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Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

Xulonn

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Classic non-audiophile vinyl.
Indeed - simply pop/party music analogous to the pop-music party tunes from the 1950s and 60s - "lifestyle market" music that sells one hell of a lot more than audiophile niche-market stuff. I owned LPs from both genres in my younger days.
 
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MattHooper

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Getting back to the subject of this, yet another sidetracked thread...

While unsubscribing to an Airbnb email list, I stumbled across a blurb about Seth Rogen's house with a ceramic art studio in the hills above downtown Los Angeles, which he shares through Airbnb on a very limited basis. For those who don't know (I didn't), American actor Seth Rogen
Hold on. He's ours; a fellow Canuck!

(Ok, holds duel citizenship, but says he still identifies more as a Canadian..hey, we have to hold on to what little we have...)
 

Audiofire

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Of course it does. And calling it 'obviously subjective' is more like you are making my point for me. Of course the people who think vinyl is more 'true' sounding (fidelity) than digital are making subjective comments, but that doesn't mean they admit they are just imagining it.
Having just done comparison of vinyl, CD and SACD of the same '70s album on high-end equipment, I feel like sharing my result that old CDs are objectively challenged in fidelity, because of inferior digital computers back then. SACD sounds best, but vinyl sounds better than the '90s CD reissue (more detail/fidelity).

With regard to new vinyl, it seems that quality is often inferior to old vinyl. Like the reverse situation of CDs. Well, people who say new vinyl sounds better than new CDs should be dismissed until a concentrated comparison on high-end equipment is performed obviously.
 
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MattHooper

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Having just done comparison of vinyl, CD and SACD of the same '70s album on high-end equipment, I feel like sharing my result that old CDs are objectively challenged in fidelity, because of inferior digital computers back then. SACD sounds best, but vinyl sounds better than the '90s CD reissue (more detail/fidelity).

With regard to new vinyl, it seems that quality is often inferior to old vinyl. Like the reverse situation of CDs. Well, people who say new vinyl sounds better than new CDs should be dismissed until a concentrated comparison on high-end equipment is performed obviously.
Thanks for this.

I'm not sure a single test of a 70's album warrants your general conclusions, though. :)

Though I'm not sure I have any CDs left from the 80's, I'd be willing to bet plenty of 80's CDs outdo vinyl.

Also, anecdotally, I have plenty of new vinyl that sounds just as good as any old vinyl I own. For instance I was just playing the vinyl soundtrack from Carrie (released 2022) on my system and it sounded incredible - rich with super vivid you-are-there detail.
 

MattHooper

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German pressing with their precision manufacturing capabilities and quieter vinyl formulations and US mastering including access to the original master tapes (Apparently record companies would only send tape copies overseas). Supposedly the best of all vinyl worlds. I have a couple of records like that and they sound good and are nice and quiet. The sleeves are usually not so good and the label on the record is not water proof at all (I ruined one getting it wet while cleaning the record... it would have been no problem for a US record). Anyway good luck and let us know how it sounds.

I received my copy of the German pressing of YES - 90125, gave it a wash and a spin last night and...it sounds fabulous! Holy cow!
 

Audiofire

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I'm not sure a single test of a 70's album warrants your general conclusions, though. :)

Though I'm not sure I have any CDs left from the 80's, I'd be willing to bet plenty of 80's CDs outdo vinyl.
I do have multiple old CD reissues (20th century, also some from the '80s), and I tend to conclude that the sound quality has the same lackluster flatness.
 

levimax

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I do have multiple old CD reissues (20th century, also some from the '80s), and I tend to conclude that the sound quality has the same lackluster flatness.
I have around 100 1970's era original press LP's and the corresponding original CD (many originally made in Japan and West Germany). From what I have heard there are no generalization you can make about sound quality and it is completley hit or miss for both LPs and CDs. I will say that it is a myth that early CDs can't sound good.... many are outstanding and some are duds... just like the original LP's which are even more hit or miss
 

Audiofire

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I have around 100 1970's era original press LP's and the corresponding original CD (many originally made in Japan and West Germany). From what I have heard there are no generalization you can make about sound quality and it is completley hit or miss for both LPs and CDs. I will say that it is a myth that early CDs can't sound good.... many are outstanding and some are duds... just like the original LP's which are even more hit or miss
I guess you are using loudspeakers in a decent size room? I use AKG K702 headphones that detail the acoustics very well. I do not want to verify or deny what you heard, but would like to know about this question.
 

levimax

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I guess you are using loudspeakers in a decent size room? I use AKG K702 headphones that detail the acoustics very well. I do not want to verify or deny what you heard, but would like to know about this question.
Yes speaker in a medium size room. I also grew up listening to 70's music so am used to the LP mastering which is often times what is on the early CD's which sounds familiar.
 

imnotarobot

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I'm a member of a couple of reddit audiophile threads where people post pictures of their rigs and most of the time they include turntables and every time I see one my mind is blown because I outgrew vinyl only a few years after buying my first CD player in the '80's. Back then I had a tape deck, a turntable and a CD player but once I heard digital I knew they was no going back yet people en mass are and I find it baffling given all the benefits of youtube. The first and most obvious benefit is, it's free. Secondly, youtube has an almost endless catalog of music, with the original music video, the karaoke versions of songs, live versions and videos that include the lyrics. Thirdly, the convenience of simply clicking my mouse a few times and opening up a world of music is pretty alluring. I always wondered about the sound quality though so I bought a CD a few years ago to compare youtube to CD and couldn't hear any difference. LP's on the other hand can only be played one at a time, require time, money and effort to obtain and play and also require money and effort to maintain and as your collection of LP's grows it obviously becomes more expensive and takes up space-something youtube doesn't yet most reddit audiophiles are flocking to them

Does the vinyl renaissance make sense to you because it sure doesn't to me
It does because it's mostly not the same generation getting into them. If I could do it all over, I'd probably buy vinyl first, CD only if it's not on vinyl. I started during the late 1990s when vinyl was already "dead". Vinyl is more of a collectable media than the utilitarian CD and I was on that mindset. I wish I bought the Sinatra, Dylan, Beatles, Led Zeppelin box sets back when they were cheap lol.
 

krabapple

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AFAIR Youtube audio is all lossy compressed to various degrees, which uploaders can specify. I don't recall what codec, I'm guessing some version of mp3. At sufficient bitrate it won't matter but at insufficient, it could.


Having just done comparison of vinyl, CD and SACD of the same '70s album on high-end equipment, I feel like sharing my result that old CDs are objectively challenged in fidelity, because of inferior digital computers back then. SACD sounds best, but vinyl sounds better than the '90s CD reissue (more detail/fidelity).

Riiiight. I'm sure your comparison holds water here.


With regard to new vinyl, it seems that quality is often inferior to old vinyl. Like the reverse situation of CDs. Well, people who say new vinyl sounds better than new CDs should be dismissed until a concentrated comparison on high-end equipment is performed obviously.

Concentration isn't enough. And 'high end' is whatever you think it is. Obviously
 

SuicideSquid

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AFAIR Youtube audio is all lossy compressed to various degrees, which uploaders can specify. I don't recall what codec, I'm guessing some version of mp3. At sufficient bitrate it won't matter but at insufficient, it could.
Traditionally YouTube has used AAC typically 128kbps on standard definition videos and 256kbps on HD videos. I believe their back end supports a bunch of different formats though so that may change as they transition to new video compression algorithms.
 

elvisizer

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Plus there is the pleasure of …. caring for a collection
Lol please come over to my house, you can pay me for the pleasure of caring for my vinyl :cool:
By FAR my least favorite aspect of the format is keeping the stupid things clean and static electricity free
 

jsrtheta

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Hold on. He's ours; a fellow Canuck!

(Ok, holds duel citizenship, but says he still identifies more as a Canadian..hey, we have to hold on to what little we have...)
Canadian, huh?

Hmmm, better make a note about this...
 

NiagaraPete

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There is a one word answer. “Money”. Vinyl is a trendy way to sell a hard copy.
 

pseudoid

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There is a one word answer. “Money”. Vinyl is a trendy way to sell a hard copy.
"Vinyl Profits" will become an oxymoron again!
Let's wait and see...:eek:
 

NiagaraPete

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"Vinyl Profits" will become an oxymoron again!
Let's wait and see...:eek:
Vinyl out sold CD’s last last year and is on track to increase.
 
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