Bought no vinyl for 10 years. Where to (re)start now?

[MaxwellsEq]

It's also a fact, that there are many music albums, which are much better on vinyl when it comes to (measured) dynamic range although the medium is technically inferior

Vinyl doesn't measure better on DR, it's an artefact of crest factor and mastering for vinyl.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

That's a point - digitally (remastered) is often very compressed. Again, yes, digitall is on every parameter superior, but that translates only to a superior result when the studio engineer does it right. It's not all about the playback device / medium but depending on what is mastered.

Album list - Dynamic Range DB

That's a big database where many albums are already included in digital as well as vinyl - just search for your favourite albums, maybe you get surprised.

Vinyl doesn't measure better on DR, it's an artefact of crest factor and mastering for vinyl.

 

[dualazmak]

My DIY IEC60268-17 compatible 12-VU-Meter Array, as well as all the on screen peak meters of JRiver MC, VB-AUDIO MATRIX, DSP EKIO, work commonly for digital music library playback and live TT vinyl LP play back...

If you would be interested, please refer here.

 

[Paffi]

Vinyl doesn't measure better on DR, it's an artefact of crest factor and mastering for vinyl.

Interesting video, didn't know that, thank you! Unless I get it wrong, at 10:12 he confirms, that vinyl has sometimess better dynamics.

 

[JeremyFife]

It should be clear that digital is a superior medium for audio.

That doesn't stop labels/producers b#ll#cking up digital releases, and sometimes they b#ll#ck up vinyl releases less. This seems (my opinion, no evidence) to be a relatively recent phenomenon.

Does NOT make vinyl better, but it sometimes means that the vinyl release is less bad than digital.
Careful buying avoids this; in the example below, the original CD is brilliant.

e.g.

Tears For Fears – The Tipping Point – Review (LP , CD, Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon, Atmos, Binaural, Bluray Audio)

Tears For Fears is back, after Everybody Loves a Happy Ending released in 2004, The Tipping Point is the 7th studio album. The album features 10 tracks, and the limited deluxe edition includes 3 bo…

magicvinyldigital.net

 

[mike70]

I think nobody said vinyl is better ... what we need is an open mind.
Some people read about vinyl sounding good and it seems they receive full moon light and automatically transforms in a kind of werewolf science based.
Yes, vinil can sound almost without pop & ticks (well cleaned), without perceived noise floor (I don't perceive any rumble or noise at 6 foot), with great sound (using fine line stylus on decent cartridges / preamps).

Good records sounds fantastic, really.
I normally use 75% streaming, 20% vinyl and 5% CDs. Streaming gives me the convenient plug and play situation for background music, search for new music, etc. With the albums I really want to sit down and listen, then I use vinyl and sometimes CD.

And it's ok with people that don't like analog, but why is always a trouble experience to talk about vinyl? That's what I can't understand. Maybe in this forum someone doesn't knows that digital is a theoretical superior media and you need to teach that again and again?

 

[DSJR]

I did try to get back into vinyl some years ago bought my former Thorens TD160 (again) this turntable i used at the time in the 70 and 80ties. A decent element of Ortofon with an new eliptical needle was installed. Also the original cinch plugs were changed for neutrik plugs. So i dig up some records like Ahmad Jamal - Rossiter Road. When i did an a/b comparison in the late 80ties i was stund regarding the difference basicly it was dead silence on the cd compared to vinyl. Because of that i could hear details like wispering from left to right an visa versa that was on vinyl more or less barely notable because of background noise. Same sort experience with Miles Davis - Tutu. For me the reason to leave vinyl asap. Now the same experience was their again. IMO it looks like Vinyl is more a sort of life style thing as so many things as food clothing cars etc etc an thats fine. Probably if i had still my about 1000 lp's ( that i gave away late 80ties no regrets) i would keep the Thorens an listen when i am in a nostalgic mood.

I'd suggest that most of the best sounding vinyl re-issues will be from a digital main source and that's a good thing I feel. The Alan Parsons Project box set from a very few years back was cut (and digital releases made) from original master tapes and especially originals hardly or never played (originating from the AP Project's co-conspirator Eric Wolfson r.i.p.) compared to the record company tapes (even a knackered and subsequently rescued over three days UMatic master I gather - Vulture Culture)
I'd also suggest a 95ML stylus or possibly better, the 95SH one, for your old turntable, as high frequencies DO sound cleaner over the bonded 95E tip and the generally 'stronger' hf dynamics on more recent vinyl cuts (thanks to the digital sources perhaps?) will give a cleaner subjective experience (I find the 95E a bit 'closed in' in comparison with its better models up the range. ANYTHING to attempt to close the general subjective gap between vinyl and digital (it can be very close on decent masterings, but you need to work at the vinyl side to do this)
Here again, is what the VM95ML can do into a decent inexpensive phono stage -

Below isn't a criticism of the products used (stylus condition and set-up DEFINITELY - the Ittok always under-biased even an elliptical tip as I saw many lop-sided diamond wearing under a miscrosope) as I know them well of old, but this is what most peeps here who junked their vinyl are remembering at its worst -

This one's better and around two grand I believe. Effin' Technics STILL haven't sorted out the strobe weave which if mine, would have sent me crackers

... and the non-vinyl version admittedly remastered -

 

[MaxwellsEq]

I have a relatively low opinion of the DR measurements and database, although they served their purpose in differentiating between masters in the loudness wars. Personally, I would much rather use EBU R128

 

[MaxwellsEq]

I think nobody said vinyl is better ... what we need is an open mind.

I think there are a number of posts suggesting a claim that vinyl is better. It is not in every technical regard.

BUT, what @JeremyFife succinctly explained in post #65 is that it's possible that the only version available on stream or CD is a b#ll#ck-ed up master, whilst a completely different, not b#ll#ck-ed up, master was used on a certain vinyl release. In which case, the badly-mastered CD or stream may be less good to listen to than the vinyl with the good master (assuming good LP playback equipment). This says nothing about the relative merits of vinyl over digital.

 

[pderousse]

Check the title of this forum

Or they use scientific instruments and measure:

Introducing the Phono Cartridge Measurement Library

Skip to the index. After years of development we are finally launching our phono cartridge measurement library. These measurements were created using the brilliant cartridge response python script written by @scott wurcer and @JP. Information about its origins can be found in the following...

audiosciencereview.com

Captious and glib. If you don’t care to reply to a whole post, but just the phrase you object to, be sure also not to read the first word in the title of this forum. Enjoy the scientific measurements.

 

[Galliardist]

Interesting video, didn't know that, thank you! Unless I get it wrong, at 10:12 he confirms, that vinyl has sometimess better dynamics.

This matter was also investigated in the Vinyl Renaissance thread, if you dare go there. Some members had an extended discussion about DR, and the conclusion was that examined recent albums with some quite large DR differences were cut from the same mixes and had the same dynamics.

There is a lot of confirmation bias going on here. I don't normally reach for the "bias" word when discussing perception, but it absolutely applies here.

This doesn't mean that it never happens. It may also become a bit of a self fulfilling prophesy... producers want digital streams that sound like others that were hits, and they want LPs that sound like others that were hits as well. The last Peter Gabriel release is a bit like that.

 

[pderousse]

The OP wanted to buy some vinyl records and came here for recommendations for Latin, Jazz and other genres. Partisans for one medium over the other already have the Vinyl Renaissance forum. I applauded exploring both media, so here’s a suggestion:

Cal Tjader, Catch the Groove is the first new release in 20 years of previously unreleased material. Made for Record Store Day 2023 (I think), it comes in a beautiful 3x vinyl issue that was mastered from original tape made over a period 1963-1967 at the Penthouse in Seattle. Review.

 

[Timcognito]

I think something like this what the OP wanted, guessing. Remember, other than the music and performance, without outstanding recording and mastering everything downstream adds little as far as SQ.

2023 TAS Super LP List - The Absolute Sound

2023 TAS Super LP List - The latest version of TAS’ annual list of great-sounding LPs, compiled by JV (this year with the help of Michael Fremer).

www.theabsolutesound.com

 

[Robin L]

I think something like this what the OP wanted, guessing. Remember, other than the music and performance, without outstanding recording and mastering everything downstream adds little as far as SQ.

2023 TAS Super LP List - The Absolute Sound

2023 TAS Super LP List - The latest version of TAS’ annual list of great-sounding LPs, compiled by JV (this year with the help of Michael Fremer).

www.theabsolutesound.com

I gave the list a quick perusal. I used to have a subscription to The Absolute Sound, a long time ago. I would issue a warning - lots of the titles listed didn't have that good of a recording in the first place. Case in point, Glenn Gould's first (1955) mono recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations for what was then Columbia records. I've owned that title in something like five different masterings. The original sounds closed-in, as if the lid on the piano was closed. Later issues tipped the treble up so that they were more to Gould's liking. In any case, it's not a particularly good sounding recording to start with. There's lots of other examples like this throughout the (long) list. It reflects Harry Pearson's musical prejudices and might not align with the musical interests of others. HP would favor a lot of titles on musical grounds when the sonic qualities were subpar. And some, like the Otto Klemperer recording of Bach's Brandenburg concertos, are absurd on all levels. You can only find the title listed used, it's a UK import and represents a mode of performance that is pretty much unaware of appropriate tempos, balances and sonorities.

 

[Steven Holt]

This thread is turning into a indictment on Vinyl. The OP does not want that. He wants to know what new Vinyl he should buy. To answer his question : Miles Davis KIND OF BLUE and John Coltrane A LOVE SUPREME. And if he's into 'neo-lounge' Bryan Ferry's Roxy Music MANIFESTO.

 

[DVDdoug]

I have to admit that the idea of 45-rpm-LPs looks quite intriguing to me. Is there any overview about what’s on the market of those?

I believe the theory is a slightly improved signal-to-noise ratio (less than 1dB). With double the speed you should get a 3dB improvement: +6dB of signal, and only +3dB of noise.

But they MAY put more care into the production. And of course it could even be a different master (better or worse).

Ironically, the old 45RPM singles (the ones with the big spindle hole) usually sounded worse than the album! It may have been the original vinyl loudness war and I've read that they used "regrind" vinyl.

 

[JeremyFife]

Some records that I've enjoyed;
Beatles, Revolver - mono, reissue 2014. Impressive, hard to find digitally - not cheap.

Joan Armatrading's debut, get an original pressing - not expensive.

Radiohead, Amnesiac, 45rpm. If you like Radiohead.

Jazz or soul on the Verve label is often very nice, recent releases too.

 

[Timcognito]

This thread is turning into a indictment on Vinyl. The OP does not want that. He wants to know what new Vinyl he should buy. To answer his question : Miles Davis KIND OF BLUE and John Coltrane A LOVE SUPREME. And if he's into 'neo-lounge' Bryan Ferry's Roxy Music MANIFESTO.

I will not defend AS list nor will I question Robin L's superb acumen on classical music recordings but that list has a section on modern recordings that show those added that year '23 highlighted in bold titled Special Merit: Informal. Kind of Blue and Manifesto didn't make it.

 

[Robin L]

I will not defend AS list nor will I question Robin L's superb acumen on classical music recordings but that list has a section on modern recordings that show those added that year '23 highlighted in bold titled Special Merit: Informal. Kind of Blue and Manifesto didn't make it.

I'll mention some pop recordings that strike me as being sonically exceptional: Steely Dan: Aja. Analogue Productions AUHQR 0014-45 (45rpm, 200g, 2LP). I also would recommend Gaucho, though my copy is a 5.1 SACD. And Janis Ian: Breaking Silence. Columbia/Analogue Productions 027‡. Joan Armatrading: Joan Armatrading. A&M Records SP-4588† isn't her debut (Whatever's for Us and Back to the Night came before), but it is a great record with great production. However, the LP has a lot of pre-post echo. Managed to find multiple white label promo copies in excellent shape. A lot of the Warner Brother's Productions of the 1970s are sonically superior. That would include Bonnie Raitt's albums and Maria Muldaur's. Roxy Music's Avalon sounds splendid, though to these ears it has the best sound as a 5.1 SACD.

 

[Robin L]

I guess it would help if the OP mentioned artists/albums he (?) likes and would want on vinyl.