Records Vs cd's

[Deleted member 38504]

Very soon im gonna get myself a turntable.

My first question is,do records really sound better than a cd? And if not,do I need to spend a lot of money on a turntable to get near cd sound quality.

Its a silly question maybe,but I would still love to know!

Thanks guys!

 

[efernand1]

Hi

If you are going to own a TT you need to ensure that the Amp / AVR you have has a phono input which is very much essential....

CDs are Digital in nature and hence make music sound so clear with spatialism....

LPs on the other hand is old school in terms of quality and clarity....vintage audio.....most audiophiles would have a TT in their setup to enjoy classics....

You can refer to threads posted in Vintage Audio / LPs / TTs

 

[Audio_Freek]

If you have Mint LP, They would Sound best than CD\Cassette etc.

In case you have LP's with average condition, Ready to bear the Clicking Noise and Humming Sound (Or Beeing Sound) which comes along while playing Music.

Since getting nice LP's is pretty rare now adays, I moved away from TT\LP :-(

Its all about the Type of Music you like to Listen.

 

[regeHA]

These days the difference is negligible, but be prepared to spend well.

CD can sound like analog, just need a high end DSD DAC and a tricked out PC to use the likes of HQPlayer or BHE. I've heard multiple instances of such setups and the SQ is sublime and very analog like. In fact in most instances it beat out pretty expensive vinyl rigs.

In fact you'll find an entire pantheon of DSD gods over at CA who are into it, and most of them are vinyl converts.

Bottomline though is $$$.

 

[jls001]

My first question is,do records really sound better than a cd? And if not,do I need to spend a lot of money on a turntable to get near cd sound quality.

The answer is not some definitive black and white "this is better than that". It's a lot of grey, in fact. And really depends on many things like how good is the CD playback against which you will base your comparison, how much time/money/effort/learning you are ready to put into the new source.

I would urge you to, instead, think of your new acquisition as another source. Another source of music to enjoy. If you constantly compare one against the other there'll be hardly time to enjoy the music.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

That's the best advice I've heard in a long time thanks jls001.

The marantz entry level TT5005 should suffice for everyday listening? Or something better?

 

[jls001]

The marantz entry level TT5005 should suffice for everyday listening? Or something better?

I have no personal experience with the model you mentioned. Do read as many reviews as you can find, especially user reviews, and take a call based on those opinions.

While you're at it, do read up on ProJect Debut Carbon too.

Also consider vintage models in good working and cosmetic condition. Personally, this route would be the first path I would take. Olx/quikr/HFV/hifiads often have listings.

 

[frend2001]

Very well put jls001.

Instead of comparing just consider the TT as another source.

When get into comparing, many non-musical factors come into play as well.

specially in case of TT.

The whole process of getting a record out of sleeve, putting it on, cuing the arm adds to experience.

It's slow and deliberate process, not hurried.

Soothing you can say.

So these are different paths.

I'll request you to enjoy music and yourself, regardless of the source.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Thanks guy's gonna do a lil more searching!

 

[greenhorn]

Personally I have not been able to tell the difference between the mediums alone -
I have heard newer LP's that sound just like CD's, and vinyl rips uploaded to youtube which sound as good as a vinyl.

At least for me, I prefer vinyl because the music on vinyl has the original mastering, and is not mutilated by the subsequent 'remastering'
search for the loudness war on wikipedia

 

[hydrovac]

When you listen to vinyl exclusively,the little contrasts between sources of sound reproduced are, for the vast majority, quite hard to differentiate, and completely individual.

So enjoying what an LP has to offer is in no way contingent on convincing yourself that they necessarily sound better than CDs.

 

[reubensm]

Very debatable and would depend on your listening taste and equipment. With vinyl listening there are lots of variables. Even the condition of the LP and the type of pressing does matter. In my opinion, if you are in it to compare LP vs CD outright, you are likely to end up being disappointed as it is simply difficult for one to get good quality vinyl (at affordable prices), these days. Hence even a humble mp3 file burnt into an audio CD will tend to sound more impressive when compared to a lot of LPs out there

 

[Hiten]

celester340,
Don't listen to Records. They are pain. First you have to buy good condition records. Clean them, get Phono preamp, get good turntable, Align cartridges, Then these mad vinyl enthusiasts worry about idler and DD. Absolutely crazy people. But hey ! real men (that's what they call themselves) don't worry about these things, In fact they enjoy doing such thing and love calling themselves vinyl 'addicts' too............... just kidding :lol:.

Seriously speaking. Joshua and others have said it nicely. It depends on the source. Don't know your music preference but a well mastered vinyl is a revelation. If you prefer digitally recorded modern music, then there is no point in listening to vinyls.
If I dare say this is an acquired taste. There are few other aspects of vinyl listening. Some People love tinkering with this mechanical device. Its a great fun part of this hobby. Another is it's a great way to find new music. I came to know some fantastic artists that I never knew. But most important is to see vinyl as a alternative source of well mastered song or composition. I listen to Indian classicals. Most CDs I have listened to don't sound good to me. But Vinyls are absolute pleasure. I also listen to CDs. Best thing would be listen to your favourite music on a good analogue setup and decide yourself.

Regards.

 

[regeHA]

I used vinyl and then moved to CDs.

Most of the problems associated with vinyl are correct to a certain degree, too much work, plus the cleaning and the caring that is involved, but all of that might actually add to the enjoyment of music.

But even CDs have their limitations. You still have to physically change the CDs, and folks do clean their CDs (not much).

If you really want a plug and play solution then the solution is to move to a computer based playback... at the very least a Pi with HDD, Mac Mini, or a NAS.

Even though some of the high end CD players I've used in the past sounded the nicest to me, I still cannot go back to physical playback. I've too much of a collection to change CDs, or even keep them at the listening post. Ripped and accessed on the network is the easiest. Plus most of the DACs of today have come along nicely and they sound very nice, even at a fraction of the budget of some of the expensive CD players I've used in the past.

Right now I've heard Wiz Khalifa, Joni Mitchell, Celine Dion, Bruce Hornsby, Genesis, Phil Collins, Stevie Nicks, and many others over the last hour. Imagine how much work that is if you are physically changing records and CDs.

Of course folks will argue that's the wrong way to listen to music... you must listen to entire albums and I do that too. But its nice to have your entire collection on hand and playing at random - its a nice way to discover music you have not heard in a while. Plus you can always pick and choose and change immediately depending on your mood.

A TT might be a short lived acquisition for you... you just might tire of the work and the inconvenience of it all.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Wow thanks so much for all the input guys.

What I'll probably do is get a 20k turntable which is automatic. That won't pinch much.

I listen to a lot of music from the 50's and 60's ,English only , and a lot of Latin music.

I have quite a few lps that I have collected over the years bought from London etc.

A friend of mine has purchased something called an ibox media Center. He tried explaining it to me what it was but everything just flew over my head lol.

Maybe u guys will explain to me in simpler words what an ibox media Center or any other NAS thing is?

 

[Vinay2013]

My experience with turn table is mixed and depends a lot on quality of LP pressing. For example - The division bell LP of Pink Floyd is mind blowing and mesmerizing but I found Wish you were here LP of Pink Floyd just Okay. I have collected around 150 LPs and spent a considerable amount of money. I still use digital playback due to its convenience and wide collection in my library.

For older music LP is definitely better.

You can start with AT LP60 turntable. I have been using it for the last two years and it is working flawlessly. It has decent inbuilt phono stage but I am using my Marantz PM5004phonostage. You can get it around 10K from US including shipping and custom. Much better than any entry level Marantz and Denon. You will need a converter (100 Rs.) as voltage is 120V in it.

 

[vmscbe1974]

It is a never ending debate of cd v/s vinyl . But my opinion is vinyl listening has a personal feel of artistes performing for you live in a studio. The vinyl sound actually connects the soul and music. unlike Cds with remastered and equalized versions.

 

[elt93]

Too many variables here: Quality of the record player, CD player, LPs, CDs, availability of the music, etc. I enjoy both. If everything is taken care of, a good cd player will sound as good as a record player and vice versa.
The other factor to take into account is availability of the music. Like in my case, my regional language (konkani) music records from the 60s & 70s sound very good but the CDs of the same music are pure garbage (horrible transfer to digital??). So it's best to have different sources and enjoy whatever you have rather than start a debate. To me both are equal.

 

[sriram76]

It really depends on the software. Many LPs sound exactly the same as CDs when you play them on their respective good systems. You won't even know when you switch, do a blind test and you will know. for e.g. I have done this with many mark knopfler/Dire Straits music.
However, if you like old Hindi music (for e.g.). The CDs are all butchered by our recording companies when they remastered them. In order to remove hiss and other analog noise, they have applied Low Pass filters on the music and killed it for the worse. In such cases of remastering, you will find the old LPs winning by miles. But please note that the newly remastered Hindi music LPs aren't that great as well.
So if you have a good collection of LPs or are interested in starting to collect them now (they are expensive mind it !), then go ahead with LPs, otherwise enjoy the flexibility offered by digital music .

 

[peace_sells]

I got into vinyl about 3 years ago. To me, the #1 reason that got me into this format was because it felt way way more tangible and treasure-able (i know that's not a word but you get the point) than a CD. CDs just feel like some thing that I wouldn't mind tossing around here and there. Records have a completely different aesthetic associated with it..and you can't say that I feel this way because of nostalgia.. because I'm not a 70 year old guy. I'm in my 20s.

As far as sound quality is concerned, I really don't know which is better..and to be honest; I don't care! I've come across some really good sounding CDs and also poor sounding LPs (and vice versa). However from what I've observed in these 3 years, is that any music that was pressed on vinyl before 1992-1993 (generally) sounds quite superior to its CD version. For albums released after that era..I really cannot say. Sound quality is important of course, but what really makes me buy records is that it is so much bigger! The canvas is so much bigger.. Simple enough reason I guess :lol: