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Why do records sound so much better than digital?

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MattHooper

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Not attacking vinyl rather than consideration as a worthwhile route.

Not sure I understand. Do you mean you (or others?) who don't care for vinyl have been arguing against vinyl as a "worthwhile route?"

If so...woudn't those be on the grounds that have been repeated ad nauseum? (Vinyl's technical inferiority?) And which some have continued to repeat lo these 112 pages?

The vinyl crowd is particularly obtuse, tho.

I hope you are referring to a certain faction of the vinyl crowd outside ASR. I.e. the ones who make bogus claims about the superiority of vinyl (?)

On ASR in general and even in this thread, aside from the click-baity OP which shook out pretty fast, I see mostly people being quite reasonable about their enjoyment of vinyl, and not making woo-woo claims of it's superiority.

When employing an insult, it's worthwhile to be clear who the insult is, or isn't, aimed at.
 

Chrispy

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Not sure I understand. Do you mean you (or others?) who don't care for vinyl have been arguing against vinyl as a "worthwhile route?"

If so...woudn't those be on the grounds that have been repeated ad nauseum? (Vinyl's technical inferiority?) And which some have continued to repeat lo these 112 pages?



I hope you are referring to a certain faction of the vinyl crowd outside ASR. I.e. the ones who make bogus claims about the superiority of vinyl (?)

On ASR in general and even in this thread, aside from the click-baity OP which shook out pretty fast, I see mostly people being quite reasonable about their enjoyment of vinyl, and not making woo-woo claims of it's superiority.

When employing an insult, it's worthwhile to be clear who the insult is, or isn't, aimed at.
Just saying the vinyl fanboy stuff is extremely limited, it's simply not the best way to go. If someone can come up with some actual controlled blind comparisons it might be interesting, but have yet to see something like that in the 30 or so years since I've abandoned vinyl as a source, just think it's not worthy of continuing consideration except in parti ularly specific instances, but certainly not generally where it mostly falls into audiophoolery
 

MattHooper

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Just saying the vinyl fanboy stuff is extremely limited, it's simply not the best way to go.

Sure. Not the best way to go for some people. For others it is.

If someone can come up with some actual controlled blind comparisons it might be interesting,

Agreed.

The only such tests I've ever seen is the one that often gets repeated where, in blind tests, people preferred digital over vinyl tracks. It's excellent that there is at least one study, though it tends to get thrown in the fact of vinyl enthusiasts as if that one study has determined a preference for vinyl is only expectation effects.

The truly scientific minded would be very cautious in drawing confident inferences from a single study.

but have yet to see something like that in the 30 or so years since I've abandoned vinyl as a source, just think it's not worthy of continuing consideration except in parti ularly specific instances, but certainly not generally where it mostly falls into audiophoolery

Agreed about the audiophoolery (though we may have slightly different opinions of where that line is).

As I've always said: there are many good reasons why an audiophile wouldn't want to play vinyl records. Just like one can give good justifications "why I chose to by X vehicle over Y vehicle. "Good reasons" will of course depends on one's taste and goals. A problem arises when people only see through their own biases and goals to conclude others with different taste or goals are "fools."
 

IPunchCholla

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So they don't care about what they commit to the master?
Is that what your really telling us?
No. That isn’t what I said. Read it again, or are you just arguing in bad faith, like usual?
 

IPunchCholla

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A feast of words and descriptions. :D The new software is that good... very cool. Are you integrating one into the other like super clean electronics sounds combined with the impromptu of Punk? That might be a new development.
Definitely not a new development, but, yes I am. Radiohead’s layering of distortion and clarity along with electronica beats has been inspiring, but I’m more starting with Joy Division et al. And mixing in NIN and this mortal coil?
 

Doodski

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Some good beats there for sure. Sometimes requires a few minutes of adjustment but the beats are there for sure. How about a jazz tuned drum set with snappy snares and tight cymbals with the accuracy of software synth notes and the impromptu of the Punk vibe. While keeping it real simple and earthy like THE CHATS.
 

levimax

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Just saying the vinyl fanboy stuff is extremely limited, it's simply not the best way to go.
In my case, and I'm sure for many others on these boards that enjoy vinyl, we certainly do not play vinyl exclusively and our eyes are wide open about the pro's and con's of each format including all the digital physical formats and streaming because we listen to them all. I like to surf and I have different surf boards for different conditions and for my mood. I could pick "one" and use that every day and it would be more practical but surfing isn't about being practical all the time and either is listening to recorded music.
 

dougi

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Some good beats there for sure. Sometimes requires a few minutes of adjustment but the beats are there for sure. How about a jazz tuned drum set with snappy snares and tight cymbals with the accuracy of software synth notes and the impromptu of the Punk vibe. While keeping it real simple and earthy like THE CHATS.
and short, both for the songs and the album. Their high risk behaviour album is only 28 minutes, so no need to use much of the LP surface there, reducing the prospect of inner groove distortion (to be fair, I have it on vinyl but am not at home to check).
 

rdenney

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Thread summary:

OP: “Why is vinyl better than digital?”

All: “it isn’t.”

Some: “Vinyl is bad but can be interesting and fun to play with. And sometimes what’s on the vinyl doesn’t exist elsewhere.”

Self-Appointed Retorters: “Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad!!!!! You’re stupid! It’s not hi-fi. It’s not! It’s not!”

Repeat 500 times.

Rick “nothing new in about a thousand posts” Denney
 

killdozzer

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Clearly Mr. Ellington did not get what I call the "Venom phenom": on stage they are terrible, but on record, they have become a massive inspiration and reference.
I'm sorry, I didn't get this. What is venom phenom?
 

Vacceo

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I'm sorry, I didn't get this. What is venom phenom?
Venom are the grandfather's of Black Metal (the name of the genre comes from one of their songs). Their records are technically poor in terms of musicianship, the recording quality is often times, terrible. When you think oh, but live on stage they'll sound better! I saw them the first time and the quality of the sound was bad, the second time it was worse, the third I thought it cound't be worse! It was even worse! So yes, they sound better recorded than live.

Do I like them and enjoy their gigs? Oh, absolutely! They are a massive fun band to listen and watch!
 

killdozzer

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Thread summary:

OP: “Why is vinyl better than digital?”

All: “it isn’t.”

Some: “Vinyl is bad but can be interesting and fun to play with. And sometimes what’s on the vinyl doesn’t exist elsewhere.”

Self-Appointed Retorters: “Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad. Vinyl is bad!!!!! You’re stupid! It’s not hi-fi. It’s not! It’s not!”

Repeat 500 times.

Rick “nothing new in about a thousand posts” Denney
Thread summary:

OP: “Why is vinyl better than digital?”

Most: "It isn't."

Some: "It's superior because I'm so special and understand why it needs to be worse than it could in order to sound "right"!! The fact that it sounds bad, makes it sound superior TO ME!!! I said TO MEEEEE!!!! TO ME! And superior TO ME is also superior just as any other superior and why would only yours be superior, why don't you allow for a different superior, you step all over my superior and think only your superior counts!!! Who are you to dismiss my superior! I want my right to equal outcome in what is superior in audio gear!!"

Most: That makes no sense. Do you feel threatened?

Some: "No, this my favorite forum, I really enjoy my time spent here."

Repeat 5000 times in few dozen threads.

kill "you shouldn't expect a different outcome if it's all repeating, someone once said that's insanity" dozzer.
297621823_473303248133779_4300732823421767827_n.jpg


...is all I'm saying.
 

JiiPee

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I think vinyl does sound better and the reason simple: I usually play my vinyl records when I have enjoyed a few glasses of nice red wine. Alcohol is easily the most effective way to improve the sound. The only drawback is that it also apparently decreases the speaker sensitivity, as I often notice next morning that I have turned the volume much higher than what I normally do.
 

Vacceo

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I think vinyl does sound better and the reason simple: I usually play my vinyl records when I have enjoyed a few glasses of nice red wine. Alcohol is easily the most effective way to improve the sound. The only drawback is that it also apparently decreases the speaker sensitivity, as I often notice next morning that I have turned the volume much higher than what I normally do.
I disagree: THC is the best additive to enjoy music. Alcohol has the advantage of being legal in more places. :p

That demonstrates that many love distortion, inherent to the gear or the listener. :D
 

Zaireeka

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I once had an intense mystical epiphany listening to Bjork under the influence of mexicain mushrooms. Music was so perfect and out of this world, it was pure magic!

It was a CD played on a crappy plastic stereo ofc, setting up a vinyl to play it would have been totally impossible since all of us were so high. Good old stupid times :rolleyes:

(That being said I'm in no way advocating the use of any chemical substances to increase the listening experience)
 
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Vacceo

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I once had an intense mystical epiphany listening to Bjork under the influence of mexicain mushrooms. Music was so perfect and out of this world, it was pure magic!

It was a CD played on a crappy plastic stereo ofc, setting up a vinyl to play it would have been totally impossible since all of us were so high. Good old stupid times :rolleyes:
Imagine what could have happened with Hawkwind...
 

Sal1950

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Sal1950

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rdenney

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Thread summary:

OP: “Why is vinyl better than digital?”

Most: "It isn't."

Some: "It's superior because I'm so special and understand why it needs to be worse than it could in order to sound "right"!! The fact that it sounds bad, makes it sound superior TO ME!!! I said TO MEEEEE!!!! TO ME! And superior TO ME is also superior just as any other superior and why would only yours be superior, why don't you allow for a different superior, you step all over my superior and think only your superior counts!!! Who are you to dismiss my superior! I want my right to equal outcome in what is superior in audio gear!!"

Most: That makes no sense. Do you feel threatened?

Some: "No, this my favorite forum, I really enjoy my time spent here."

Repeat 5000 times in few dozen threads.

kill "you shouldn't expect a different outcome if it's all repeating, someone once said that's insanity" dozzer.
View attachment 223024

...is all I'm saying.
I think it’s obvious who feels threatened. The long-standing members of this forum who listen to vinyl also listen to various digital sources and stipulated its technical superiority early on. And repeatedly since then, in a vain attempt to acknowledge those who insist that merely listening to vinyl is antithetical to science akin to advocating for a flat earth.

Those few who came in from the outside to tout the usual heresies found no friends among the regulars who play with analog playback.

Rick “read it how you want to” Denney
 
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