Does anyone here still spin wax? (listen to records)

[HighlanderNorth]

The CD is digital, so the signal switches on and off really quickly, like PWM in an LED. The record is analog, so the signal is a continuous waveform. So one would deduce that the record should sound more "natural", or at least generally better in one way or another; but experimentation hasn't borne this out, it turns out that the CD's digital signal is so fast/dense that it's not humanly possible to distinguish it from a continuous waveform. In fact you can make a recording of the "natural" record signal and put it on a CD, and it sounds exactly the same as the record when played back, not even the record people can tell the difference.

So throw in that fact with the usual difficulties that come with records, like crackling and popping, proper maintenance of the turntable and needle, etc, and the CD obviously gives much better fidelity for much less money. Take that a step further by removing the physical aspect altogether, and the digital sound file is an even better deal.

I agree with what you posted there, as there are many cases where I/we have taken a cd player to a friends house(who didnt own a cd player) for a party back in the late 80's, and we'd listen to the difference in sound quality between a vinyl album vs. the same album on CD. In all cases, there was a HUGE difference, with the CD player sounding better. But, it must be said that in many cases the albums were worn, slightly scratched, and the phono wasnt the best quality player, and/or the needle(s) may have been sub-par.


However, I remember we got a CD player in 1987, and we were told(as was everyone else) that CD's could handle scratches and wear without missing a beat! Well, literally within a month of buying that player, we had CD's that were kept in their cases that had developed ever-so-slight micro-scratches that caused skips.

I wouldnt mind a new format. I think CD's and CD players are just too finicky and sensitive, and dont deal well with relatively minor wear. I have tapes that I've found from the 80's that still play. I also have found some that dont play though!

Maybe we should start burning CD's into tungsten?

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I had the opportunity to tour a record pressing plant last year. It was amazing (and a little smelly) to see the process in person!

 

[HotWire]

I have an old Wurlitzer juke box that still plays 78s! Does that count?

 

[JCD]

I read where some people say a top notch phono with a good quality album will sound better than a CD(???)

The master matters FAR more than the medium. Vinyl releases typically received superior mastering compared to CD releases of the same albums, which led to the myth that vinyl sounds better. Given the same mastering (NOT just the same songs), CD is a far superior medium. But the medium just doesn't matter as much as many people believe.

 

[StarHalo]

Maybe we should start burning CD's into tungsten?

Even when I was a kid first hearing about the new compact discs, I thought it was a dumb idea - why move from a medium that already has a lot of moving parts to one that has even more moving parts and requires microscopic accuracy? My Nintendo cartridges are digital and don't have any moving parts..

The digital format is the final "form" for music, because you can put it on whatever kind of medium you want, including no medium/the cloud, and then listen to it anywhere using almost any kind of computing device there is. I'm still cheering on Neil Young's high-quality music player project though, I think we need to move away from overly compressed formats altogether. We should all be listening to perfect 1:1 copies of the studio masters by now (even if people's ridiculous headphone/earbud choices can't hear the difference..)

 

[harro]

I think we need to move away from overly compressed formats altogether

This is SO TRUE. Have a listen to what some teens regard as hi quality sound today, and you end up shaking your head in dismay. I'm not suggesting we go back to the wind up grammophone and cylindrical wax recordings, but listen to some hi compressed files ( MP3 and 'I'..thingies etc. ) and compare them to a well recorded CD, and its like listening to old AM radio compared with Digital FM or DAB+ .......

 

[orbital]

+

Digital stuff has no soul.
So enjoy your LPs' while you can.

_______________________________________________

Compression formats are a subject that deserves a thread all their own,,, especially w/ 1440P coming
When is our high def not really high def??

 

[PhotonWrangler]

...We should all be listening to perfect 1:1 copies of the studio masters by now...

You know, I would love to someday see the studio masters released as actual multitrack recordings that you could 'mix' yourself in your computer/player/thingy. Then you could isolate individual instruments that you wanted to hear better. I would pay a premium to be able to get certain artists' records in their original multitrack sound.