Vinyl

What's with the Vinyl comeback. I thought Vinyl went out with cds. I know there are people who prefer Vinyl because it sounds better. My wife likes Vinyl better. I know in the last few years its (Vinyl) is poping up more as an option on some bands releases. Its not like Vinyl players are packed on shevles. I have seen Vinyl players out there that have the option to make your own cd-r of the record. So what's the deal with this option being more available lately

Vinyl was king in the 70's and early 80's.  The people who were teenagers with record collections back then are now middle-aged and I think the "nostalgia" factor plays big into the "vinyl comeback movement".  Just take a look at the kinds of albums that are getting reissued on vinyl, seems to be a lot of 70's and 80's rock music (with some 60's stuff thrown in).  The market is likely a little wider than that, but I think they are probably the majority of people buying vinyl.  If vinyl's popularity has increased in 20 years my theory could be way off base...but it wouldn't surprise me if it peaks within the next 10 years and then quickly declines again.

Probably the same reason you see the comeback of the muscle cars and other things retro - people getting older are trying to feel young again.

I'd be in that category I guess but as an electrical engineer CDs are superior to me in all aspects except initial sound quality. However, few people can tell that difference and then only with decent equipment.

In all honesty, I prefer straight lossless digital files but so few inserts seem to be included with that media that I still buy some CDs. I do prefer real books to pdf/ebook (unless it's a tech book).

What's lossless digital files?

What do you mean initial sound quality

rich71 wrote:

What's lossless digital files?

Not sure about the "initial sound quality" comment but I do know about "lossless" digital files.

MP3 files are either created by either compressing the CD files or whatever format the music was recorded in.  The files are substantially smaller (in bit size) than the original digital files the music was created by a form of "lossy data compression".  This compression means that some of the original audio quality is lost (mostly highs and lows).  A "lossless" format doesn't compress the original audio file but merely transfers it into a format that can be played on a standard computer.  Common lossless audio file types are Wave (or .WAV) type files and FLACC (which is still compressed but does not lose any of the file quality).

There are many arguments over which is best but in all honesty if I have an MP3 file that is 320 kbps, I can't tell the difference between it and the lossless type files.  The advantage to MP3's is that they can be as small as 15% of the original digital file size (thus take up less space)

If you want some reading check out this Wikipedia page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_file_format

rich71 wrote:

What do you mean initial sound quality

SB already answered the other question well enough so I'll tackle this one. All physical sound media will degrade in some form over time though it would take a VERY long time for CDs if you treat them well (no scratches, high heat, etc). Anyway, the first play of any record will be the best in theory. No dust, scratches, etc. to affect sound quality. There had been quite a market for record cleaning supplies and equipment back in the days, but you can never replace what the needle removes. It would likely take hundreds of plays for someone to notice though (and how would you A/B compare?).

Another comment on the lossless question. The other main advantage to me is I never have to transcode and lose even more audio info. For example, my son's Nintendo only took AAC format so if I had MP3s, I'd be transcoding. Since I use FLAC, I'm starting with all the original data so I can convert into any lossy format I want without losing any more than I would have with the first conversion. Another advantage is not as much an issue today with the proliferation of larger storage capacities, but it was to make 2 different MP3s, one at high bit rate for your normal system and one at 96k for mobile devices to maximize # of songs you could have on your little 128MB card, which would be roughly 160 minutes of music (maybe 180 if you used variable bit rate).

Speaking of vinyl, I probably have about 30 albums on vinyl with probably about 1/3 to 2/5 of it new releases.

I have about 450 LP albums of which about 30 are new release or old albums newly released on 180 gram vinyl... I love the sound of vinyl over cd...I like analog over digital for older albums...(truthfully I would take a good cassette over a cd any day)...For newer stuff I would rather have vinyl first and cd second...I do however have about 1000 cd's and 400 cassettes and alot of downloads..and some titles I have on Vinyl and cd...

Here is an interesting fact..In 2014 David Bowies latest album sold 1,000,000 units on vinyl... very impressive indeed
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I have a component system with a 500 watt amp ..AM/FM stereo, Cd Player, Dual Cassette, and turntable all pumping through 2 Dual speakers..It rocks my apartment and the neighbors (out of kindness I use headphones late at night...)

Hey SA, great to see you back!

Quote :

Hey SA, great to see you back!