• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

why LP's are better

ARJohn

Super Member
Got home today from spending the holidays with family . While there something came up about the Beatles "from me to you" , actually I was goofing around and warbled a verse when I gave a gift to my brother in law . Then got on a bit of a discussion about the Beatles . As they have their CD's in a random order , piles of CD's in binders with no order , there was no way to locate the a copy of it .when I got home today I threw on my "one " CD and sat down . Really not the way I remembered it . So then dug out my Parlaphone "beatles greatest " LP , totally different and 10X better . My Cd rig is not the worlds best , a Marantz into an old Adcom Dac but not too shabby, the LP was so much better with the 4 track sound of the LP where as the CD sounded really harsh and I actually stopped the track .The Lp is from the 70's I think and has not been washed yet ! Tomorrow it will get the RCM !:tresbon:
 
Register to hide this ad
Whatever the format, I believe the most important part of the recording is the Mastering and pressing. Even if you have the Disc and the album and there both recorded at the same time, there's nothing saying that the two are mastered exactily the same. I have Greg Allman's "Low country Blues" CD and LP. I haven't compared the two yet, but even if their's a difference it may be due to Mastering, and many other variables. Not Limitations in the format.

I've found with a good recording, whether it be an FM broadcast, CD or LP, at their best (which usualy isn't cheap) they can all sound quiet Excelent.
 
Last edited:
LPs are better than CDs?

The thread title claims that LPs are better, but doesn't name another medium to which they're being compared. Are they better than 8-tracks? Yes. Cassettes? Again yes, though the difference is smaller. CDs? Perhaps in the OP's system, with a harsh-sounding Adcom DAC doing the D/A conversion honors, but not in my system. I own a copy of the Beatles "One" CD that the OP used as the basis of his sweeping conclusion, and it does not sound harsh on my playback gear.
 
Cd's are better than Lp's:D



Beating-a-dead-horse.gif
 
This debate has been going on for years and will probably never be settled. I think both formats are good. If you limit yourself to one format, you're going to miss out on some great music.
 
If by CD, it means ordinary 16/44.1 redbook, then the chances are that the LP will be quite a bit better. The fact is that on TOTL analog and digital gear LP's can still best an optical format, although with the better formats, it's quite a bit closer.
However, with a SSHD based Music Server playing Hi-Rez Music files through a SOTA DAC like a Weiss or Berkeley, it's getting really close.

Please note that R2R 15 ips master tapes, like those from The Tape Project are still better, especially with the new 1/2 inch tape option.

Digital still has a way to go, but it's definitely getting better all the time.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
This debate has been going on for years and will probably never be settled. I think both formats are good. If you limit yourself to one format, you're going to miss out on some great music.

I fully expect, that within perhaps just a couple of years, digital will finally live up to it's promise, we're just not quite there yet.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
I just don't like jewel cases. the stupid things always seem to crack or bust the hinges on me. I have yet to have an album cover break so badly that I couldn't fix it easily with a little bit of tape. I also just don't find CDs as fun to use. Theres just something about the whole process of dealing with the LP media that is lost by sticking a CD in a tray and pushing the magic button. On the other hand, they are a vastly superior medium when it comes to portable players. Discmans are small, light, and they work. Ever lug around a suitcase-type portable turntable? Can't listen to them in the car either. Chrysler tried it in the 50s and 60s, and it just didn't work out too well.
 
I was listening to an old pressing of Nat King Cole's Christmas album on a regular old Dual 1219 with a Shure V-15 with SAS. Not bad, but not particularly top of the line. It sounded so sweet and real. I have heard some very nice sounding CD's and even SACD's. but none of them had that sweet goodness.

Therefore, Vinyl is better.
 
For one thing I agree that lps are better because it is an uncompressed audio format that delivers more crisp and less squealy highs, but also another factor is that you are listening to the original parlophone recording which are more highly regarded than the capitol recordings which is probably what the cd is.
 
i just don't like jewel cases. The stupid things always seem to crack or bust the hinges on me. I have yet to have an album cover break so badly that i couldn't fix it easily with a little bit of tape. I also just don't find cds as fun to use. Theres just something about the whole process of dealing with the lp media that is lost by sticking a cd in a tray and pushing the magic button....

+1!
 
I prefer analog for , say, 90% of my music listening. Have got a decent digital rig which is computer based and not relying on lossy formats.
In my mind, my love for analog has to do with the fact that there aren't pre-determined limits on the hi-frequency range (like redbook CD) and that the live signal, as transferred from master tape, isn't sampled in the time domain. No matter how hi-rez it claims to be. The original event was analog. I'll take a little noise with that, no problem.
 
All of my Jackson Browne and John Prine CD's sound much better than my LP's.

I think it has a lot to do with the pressings, OBVIOUSLY. I have yet to hear a great sounding Jackson Browne LP other than Running On Empty. I have no idea why. I've been through so many copies of Late For The Sky it isn't even funny.
 
If by CD, it means ordinary 16/44.1 redbook, then the chances are that the LP will be quite a bit better. The fact is that on TOTL analog and digital gear LP's can still best an optical format, although with the better formats, it's quite a bit closer.
However, with a SSHD based Music Server playing Hi-Rez Music files through a SOTA DAC like a Weiss or Berkeley, it's getting really close.

Please note that R2R 15 ips master tapes, like those from The Tape Project are still better, especially with the new 1/2 inch tape option.

Digital still has a way to go, but it's definitely getting better all the time.

Best Regards,
TerryO
Your first statement is incorrect.
 
Back
Top Bottom