the time. The CDs I have pretty much all sound good and in many cases if not all, better than the original LP. It was time to move on for me when the kids came along; I've lived without it for some years now. Now that I'm on my own, I'm in no rush to go back to them again.
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matthewpiano

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chebby said:
matthewpiano said:
I'm interested in hearing from those people who have finally given up on vinyl. Do you miss it?

Playing records? Not at all.

Although, oddly enough, I miss turntables more than actually playing records. (Yeah I don't quite get it either.)

If I got that lottery jackpot win, then I would probably have a vintage hifi 'play room' with a beautifully restored 1970s Thorens with SME arm and a big open-reel tape deck (Revox A77?).

Not because they would necessarily sound better (the 'jury' will always be out on that one), but because such objects were wonderfully [over]engineered machines and iconic of the best their era had to offer.

I had various record players, from the Connoisseur BD1 (handed down to me by my older brother when I was about 14) until I sold my last one just over two years ago.

Over three decades (mostly without a CD player or any other form of digital) should have made me a life-long vinyl fan, but I can no longer contemplate using it as a regular source as I once would have.

I will weep when FM radio eventually gets switched off, but I have no such sentiment for playing records.

However, I enjoy the subject.

Actually Chebby, I think you might have hit the nail on the head. Turntables are amazing things and I think I'm probably more like you - I like turntables but when it comes to the reality of using records as a regular source it just doesn't happen.
 

SteveR750

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I was forced to sell my LP12 when a house flood conatininated most of my colection of vinyl. I missed it at first, but I could never tget thw Linn to sound as big as my NAD cdp. I doubt it comes close to what I get off PC so no I don't miss the records, but I do also miss it as an object, as a process. Digital music is such an anodyne experience, which might be responsible for colouring ones perception of it. (watching Horizon on BBC HD which is a fascinating study of the effect of the subconcious on our concious activity).
 

ISAC69

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No way that CDs Can be heard loke vinyl albums , the vinyl is totaly anlalog the sound is warm and natural CDs are digital artifical sound , I have a NUMARK turntable and a lots of vinyl albums some of them are rare and probably expensive and I will never throw them away . the main problem is that most of my albums are old and scratched and it is difficult listen to them so Ihave no choice to use the CDs ... :mad:
 

Thaiman

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I rather get rid of digital than analog, personal thing rather than sound quality though. If you could have both, well have both!
 

piper1st

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I think Vinyl beats Cassettes, MiniDisc and MP3, on enjoyment and sound quality alone. But with lossless file formats becoming a realistic option ... i see the end for all but the hardcore. I don't miss vinyl as a format ... but i miss it for other reasons.

I love the process of physically flicking through big album covers. For a while there, i thought younger generations were going to miss out on this, but they are creeping back into almost all the interfaces.

Another things i like about vinyl is how you have to take care of them to keep them in good condition, sort of a lesson in respect which will be lost.

CD's made good quality music so much more accessable, but as memory gets bigger and cheaper, the lossless file formats begin to take hold of the masses in the next few years, i think clinging onto vinyl (and even CD's) will become more of a burdon than a reward.
 

DandyCobalt

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Whilst I hadn't had a turntable for more than 25 years (only getting one last year), I've been without one for the past three weeks (being upgraded) and I miss it enormously.

I have CD and I have streaming, and the sound is quite different.

Vinyl is a spiritual experience; CD/streaming is simply playing music.

Turntable back tomorrow - resurrected as a greater being:) Perhaps, I'm going to take the day off.
 

Charlie Jefferson

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I've had a gap without vinyl as a or even the main source of listening (1999-2007), but I'm so glad it's back in my life.

I love having (nearly) all my CDs on an external drive and fed into a DAC (that's how I'm listening right now, Adem's Homesongs, if anyone was wondering), but vinyl is played 5-6 days a week and I just couldn't live without it. Like others have said, I can't vouch for the better sound quality, but can wax lyrical about the whole ritual/rigmorale of playing records. I've got two boys under 5 and it's survived their presence, and with a dedicated music room in the offing I'm set fair to continue this gently neurotic, obsessional devotion to the joys of analogue.

Most listening sessions I relish the chance to rummage through the strands of my life as manifested in my thousands of vinyl LPs.
 

CJSF

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I believe vinyl is almost a religious experience, having gone through a very powerful rebirth in 20011, I have spent the past couple of months re-evaluating my experiences. Almost looking from the outside in . . . playing more digital PC music than vinyl.

The past few months have be a wilderness experience . . . putting myself back together. Before I sat down and switched the computer on making ready for the 'Horlicks' hour, I turned the amplifier on to warm up, this would normally be listening to a CD or more likely Spotify. This evening I put on, with much relief one of my loved vinyl’s. Then I turned the computer on and found this thread.

I'm sitting here, speaker either side of my desk, like giant headphones, a few clicks, pops and crackles, volume low, its 11.30pm, one is enveloped in a smooth, warm sound, rolling around my desk . . . I have had a very stressful day, the music is a balm.

When we came in this evening at 6.00, I tried to listen to some old country music on Spotify, I bitched and moaned at Hazel, she was trying to help me put our day into perspective, I eventually turned Spotify off, calmed down and we enjoyed a very nice fish & chip supper, the best I have had from our chippy (4 doors away) for a long time.

I embrace vinyl as the balm it is to me . . . just turned Cantate Domino over, TT and amp are getting into their stride, warming up nicely. Looking forward to sitting with Hazel, a mug of Horlicks and the dog, yes he enjoys relaxing with us, its a family thing . . .

The wilderness experience is over, 'music' is back in my life . . . this may sound a bit nutty? its streight from the heart, a true experiance of today, a day I have been able to rise above, and a couple of months I have been able to finaly make sence of . . . :)

CJSF
 

FennerMachine

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CJSF, no one can know exactly how you feel. Some may find your post a bit 'nutty'.

But, sometimes you have one of those days and an 'old friend' of Hi-Fi gives you a hug!

In your case your vinyl.

Nice!
 

CJSF

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FennerMachine said:
CJSF, no one can know exactly how you feel. Some may find your post a bit 'nutty'.

But, sometimes you have one of those days and an 'old friend' of Hi-Fi gives you a hug!

In your case your vinyl.

Nice!

I think its a bit nutty myself . . . but its a feeling of 'extra reality'? . . . that hug is so real. It makes me so aware of myself, my suroundings, my Hazel, my music . . . surly that is a good thing to feel . . . ?

CJSF
 

Keirik

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I have about 800 albums, but hardly play any of them.

However i'm finding that new vinyl is far better than the digital versions (in some cases I have both), so tend to buy as much new music on vinyl as possible,

Adele's 21 for example is almost a sensual experience on vinyl, but its just a piece of music as a digital version
 

CJSF

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Listening to vinyl is a bit like appreciating a good wine or enjoying a proper cup of tea, it has to be appreciated. Afraid a bottle of 'plonk' or a teabag in a mug just does not do it . . . stop gap maybe, but true appreciation needs the ritual, the right tools and a right frame of mind.

I'm coming to appreciate more and more, how important atmosphere and presentation is to enjoying music. Its one thing to have it on, 'press button' and a noise emanates from the speakers, rather than the organic experience of handling the vinyl, placing the 'needle' and letting the analogue sound fill the room . . . akin to the Japanese tea ceremony, the simplicity of the product can be appreciated in full.

I'm afraid modern life in general seem to have this 'no time or sophistication' approach. The older I get, the more important I am finding my early experiences in life were a foundation, remove the foundation, the house falls down? Vinyl and its associated machinery needs to be loved with a much passion as the music it produces, facsimiles of the genuine articles are plastic by comparison, my humble opinion.

CJSF

PS . . . http://turnmeup.org/ This link comes from the thread 'Dynamic Range Day', and maybe has more significance to listening to and apreciating music than one first apreciates?? Its how old vinyl would have been recorded and why I hang on my pre 1990 vinyl.
 

relocated

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I am so glad I have read this post/thread.

I have found that there are other people who love turntables but can't be bothered with the vinyl. There is something special about the love and care and reverence that you give vinyl and holding the cover will always be a hugely better experience than picking out the info leaflet in a cd case. BUT

The clicks and pops and general background noise just does my head in and it has done for years.

True the early cdp were not the best and the early transfer of material to cd was at times horrendous but cd now, especially remastered material, beats vinyl as a listening experience. I have not done downloads and rips so can't comment.

I would never sell or chuck my vinyl but I probably will never listen again despite there being a turntable on my equipment rack. In fact I haven't 'vinyled' for 15 years and I definately don't miss it.
 

davidpr

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I would without doubt. Been back into vinyl for a year and I actually sit down and listen to the music which brings me so much more enjoyment. My digital listening was turning into 'muzak' something on in the background but not really listening to it.
 

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