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Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

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Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#111

Post by hevi_jos »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #73

Vinyl is 90% nostalgia and 10% logical. Modern recording methods are far superior and have much better fidelity. I much prefer my flacs on amodern high end system

I believe the main reason for its use is that music is not compressed like with CDs.

CD quality could be better, but thanks to abuse (Loudness wars), it is way worse from the music quality point of view.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

So in practice most vinyl records surpass CDs in dynamic range, because loudness in vinyl means your disc is able to hold less music.

So if you want to listen music with good speakers, you better do with vinyl.

Using vinyl has been a way to shortcut the music producers destruction of its music.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#112

Post by ddingus »

tsomctl wrote: post #12
big_chungus wrote: post #2

Would some one please enlighten me as to what on God's green earth is going on with vinyl? It's less dense, lower-quality, degrades with use, and is more expensive. It's probably less environmentally-friendly, too (though I'm not sure what it's target demographic is, so I don't know if that means much). Why is vinyl popular, all of a sudden? I had to rip all my grandmother's vinyl records, once, and it was a pain in…

Go smoke some weed and drop the needle down onto Dark Side of the Moon. You’ll understand.

Truth

Have a good friend to share the experience with?

Recommended.

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#113

Post by mikeash »

rwmj wrote: post #74
INTPenis wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A CD would be more practical Actually most practical would be a streaming service where you can enjoy the entire work of art without interruptions. Tongue in cheek so don't get riled up.

Sure :-) I guess by "CD" I should have said "digital format" or "digital stream". Having said that is there even a streaming service which would play an entire set of piano concertos? This thing must be 8 or more hours long. I've been listening to it in fits and starts over several weekends. Also for the doubters, here's a photo: http://oirase.annexia.org/tmp/20190908_183833.jpg As you can see I have CDs and a Squeez…

Any decent streaming service will let you build a custom playlist and play it in order, if it doesn’t already have the entire work as one “album.”

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#114

Post by ruuda »

renlo wrote: post #96
tzs wrote: post #71

Is anyone working on a reasonably priced turntable to play vinyl discs without degrading them? In the mid '80s, Finial Technology announced such a turntable, and had a working unit at CES in 1986. It had a stylus that contained laser interferometers that could very accurately and precisely measure the distance from the stylus to the grove walls. It kept the stylus near, but not touching, the groove, getting the audio…

My very limited understanding after talking to someone who was interested in this stuff, is that people are concerned with quantizing of the signal, which will happen with that laser solution. I’ve heard this is why audiophiles also use magnetic tape. To be clear I heard this second hand and am not directly familiar.

For a good introduction to signal quantization and some of the myths surrounding that, A Digital Media Primer for Geeks, and especially the follow-up, Digital Show & Tell, are well worth watching. https://xiph.org/video/

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#116

Post by [deleted] »

tomc1985 wrote: post #98
cortesoft wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physically experiencing? You mean the act of placing a record on the player, or something else? So only the person who touches the album gets the full experience?

Not quite so literally, but yes. Placing the record on the player, admiring/flipping through the album art, passing it around amongst friends, actually caring/worrying about the state of the record player, all sorts of things. Why the mocking tone?

[deleted]

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#117

Post by stjohnswarts »

Zardoz84 wrote: post #77
itsoggy wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always see the degradation argument. I look after my vinyl with a properly calibrated turntable. I will degrade faster than my records!

I have few vinyls that are from late 70's and it keeps playing like the first time. And I don't have a great turntable.

Unless you have one of those laser ones then that is physically impossible as there is always wear with each play, even if it is just a minute amount because there is always friction and degradation of the vinyl over time

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#118

Post by criddell »

mikeash wrote: post #104
reaperducer wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the "good enough" phrase you used really touches on the reason vinyl still exists. Streaming is "good enough." But physical media is a different experience. It's more intimate. You can touch, feel, and examine the music and the packaging. Some bands (REM is one) even put Easter Eggs in their physical media that can't be reproduced by digital. Streaming is fine for when you want to fill your space with sound.…

Plenty of steaming services will play entire albums in track order.

How well do they do on albums with no gaps between some tracks?

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#119

Post by agumonkey »

thinkmassive wrote: post #15

By revenue, not by units sold. Still interesting, and not really surprising based on my anecdotal experience of artists I follow. Streaming audio is good enough for most sound systems commonly in use. Vinyl serves as a better collectible from a favorite artist for a few reasons. - more room for cover art - physical analog medium (superficial, but has value to some) - requires more care than CDs (proves the owner’s de…

The ritual of electromechanical device has some appeal. The arm, the spin up, the pops. Even CDs had some ~groove (yes intended), the tray and interface.

That's something digital media reduced almost to zero (I guess younger generations had the bliss of the ipod wheel).

Re: Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986

#120

Post by cortesoft »

tomc1985 wrote: post #98
cortesoft wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physically experiencing? You mean the act of placing a record on the player, or something else? So only the person who touches the album gets the full experience?

Not quite so literally, but yes. Placing the record on the player, admiring/flipping through the album art, passing it around amongst friends, actually caring/worrying about the state of the record player, all sorts of things. Why the mocking tone?

I wasn't trying to be mocking, just more incredulous. I grew up with albums as our primary source of music, but it was always just put the record on and listen. It was purely functional, being the best way we had to listen to music.

When CDs came out, it was so nice because it was easier to handle and care for.

I guess it is just the strange feeling of someone describing something that was just the functional way of doing something in such a romantic way.

It would be like if someone in the future invents a device that perfectly cleans your teeth in seconds, and someone describes a toothbrush as being this great thing because you can physically scrub your teeth with it.

I only used it because I had to, and was happy something easier came along.

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