Why CD's Just Might Sound Better Than Vinyl

MedozK

Yea. I guess I just love the hunt for good music. I love looking through used bins of CDs much more than vinyl. A CD can be old and dusty, but once cleaned ... those 0 and 1's sound just as good as day 1.... its a little different in the used LP bins.

aspoonfulweighsaton

As someone who has a pretty decent vinyl collection and enjoys a good record as much as the next guy, I agree with this 1000%. It should be common sense really, but people believe what they want to believe.

RoleModelsinBlood31

http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/comment/5740365/#Comment_5740365

I posted it back in January but thanks for posting the whole article. I thought it was a good read as well.

callen

Hugh thanks for posting. Great article and information. Always thought my older albums were mixed better than the new stuff. Now I know.

Medoz, also don't do ITunes. I buy the CD. I own the music. Make copies for my iPods and if one craps out I still have MY CD. Store in cool dark room mostly and have never had one go bad. And you buy all the songs not just what radio station said where the hits and why we always get the hits at live events, jeremy not Garden Do like portability of ripped music, cars and outdoor activities.

But then there are the musical evenings. Once a month or so. Great food, wine, company and picking albums to play. Sounds incredible and just can't do Sabbath Bloody Sabbath without crackles and pops.

Use all three formats, each having it's place and hope they all stay. And let's hope pj mixes for vinyl next time like White.

HughFreakingDillon

my2hands said:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

each have their own degredation issues (plus I've never heard of someone complaining about their cd melting in their mail box on a hot day. ). the topic is more geared towards sound quality.

I was a teen during the era of cassettes. sound quality was pretty much trash. so when cd's appeared, it was like finding the pot at the end of the rainbow, sound-wise. then I had a friend who argued that vinyl is king. I'm not saying I'm right, I'm just saying I don't hear it. I listen to a good cd on a good stereo system, and listen to the same thing on vinyl, and not only do I not think vinyl is better, in many cases, it had those annoying pops and background hiss. Maybe the turntable wasn't tip top notch, I don't know. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know.

I went to an electronics shop to buy a new tv a year or so ago, and saw they had this "turntable room" set up. One turntable, nothing else, was $10,000. Yes, THOUSAND. that's just bloody ridiculous in my mind.

I get the allure of vinyl. I sometimes like to sit and pour a nice glass of whiskey, put on a record, put my feet up, and just listen, or look at the jacket, etc. vinyl to me is more the experience. cd's and digital are, as Elaine Benes would say, "utilitarian. like a jeep. for gettin' around".

MedozK

I Love both CD and Vinyl formats, they both have a place for me. Physical media just does it for me. I used to be that guy that downloaded, and might not ever even listen to the music... music became throw away for me, but as I have gotten older I guess I have grown to appreciate music more.

I hope more people jump on the streaming bandwagon, because I love picking up great sounding albums for $1 to $3, Its all about research.. you gotta know what your looking for when it comes to used bins.

darthvedder

my2hands said:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

This is why it's important to copy the disc before rot creeps in. The nice thing is you can get an exact copy with digital. And even when rot creeps in, you can still get full tracks off the disc that are error free.

brianlux

The CD vs vinyl argument cracks me up... like reading an article (which I did and it's interesting enough) is going to change how your ears transmit sound to your brain?

Still a vinyl fan... but that's just my ears and my brain. We're all different.

PJForceofNature

I enjoy both. Still have most of my vinyl that I bought in the 60's and 70's. I do enjoy listening to my cds, especially in the car.

lolobugg

CeeDeez are like bad acid.
in a pinch they work really good if you need a mirror.

WhatYouTaughtMe

lolobugg said:

CeeDeez are like bad acid.
in a pinch they work really good if you need a mirror.

Hey, I've learned some valuable life lessons from eating bad acid.

PJ_Soul

I don't care for CDs.

lolobugg

WhatYouTaughtMe said:

lolobugg said:

CeeDeez are like bad acid.
in a pinch they work really good if you need a mirror.

Hey, I've learned some valuable life lessons from eating bad acid.

Me too!! some SCARY life lessons.

brianlux

lolobugg said:

CeeDeez are like bad acid.
in a pinch they work really good if you need a mirror.

LOL..obugg!

lolobugg

brianlux said:

lolobugg said:

CeeDeez are like bad acid.
in a pinch they work really good if you need a mirror.

LOL..obugg!

Nice One, Brian!!!!

brianlux

lolobugg said:

brianlux said:

lolobugg said:

CeeDeez are like bad acid.
in a pinch they work really good if you need a mirror.

LOL..obugg!

Nice One, Brian!!!!

Thought you'd like that!

MedozK

I have been sucked into the "Gotta Find the Best Sounding Pressing" of certain albums, and I have a lot more luck finding great sounding CD pressings than LP. There is a lot of trial and error with LPs, especially looking for vintage masterings that are in great shape.

PJ_Soul

MedozK said:

I have been sucked into the "Gotta Find the Best Sounding Pressing" of certain albums, and I have a lot more luck finding great sounding CD pressings than LP. There is a lot of trial and error with LPs, especially looking for vintage masterings that are in great shape.

I've personally had way WAY more probs with CDs because of skipping issues. So many CDs have flaws/scratches on them in my experience, even when they look fine, whereas I've found that to be very rare with vinyl assuming the vinyl looks to be in good shape. And i always treated my CDs well. I wasn't one of those people to chuck them around or pile them up outside of their cases or anything.

lolobugg

anyone know where I can purchase a cactus needle?

MedozK

PJ_Soul said:

MedozK said:

I have been sucked into the "Gotta Find the Best Sounding Pressing" of certain albums, and I have a lot more luck finding great sounding CD pressings than LP. There is a lot of trial and error with LPs, especially looking for vintage masterings that are in great shape.

I've personally had way WAY more probs with CDs because of skipping issues. So many CDs have flaws/scratches on them in my experience, even when they look fine, whereas I've found that to be very rare with vinyl assuming the vinyl looks to be in good shape. And i always treated my CDs well. I wasn't one of those people to chuck them around or pile them up outside of their cases or anything.

I understand, I have had issues with CDs as well... its just easier to get over spending $20 on a rare W. German Target pressing than $200 on a vintage vinyl that looks to be in good shape, but plays with groove distortion and sounds like pop corn popping during quiet sections.

Again, I Love both formats. They are what I do my active listening with.