GuttersnipeXL

Does anybody have a preference between the two? Can you tell the difference between the two mediums? I for one prefer vinyl...to me, the music sounds richer, more alive so to speak.
Some say there is no difference at all....I was wondering what everyone else thought.

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meanSpleen

Vinyl - sounds more real because you get all the pops and cracks (intentional or unintentional) as if you were sitting in the same room with the person while they are recording it.

Digital - sounds better because of clarity, and audio enhancement.

I prefer digital, for a few reasons. I'm less likely to break it, it has greater support - meaning i can go into a store and easily get something for it, and it is what I am used to. I was born in 1980, and although vinyl was big, I didn't actually get into music until cd's were everywhere.

Just a note: I do own some vinyl. Laurie Anderson, Madonna, Art of Noise, Count Bassie, Stray Cats and a few others.

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vermin

I have over 250 records that I wish were all on cd. After living with pops, crackles, and hiss, for many years cds seemed to me the answer to an impossible dream: clear music. I also have around 300 cds, but very few are copies of the records. Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath being the exceptions.

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zfleebin

Soundwise I prefer digital just cause it is so clean. When it comes to spinning though I love vinyl and those cd turntables will never feel the same no mater how they try.
Vermin: you might want to search around for a place that will switch your records over from vinyl to digital. If you have turntables and a decent soundcard with inputs you can probably just buy the software that cleans up the sound and digitizes it. Cant remember what the programs called but there is probably a couple to choose from.

IC3

One of my friends spins Jungle, And there is just something about watching a record spin on the deck with the needle on it..Shooting out beats.

Digital sounds better, But there is just something about Vinyl that I like...Can't really explain it.

Magpie0001

I LOVE WAX - Tactility, cracktility, groovoligy. Scratchcratchratchatch.
This stuff is really PHRESH.

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Lebell

I love my old vinyl, it will be great when I have a place to put my turntable again. There is something so satisfying about removing the disk from the sleeve, setting it, spinning up the turntable and placing the needle.

That being said, I cringed as I slowly heard my music deteriorate through use and HORRORS if I accidently scratched one of them. No, I love my old vinyl, but I don't want to go back.

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Spungfoo

Digital all the way. I can understand the viynl obsession though. Digital output is way more versatile though.

Ambition

Depends on purpose.... For home enjoyment, Digital is better. But if you DJ you'll probably find vinyl more useful.

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GSRIDER

Ya know... since I now have kids and can not STAND musical interuptions by skipping records... I have all but abandoned my records until I can get them on a floor that is solid.

My house is close to a 100 years old and every step can be felt so alas... I love vinyl, I love reading the big lyrics I love record sleeves, I love 7" even more... but I cannot stand skipping......

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dvorak

Like everyone else says... Vinyl is better for DJ'ing (for most people, at least), and digital is easier, more resilient, and usually "clearer."

Remember, though, that CD's peak at 44,100Hz, whereas vinyl is (theoretically) infinite... so, assuming the source material is kept at a higher resolution than 44.1kHz, vinyl can definitely sound BETTER than CDs. But so many people are lazy and/or cheap, and record at 44.1kHz, that this is kind of rare. Also, the differences are very subtle... similar to the difference between mp3s running at 160 and 256 kb/s.

So my answer is this... day in, day out, DIGITAL. However, not CD's... but high quality mp3's. This may sound odd given the previous paragraph, but the versatility of mp3's is astounding. With over 500 CD's, just searching for the one I want to hear is a real drag... And it's impossible to have them in more than one place at any given time. With mp3's, you can have one copy of the file on your computer (streaming to the living room stereo, if you spend $200 on the device), one in your iPod, and one in your car (or just hook your iPod up to your car stereo)... without having to copy any CD's.

Rock on.

mercury-hg

as dvorak said, CD's are a digital representation of an analog signal (the source recording). this source recording is sampled at a rate of 44.1 kHz which, without going into DSP theory, means that the highest frequency a CD can reproduce is 22.05 kHz. This is beyond the range of human hearing (20 Hz - 20 kHz) so people who claim this to be a detraction from a CD's sound quality is probably full of shit or is part dog.

however, it is definitely possible to hear a difference in encoding rates. it bugs the hell out of me to listen to an mp3 encoded at less than 192 kb/s - the higher frequencies really suffer.

Macheath

I feel confident in my ability to transfer vinyl to digital (or mp3) if I want to go out on the road. From there consider that you can sometimes pick up a nice old vinyl gem very cheaply secondhand if you're willing to trawl through a lot of musical garbage. If they don't ban fair use, you can then legally digitise and do whatever the hell you want with that dirt cheap old record.

I've listened to clean, new vinyl with a good amp, turntable and Grado headphones - its niiiiccceee.

GuttersnipeXL

Another bonus to vinyl, like Macheath said, you can pick up an old vinyl gem for cheap. I've found tons of albums that I would have never considered buying on CD....You just come across things that you'd never see on a rack of CD's. There is so much music that was pressed on vinyl, that still hasn't been digitalized. Those are the real gems. I listen to anything, and I'm always trying to find something new to listen to.

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brandon11983

as far as real world sound quality, cd is definitely the way to go. as far as audiophile-grade TRUE hi-fi, then vinyl is it. the grooves on a record are the actual sine wave of the music itself. the downside to vinyl is the wow and flutter, and all the popping and hissing.

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imemine

My dad has some 800+ records... I have a few CD's, does it matter? No. Because all I listen to has been recorded back then!

cheese

vinyl is nice and way more collectable than a CD i have paid upwards of 40 for one record i know ppl who have spent 10 times that amount on one peice of wax

dvorak

Wellll, I am not totally sure, but I remember someone telling me once that the 22.05 kHz limitation can cause degradation of other frequencies. Like, when you do the high pass to encode the audio for a CD, you will end up muddling other frequencies, too. I don't really believe it, but thought I'd throw it out there.

apetaster

Whatever format is easiest w.o a hit to quality is the one I'm going to pick. Never had much luck getting 45s to play in my hatchback. CDs for me all the way.

I love music but am not an audiophile. Whole stereo setup cost me less than $1000 to put together and my ears probably could not tell the difference.

etardedraverboy

im down with the vinyl ever since i started spinnin back in the day i havent bought a cd i figure i can just mix it in on a tape or cd if i want to hear it

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