Digicile
Member
To be truthful, it is music which is important to me and my friends. We don't care how many channels it comes from. Hopefully there will still be a planet when I grow old.
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The Truth About Vinyl Records
- Thread starter Punter
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The recording industry isn't going to be steering any ships. If you're looking for innovation, then it's games (and possibly porn) that will be leading the way to multichannel/multisensory audiovisual experiences. As I'm not a gamer and very rarely watch TV/videos of any sort, I'll be happily listening to my music on ye olde stereo... and I suspect most people will - multichannel music hasn't really caught on in any big way, despite attempts to push quadraphonic, SACD, DVD-A, bluray, etc, etc...
Jimi Floyd
Active Member
The Truth About Vinyl Records....
1)
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2)
a - while one album is playing, which one between 1) and 2) is more delightful to browse for the next one ?
b - which one do you contemplate with a proud smile ?
c - which one tells your guests you are a person with very good taste and discrimination ?
d - which one has grown with you since you started listening to music ? (boomers only)
e - which one has stood the test of time ?
f - which one will last forever ?
g - which one makes you remember when and where you added an item to your collection ?
h - which one has an objective value besides the subjective one ?
I could go on and on.......
1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2)
a - while one album is playing, which one between 1) and 2) is more delightful to browse for the next one ?
b - which one do you contemplate with a proud smile ?
c - which one tells your guests you are a person with very good taste and discrimination ?
d - which one has grown with you since you started listening to music ? (boomers only)
e - which one has stood the test of time ?
f - which one will last forever ?
g - which one makes you remember when and where you added an item to your collection ?
h - which one has an objective value besides the subjective one ?
I could go on and on.......
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We have binaural, muti digital processing systems, MQA, DSP etc., now, and I still say that until the music industry encodes it, the innovation is just that, innovation. Now I do not disagree that there certainly is innovation in games audio for sure, and in some video audio, but it has to get into the hands of consumers and the recording industry has that pipeline sewn shut for music.
Digital technology can encode all kinds of stuff into one "song" now and for years prior to now, but nothing has happened, not even something as simple as recording digital data into a song such that it is better for headphones or for speakers. We will have to disagree on this one.,
No sub woofer? just kidding man!
Kudo to the OP for a nice exposition. I wasn't fully aware of the fine early details, Edison's work etc. Still amazing the processes employed to make vinyl LPs work as well as they do.
The only thing missing is any mention of off-centered records, is a real & serious phenomenon. Perhaps the seriously bad & obvious ones represent 5% (3%? 7%?) of all pressings? But if you think about the tolerances on the production of thousands of pressings, just how precisely the correct size hole can be centered on a vinyl disc, and even minor variations in TT's center spindle sizes, you have to admit some degree of pitch variation has to exist on virtually all records. Not that this is easily audible all the time, but the off-center speed variation (which is what it results in) does add another layer of distortion to LPs that's simply not there with digital.
The only thing missing is any mention of off-centered records, is a real & serious phenomenon. Perhaps the seriously bad & obvious ones represent 5% (3%? 7%?) of all pressings? But if you think about the tolerances on the production of thousands of pressings, just how precisely the correct size hole can be centered on a vinyl disc, and even minor variations in TT's center spindle sizes, you have to admit some degree of pitch variation has to exist on virtually all records. Not that this is easily audible all the time, but the off-center speed variation (which is what it results in) does add another layer of distortion to LPs that's simply not there with digital.
Jimi Floyd
Active Member
If the two cannot do low bass, then a sub would be fine.
Stereo just works. I remember my father playing Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love for an elderly relative who hadn't really heard stereo... what amazed Nancy wasn't the effects panned from speaker to speaker, but that there appeared to be a band playing between the speakers. As I said, the music industry have tried to sell multichannel (whether that was analogue quadraphonic or the various digital post CD formats), but never really successfully. Certainly SACDs and DVD-As have both been sold with the consumers choice of stereo or multichannel, but they never got close to replacing stereo.
As for the music industry now being an innovator and driver of innovation - the advent of easy digital duplication and distribution with CD-Rs, mp3 and the internet meant that come this millennium, the recording industry no longer had the resources to throw at new stuff in the hope that it sticks. The greatest innovation the industry has managed of late is to market vinyl as a premium listening experience and generate some extra income that way...
Undoubtedly. But vinyl is still a lovely format, mainly because playing it isn't just a case of clicking a button on a screen. The mechanics and rituals involved help to prepare the mind to listen properly, which is why I think some vinyl adherents swear that vinyl/analogue is better than even the highest resolution digital formats.
Digicile
Member
When I have friends over for a listen, passing around vinyl jackets is a HUGE deal which everybody loves. It builds up anticipation for sure for stitting back and enjoying the music and nothing else.
Ahhh... the glory of a beautiful gatefold!
With a bit of poetic license:
a - while one CD is playing, which one between 1) and 2) is more delightful to browse for the next one ?
b - which CD do you contemplate with a proud smile ?
c - which CD tells your guests you are a person with very good taste and discrimination ?
d - which CD has grown with you since you started listening to music ? (boomers only)
e - which CD has stood the test of time ?
f - which CD will last forever ?
g - which CD makes you remember when and where you added an item to your collection ?
h - which CD has an objective value besides the subjective one ?
i - which one sounds better ?
I could go on and on ...
I thought you were pointing out the absurdity of vinyl at first. I'm more picky about my digital storage, and prefer my NVME in a jaunty case:
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I was having a dig at vinyl but I do understand the attraction. I like CDs and still buy them but for everyday listening I have my FLAC files on a NAS.
Great article - so informative. I enjoyed my SME 10 turntable for many years - partly because it was a set up and forget (vs more tweakable turntables).
I loved hunting out old jazz LPs and that warm feeling when you drop the needle on a really clean copy of an old classic. I would marvel at just how vibrant recordings created in the 50s could sound and that this spinning disc technology even worked at all! I really enjoyed the visceral feeling of playing records and the journey it takes you on.
When Roon came along I found I was spending less time playing records. Roon (and digital streaming) has taken me on a different journey.
Playing my record collection is like going to the pub with really old friends, but Roon is like buying an open ended round the world flight ticket !
I ended up selling my TT this year - still clinging on to the records which I can’t bear to sell
I loved hunting out old jazz LPs and that warm feeling when you drop the needle on a really clean copy of an old classic. I would marvel at just how vibrant recordings created in the 50s could sound and that this spinning disc technology even worked at all! I really enjoyed the visceral feeling of playing records and the journey it takes you on.
When Roon came along I found I was spending less time playing records. Roon (and digital streaming) has taken me on a different journey.
Playing my record collection is like going to the pub with really old friends, but Roon is like buying an open ended round the world flight ticket !
I ended up selling my TT this year - still clinging on to the records which I can’t bear to sell
In case it isn't clear, I'm not anti-vinyl either. It just isn't part of my experience.
Alternatively I can pass the iPad around and let guests explore the artist, collaborating musicians and composer with Roon. It’s just a digital album sleeve
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