Vinyl vs. CD/SACD/DVD-Audio...

[Gliding Dutchman]

Sorry, GD, hope you don't mind - just wanted to start this topic off cleanly.
Andrew

[Timber_MG]

Having a good go at the spinning platter are we?

tbh I don't really have much of a concern for the electronics side of things, i care more for something that provides real value and provides the consumer with what they want. If it is image, status and what not, then the marketing might have value to them, but actual perofrmance has to factor in somehwere as well, relatively highly for me but others may differ.

[Andrew]

Guys, please keep it respectable. There are no 'Right' formats - it's all a matter of personal taste. Argue by all means, but play nicely. 

If you have any viewpoints on why you love a particular format, then have your say here.

[Gliding Dutchman]

Guys, please keep it respectable.

Tell this to Mr. Kelly.

I certainly don’t want to dismiss digital audio like Mr. Kelly does analogue. No sir! I have a great CD collection which I enjoy just as much along-side my vinyl albums.

As discussed with a fellow vinyl enthusiast on Vinyl SA we urge Mr. Kelly to LISTEN to a DECENT analogue setup and then judge us "Snap Crackle & Pop Retro Crowd". His current statements are insulting!

AVSA is the only premier entertainment-technology magazine South Africa’s got and we (South Africans) need them (AVSA and their journalists) to be fair regarding "professional" opinions expressed in public (both magazine and forum). Indeed you are entitled to your personal opinions and views but keep them personal.

Absent-minded statements like Mr. Kelly's got the potential to damage the analogue market in the country. There are a few guys locally (close friends of mine) trying their best to promote vinyl in South Africa and has made astronomical investments to get their businesses going. I also invested in developing a turntable and it is certainly not easy or cheap nor “low-tech”.

"People fear things they don't understand!"

GD

[Gliding Dutchman]

Why I prefer vinyl? Good question!

Why vinyl? Talk about cool! It is involving and stimulating. You get to adjust a host of features and functions on the equipment to fine-tune the performance and the results are really rewarding.
I appreciate the mechanics and function and even more the inviting sound.

I also like CD. I have a little DENON DN-961FA professional player. Built like a tank and delivers a rock-solid performance. My fav digital album must be Jennifer Warnes - The Hunter. There is nothing like slapping on a set of cans, sitting back and enjoying some sweet tunes.

GD

PS - Dont go slappin' a 30 year old banged up record on a 25 year old wind-up-tin-box with a panel pin needle and expect stellar performance...

PPS - Snap, crackle & pop are usually caused by a ground-fault...

[Andrew]

I understand your viewpoint, GD, but please refer to my comments in the Sticky, with regards allowing reviewers to also have the freedom to express their personal viewpoints from time to time. This is supposed to be a place of open debate, where people can freely express their opinions - in a tasteful manner - to spread a better understanding of personal likes and dislikes.

If it is going to descend into a mud-slinging match where people are going to resort to insults, I'll remove the thread in its entireity, and it will be a sad statement on the maturity of people involved in it.

[skinnyfat]

Mmmm vinyl,

A quick comparison...

My first car was a 1964 Mini Cooper. A classic car in all respects and put many a bigger and newer car to shame and a car i loved and still do. I have test driven the new model Mini Cooper S (the Works version) and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind which I'd prefer now. The new model is just so much better with so much more to offer.

Does this lessen the nostalgic emotion felt towards of the 1964 model ? not at all it just highlights that technology does improve matters considerably. Does it make the old Mini any worse? of course not but ITO of pure perfomance, ergonomics, comfort etc etc there is no comparison.

Now some may say this comparison doesn't apply to vinyl and CD, I say why not? Vinyl has its place and that is with the nostalgic crowd that like its quirks in much the same way a classic car collector spends his days re-wiring generators in their work shops (alternators were still a pipe dream LOL) and that satisfies him.

I just refuse to beleive you can realistically compare vinyl performance to CD performance.

[Gliding Dutchman]

I just refuse to believe you can realistically compare vinyl performance to CD performance.

There is no way of comparing digital & analogue media. The principals are just too radically different. However, both are capable of breathtaking performance, each in their own right. Case closed.

GD

[skinnyfat]

Case closed.

GD

Somehow I doubt that

[skinnyfat]

Why I prefer vinyl? Good question!

Why vinyl? Talk about cool! It is involving and stimulating. You get to adjust a host of features and functions on the equipment to fine-tune the performance and the results are really rewarding.
I appreciate the mechanics and function and even more the inviting sound.

For me I would smash a piece of kit into 100000 pieces if I had to tinker and tweak it all day to get the most out of it. That's why i don't subscribe to Ceramic ball feet, burn in CD's, R10K cables and all that nonsense - I just want to listen to the music and enjoy it

[Viagara]

Come on Kids, play nicely

I will surely annoy GD with my response, but such is the nature of our hobby, we have to disagree.

My experience of vinyl is probably the same vintage as William's. I grew up with 78's, 45's and LPs and I used to love the ritual that went with playing a black disc - checking that the turntable is level, the tracking is still set, clean the stylus, take the LP out of its cover, clean the LP, place the LP on the platter, select the correct speed, lift the tonearm, place it on the track you want to listen to, sit back, relax and enjoy the music. Well maybe this is the sequence of events, but added to that could be you jumping up because there is a problem with a track or you may have a wooden floor and your baby daughter has just started walking and her stomping is making the tonearm jump or the feedback from the bass is driving you up the wall.

GD and all vinyl enthusiasts, enjoy your vinyls - it is an experience after all - but you have your ideas about what is best and someone like me prefer my CDs. Not that I am saying that CDs are better than vinyl, they are just so much easier to use

[skinnyfat]

My experience of vinyl is probably the same vintage as William's. I grew up with 78's, 45's and LPs and I used to love the ritual that went with playing a black disc - checking that the turntable is level, the tracking is still set, clean the stylus, take the LP out of its cover, clean the LP, place the LP on the platter, select the correct speed, lift the tonearm, place it on the track you want to listen to, sit back, relax and enjoy the music.

That's the problem, by the time you've done ALL that, => you've changed your mind as to what you want to listen to and have to start the whole ritual over again

[Gliding Dutchman]

For me I would smash a piece of kit into 100000 pieces if I had to tinker and tweak it all day to get the most out of it. That's why i don't subscribe to Ceramic ball feet, burn in CD's, R10K cables and all that nonsense - I just want to listen to the music and enjoy it

Who said anything bout smashing?  
You need a delicate touch!  

[skinnyfat]

Who said anything bout smashing? 
You need a delicate touch! 

Yea I know - How does the old saying go ? ==> Different strokes for different folks

[Cleansound]

Quite interestingly,I drive a Cooper Works(new model)
The way I see it,an old classic has been improved upon and it's an absolute monster on the road,I was offered  a 2007 Audi S3 for a very good offer and I turned it down.
You see,the Audi offers none of the nostalgia or excitement I get from my Mini.
The way I see it,is that vinyl was sooooo far ahead of it's time and it has taken many years for turntables to improve and eventually catch up with this technology.We now have excellent tonearms,cartridges and phonostages.All these have been improved and now allows the music to be brought from the grooves so that we can hear a recording as it was intended to be heard.
I have an OK'Ish turntable and I invite any of you music loving audiophiles to come and give it a listen,this is not a challenge nor is it my intention to try and discredit CD. but just knowing that it produces music,music in spades.
Read our thread on Vinyl S.A. and you will see that I used the one word to describe why I prefer vinyl-Resolution.