Records Vs cd's

[prem]

For old Hindi, nothing touches vinyl. The CDs have been badly mastered with the exception of the early UK press CDs which are now unobtanium.

Generally for music before 1985 I prefer vinyl. For modern stuff where there are a lot of digital gimmicks and effects, I prefer digital.

 

[Deleted member 38504]

Naveen I have some kl Saigal in my collection. I'll watsapp u the pics tomo

 

[Aanuj]

That's my food Bro! And you missed my (and my wife's) favourite K L Saigal, the Angel first copies, just bliss!

Ofcourse Mr Saigal too. Some old Geeta Dutt(I prefer her over lataji flame me but I still like her over lataji ), some SD Burman .....absolute bliss.

 

[aks07]

No regeHa.

I have had top of the line Esoteric cd/sacd players. I have also heard the Yggdrasil. In fact as you are aware I have even ordered one.

A good vinyl system easily beats it. Be it in dynamics, speed, transparency, tonality

But if had only USD 2000 to spend on my source, I would choose a Yggdrasil over a similarly priced vinyl set up

The Esoteric I had beats the Yggdrasil comfortably. But my Esoteric was a USD 17000 rig. So not a fair comparison. My vinyl rig beats the Esoteric

Completely agree. Specially on dynamics, and comparing vinyl with CD (not SACD).

A reasonably good vinyl rig should better a reasonably good CD system. If it doesn't then the vinyl rig is not setup properly.

A good example is the vinyl system of our esteemed forum member Shri bhaskarcan. He uses good equipment (a mix of classics & DIY) without resorting to major skulduggery and the result is stunning. I've never heard a better balanced audio system and I doubt a digital setup (without spending a huge fortune) can be better. The key to his success is right mix of equipment which is integrated seamlessly and tweaked over a period of time.

The biggest advantage I see of a CD system is the user friendliness and ease of setup. One can setup and then tweak it to its fullest potential in a short period. But with vinyl its a long drawn process. One day you fix the VTA....2 weeks later tweak it....then the alignment....a few more days....then the tracking force....and so on. And finally after 6 months when you think everything is coming together just about fine your wife decides to change the curtains of the room. And we are back to square one....

There are types/genre of music which just doesn't lend itself to CD or vice versa. My best musical experience is listening to artists such as Talat Mahmood, Rafi, Mukesh etc on an old Garrard hooked to a Philips valve radio. These recordings just don't sound as good in my main vinyl rig as well.

Thus before completely giving up on vinyl, I would spend some time on tweaks and adjustments. It works.

 

[navinsinha]

For old Hindi, nothing touches vinyl. The CDs have been badly mastered with the exception of the early UK press CDs which are now unobtanium.

Generally for music before 1985 I prefer vinyl. For modern stuff where there are a lot of digital gimmicks and effects, I prefer digital.

Absolutely Bro! And yeah - some of the CDs recorded in UK are superb. I have a 2 CD set of the ghazals of Mirza Ghalib (by Jagjit Chitra), they are fabulous. And I am not into Indian music after 1985, so no idea! For earlier period, Vinyls and 78 RPMs also. I have some 78 RPM records of K L Saigal, they too, sound great!

 

[navinsinha]

Naveen I have some kl Saigal in my collection. I'll watsapp u the pics tomo

Thanks a lot Dear! I bought the K L Saigal records dirt cheap, some times for Rs. 50 max Rs. 100 (Angel first copies). The reason is that very few listen to KLS now a days and the sellers just want to get rid of them. But R D Burman records, one has to pay through the nose. RDB recordings are superb but the KLS (and the contemporaries) records are in a different league, practically vocals only - very limited use of instruments.

 

[navinsinha]

Completely agree. Specially on dynamics, and comparing vinyl with CD (not SACD).

A reasonably good vinyl rig should better a reasonably good CD system. If it doesn't then the vinyl rig is not setup properly.

A good example is the vinyl system of our esteemed forum member Shri bhaskarcan. He uses good equipment (a mix of classics & DIY) without resorting to major skulduggery and the result is stunning. I've never heard a better balanced audio system and I doubt a digital setup (without spending a huge fortune) can be better. The key to his success is right mix of equipment which is integrated seamlessly and tweaked over a period of time.

The biggest advantage I see of a CD system is the user friendliness and ease of setup. One can setup and then tweak it to its fullest potential in a short period. But with vinyl its a long drawn process. One day you fix the VTA....2 weeks later tweak it....then the alignment....a few more days....then the tracking force....and so on. And finally after 6 months when you think everything is coming together just about fine your wife decides to change the curtains of the room. And we are back to square one....

There are types/genre of music which just doesn't lend itself to CD or vice versa. My best musical experience is listening to artists such as Talat Mahmood, Rafi, Mukesh etc on an old Garrard hooked to a Philips valve radio. These recordings just don't sound as good in my main vinyl rig as well.

Thus before completely giving up on vinyl, I would spend some time on tweaks and adjustments. It works.

This is where most of us need some training - how to set up the TT rig the right way. Any inputs?

 

[Naturelover]

I have a few Saregama Indian pressings circa 2000 (I am gauging this by the packing dates which are 2001-2002) which are excellent.

Navin, if you dig deep enough into this section, you will find a whole lot of info on this.
Of course, there is always Google Baba on hand :lol:

This is where most of us need some training - how to set up the TT rig the right way. Any inputs?

 

[navinsinha]

My bad luck Bro! I have not been able to lay my hands on the excellent Bollywood songs Cds. I would see if I can get some from our friends who may be willing to sell. BTW, I got a made in UK CD for Kaala Paani/House No.44, that one too sounds great. I am told that there was no LP made for Kaala Paani.

 

[Dr.Bass]

To get the resolution of a decent digital player from a LP playback system one needs to invest in a good phono stage. Typical in-built phono stages inside integrated amps would not do it in most cases. If you spend 50k on the TT (including table, tonearm and cartridge), be prepared to spend another 50k on phonostage, else do not expect anything spectacular. If you buy a typical entry level Rs.10k phono stage or use the phono stage inside a typical AVR, even a 200k turntable will sound inferior to a 50k CDP on a decent recording. So, please plan accordingly.

 

[navinsinha]

To get the resolution of a decent digital player from a LP playback system one needs to invest in a good phono stage. Typical in-built phono stages inside integrated amps would not do it in most cases. If you spend 50k on the TT (including table, tonearm and cartridge), be prepared to spend another 50k on phonostage, else do not expect anything spectacular. If you buy a typical entry level Rs.10k phono stage or use the phono stage inside a typical AVR, even a 200k turntable will sound inferior to a 50k CDP on a decent recording. So, please plan accordingly.

Thanks Dr. Bass! What phono stages you recommend at the price point of circa Rs. 50K. If you are hesitant to post the names on the open forum, kindly PM me.
Best regards

 

[Dr.Bass]

I personally like the Lehmann Black Cube SE a lot. There are others too, like the Pro-ject Phono RS, LFD, PS Audio GCPH to name a few.

 

[Dr.Bass]

For old Hindi, nothing touches vinyl. The CDs have been badly mastered with the exception of the early UK press CDs which are now unobtanium.

Generally for music before 1985 I prefer vinyl. For modern stuff where there are a lot of digital gimmicks and effects, I prefer digital.

Prem, dont you feel even LPs like Kuch Kuch hota hai, K3G, Rang De Basanti, Guru, Maachis all sound much better than their digital counterpart ?

 

[navinsinha]

I personally like the Lehmann Black Cube SE a lot. There are others too, like the Pro-ject Phono RS, LFD, PS Audio GCPH to name a few.

Thanks a lot! I am using the vintage SAE xxx Pre and SAE xxxiB power amp. How do you rate them? Would a good phono stage improve their SQ substantially?

 

[Dr.Bass]

Thanks a lot! I am using the vintage SAE xxx Pre and SAE xxxiB power amp. How do you rate them? Would a good phono stage improve their SQ substantially?

Sorry, I havent heard them.

 

[prem]

I am not sure Dr Bass. I have heard a few AR Rahman recordings in a studio. There is a lot of things happening in a Rahman mix. The bass lines are amazing. Lot of fade ins and fade outs. When I hear a vinyl, it sounds good but it doesn't sound like a Rahman mix. The CDs on a high end CD player are closer to the mix.

 

[LocutusEstBorg]

Today's vinyls are a gimmick. They are simply cut from the same digital source as the CD. The improved dynamic range is a myth. It's simply a result of the cutting process that changes the waveform.

 

[Aanuj]

Ray Samuels Nighthawk F117 is a good phonostage for the money,pretty decent.

 

[navinsinha]

Ray Samuels Nighthawk F117 is a good phonostage for the money,pretty decent.

Thanks Dear! Have heard about them but are they available in India?

 

[Aanuj]

Thanks Dear! Have heard about them but are they available in India?

You will have to import and it will along with customs will be upwards of Rs50k.