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Spinning more vinyl and fewer CD's

H

hangman

Member
Since I've gotten back into this whole turntable thing ( 4 turntables and growing ) I've found myself almost listening exclusively to vinyl and have been ignoring my CD collection. There just seems to be something compelling to spinning vinyl, maybe it takes me back to my youth in the 70's when I listened to a lot of vinyl and appreciated a wide variety of music.
 
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Vinyl has a much more engaging element to it.

From the larger format art (the smaller CD case loses the visual appeal in translation to a more compact size), to the careful handling of the vinyl, to the cleaning, to the use of a carbon brush, to stylus swaps, to the sheer mechanical beauty of the turntables.

And of course, the pleasant sound.


Drawbacks are the added level of attention one needs to invest, and a modicum more time. And portability downright sucks.

Only a downfall if you are unable to invest the time and effort.

CD also offers sublime sound. Especially in a well-equipped setup.

And the convenience is fantastic.

But the ritual is dull. Open the disc, press a button, place in tray, hit play.

And the small art is not engaging. Tactile experience is dull. The visceral element is boring. Convenience over experience.

I enjoy both very much. But the vinyl ritual forces one to get more involved and commit to the experience.

And the experience is sublime.
 
I have had the same thing. I over the last couple of years have just given up on the CDs. Sadly, I wish that I had sold them a few years back, when they were worth something to used shops. I do listen to the ipod now on trips, but at home I listen to vinyl mostly.

I have talked about this before, but the local used shop that I go to has removed a row of CDs and brought up their old vinyl bins from the basement. LP demand is outstripping their supply of stuff coming in. New lps are selling, and prices are up for clean used lps, too.
 
I still play as much cd as Vinyl, both are awesome on my system in different ways but if I could ditch the cleaning, hassle and short play time I would say bye to it forever. Screw the connection with Vinyl, I use to be into the whole romance of the ritual but now I just want to hear good music.
 
It seems every time I put a good album on one of my TT's and settle down for a listen, the big gray cat jumps up on my lap and settles in with me. Kinda makes it tough to get up and flip the record after 25 minutes. The Sony 5 CD carousel changer with remote makes it easier, but I do like the records, as there's a lot of music I cannot get anywhere else.

Like Thedelihaus, I've come to appreciate the ritual again, but like chadnliz, the cleaning is a bit tedious now that my vinyl collection has grown substantially. As it is, I've become entirely format-neutral, and will play a record, CD, tape, tuner, or iPod depending upon my mood at the time.
 
thedelihaus said:
Vinyl has a much more engaging element to it.

From the larger format art (the smaller CD case loses the visual appeal in translation to a more compact size), to the careful handling of the vinyl, to the cleaning, to the use of a carbon brush, to stylus swaps, to the sheer mechanical beauty of the turntables.

And of course, the pleasant sound.


Drawbacks are the added level of attention one needs to invest, and a modicum more time. And portability downright sucks.

Only a downfall if you are unable to invest the time and effort.

CD also offers sublime sound. Especially in a well-equipped setup.

And the convenience is fantastic.

But the ritual is dull. Open the disc, press a button, place in tray, hit play.

And the small art is not engaging. Tactile experience is dull. The visceral element is boring. Convenience over experience.

I enjoy both very much. But the vinyl ritual forces one to get more involved and commit to the experience.

And the experience is sublime.
Click to expand...

yup , maybe it's a geezer thing as mentioned in another post , takes ya back to the day . But am spinning a CD of vinyl rips at the moment so I'm a fence sitter I guess , but I rarely use my CD players anymore .
 
While my preference is definitely vinyl, a well mastered CD can still knock my socks off on occasion. Something like Lyle Lovett, or Norah Jones, or Sheryl Crow. Neil Young's NYA CDs are especially well recorded, as well. Vinyl or CDs of these issues are virtually identical, IMO.

All in all, I don't think I'll give up on CDs just yet.
 
The definite advantage for the cd is the absolute black background that the music comes out of for the price of very little maintenance. Having said that, I really love the vinyl for the vast expanse of the soundstage, realistic music presentation which I do not get from CDs and lack of constant sibilance. For modern music I prefer CDs but for the music of the earlier era I prefer Vinyl.

Rumors should be heard on vinyl and Flo Rida on CD. My two cents.
 
I love vinyl because I am living in the past, I just installed gas lamps, brought a black and white TV and a 1957 Ford Thunderbird then had my A/C removed for the ultimate nostalgia trip.

The problem is the health dept won't let me use the gas lamps, the TV is analog and won't pick up any stations, the Thunderbird won't run on unleaded and my wife left me because we don't have A/C anymore in Houston heat!

Seriously though I put on an album and get totally immersed in the sound, there is something about vinyl that totally relaxes you. I can't listen to Cd's anymore as they don't have the same effect.

That being said it's a shame that DVD audio and other high quality formats never took off.

But regular Cd's, there is something not right with them IMO.
 
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