What has more of your favorite albums

[atomicAdam]

For those of you that have both vinyl and CDs - what do you think is your better collection?

As in - what do you think holds more of your favorite recordings?

[JohnMichael]

As much as I prefer vinyl I would have to say my cd collection is better than my vinyl collection. Of course as my tastes developed and changed a lot of the vinyl I bought when young is nothing I enjoy hearing now. I started buying vinyl when young and long before cd was even thought about. I do try to buy vinyl now if available but in my area cd's are easier to find. I would have to say more of my cd's reflect my current tastes than the older vinyl.

[Feanor]

As much as I prefer vinyl I would have to say my cd collection is better than my vinyl collection. Of course as my tastes developed and changed a lot of the vinyl I bought when young is nothing I enjoy hearing now. I started buying vinyl when young and long before cd was even thought about. I do try to buy vinyl now if available but in my area cd's are easier to find. I would have to say more of my cd's reflect my current tastes than the older vinyl.

Like JM, I still have a couple of hundred LPs hanging around from a younger day. And by the sound of it, like him my principal and most listened to collection is on (or from) CD. In fact it's probably been a couple of years since I had on an LP.

Unlike JM, I doubt that I will ever by another LP. As I've said before, virtually none of the sort of music I listen to today is available on LP, and anyway I don't think vinyl sounds better.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Like JM, most of my classic rock collection is on CD. Though when I'm in the mood for classical, I will tend to pull out the vinyl first. The same can be said when I'm deciding between something I have on CD and if I have the same selection on SACD or DVD-A. Even though the SACD and DVD-A take me away from my tubes, I still love the sound of all the channels blending seamlessly together.

[atomicAdam]

Like JM, I still have a couple of hundred LPs hanging around from a younger day. And by the sound of it, like him my principal and most listened to collection is on (or from) CD. In fact it's probably been a couple of years since I had on an LP.

Unlike JM, I doubt that I will ever by another LP. As I've said before, virtually none of the sort of music I listen to today is available on LP, and anyway I don't think vinyl sounds better.

Note: ok right person to quote - ...

I have and address if you feel like freeing yourself of your LP burdens.

[Feanor]

Note: ok right person to quote - ...

I have and address if you feel like freeing yourself of your LP burdens.

Yes, well, as I've offered before: $2.00 a piece if you take them all, (quantity to be confirmed), and pay shipping. For the most part they are in excellent to mint condition.

[Jimmy C]

... but for some reason, I find myself listening to more DVDs as well as regular CDs as of late.

Actually, one reason is simply being lazy - first and foremost. I bought my table a bit over 10 years ago, and she's been a trooper. BUT - me has a feeling my Grado Plat is starting to suffer - not so good on inner grooves anymore :*( For the first five years, it was used a LOT... last five, not so much so. I have no idea how long a cart is supposed to last, but I would imagine we're at the end...

I have some killer Jazz stuff (Weather Report, Miles, Metheny, etc.) all pristine vinyl, as well as MINT R&R (Zepp, Geils, Stones, Gabriel, Apple Beatles - some original shrink wrap) but they seem to be more of a collection (or hobby) now, as opposed to a listening medium.

Tell ya what... "Kind of Blue" is DEFINITELY missing something on the silver disc... cymbals just don't have the realism and shimmer...

On the other hand, I have never heard deep, room-pressurizing bass as Bela Fleck's "Hippo" or "Left of Cool" on LP... then again, they use a specific analogue tape for recording...

Now we're getting off topic...

Happy New Year!

[frenchmon]

Well I have more CD's than vinyl....but I like the vinyl presentation better. But having said that, I have not really listen to vinyl in the last month or so do to a very outstanding presentation for the XRAY/Stello/Stello combination. this combination together is about $3000 compared to my entry level TT which still sounds very good, but not a good as the digital. So to get the quality of music from my TT like the digital I will have to upgrade my TT.

[hifitommy]

the best sounding ones are on vinyl, and the most titles i have are on vinyl. used vinyl is WAY cheaper than cd and there are titles on both that will never be released on the other. i never thought it a good idea to unload my vinyl nor did i ever think cd would sound better than LP.

i added cd to my array of sources a nd am happy enough about that. there werent affordable cd players in cars then xo cassettes ruled there. my tandberg and later my nak 700 made some fantastic sounding tapes with depth and dynamics, imaging and all, even in the home system.

i still revel in vinyl hunting more than the cd hunt. but artists like erik truffaz and trilok gurtu may never have vinyl releases plus my cd inventory keeps me company nicely in my car.

both modes are relevant for different reasons and for some of the same reasons. certainly i get good sound from my rbcd collection now that i use an sacd player because of the upsampling. there are some good reasons to get a dedicated rbcd player and and equal number of them for an sacd player.

look at all the attention paid to cd sound by sony 5400 owners. i just love the sound of my sony ns500v and marantz 6001, AND my sota sapphire/mmt/fr1MKIIIf.

does THAT cover it?

[Mr Peabody]

I have several hundred of each format, my CD's maybe over 1k. Which holds the most favs, the edge goes to CD, only because foolishly in the late 80's, early 90's, I wasn't aware of higher end gear and bought into the CD is better thing. I quit buying LP's and began to only buy CD. I also replaced some favorite titles on LP with CD. I regret that now. Thankfully I kept my LP's and played them but new zeal happened when I discovered Rega. And a couple years ago I learned of a local Record Show that happens every couple months where I've picked up some LP gems.

[tube fan]

I have always disliked (hated?) CD "perfect sound forever". But then I have disliked ss also.
Vinyl will live forever! Sound is analogue. Even the highest rez digital adds two unneeded steps: converting analogue to digital and then, after much wasteful processing, converting the digital bits back to analogue!!! What a waste!

NO ONE I spoke to (including most of the salesmen), at the recent CAS preferred digital
to analogue. NOT ONE PERSON! A very few perferred ss. If you cannot hear the difference between the best analogue and the best digital, God help you!

[Mash]

Do you know how your ears work?

You have many fine hairs in your inner ear, each tuned to a very narrow frequency and connected to a nerve cell.

When, and only when, the specific frequency to which that hair is tuned is present, the hair vibrates and its attached nerve cell fires a pulse toward your brain, a "1" as it were.

When the specific frequency to which that hair is tuned is NOT present, the hair DOES NOT vibrate and its attached nerve cell DOES NOT fire a pulse toward your brain, an "0" as it were.

Your brain assembles all of these hair nerve cell pulses and constructs what we perceive as an analogue sound.

Thus your ears-brain system is a binary digital system, just like CD's. So CD's need only have a much finer bit resolution than your ears to be inaudible to your ears as a digital medium.

If you have a legitimate complaint, it is caused by some other distortion in the audio chain.

[atomicAdam]

Please don't turn this thread into an analog vs digital - that wasn't the point of OP question.

[Mash]

"For those of you that have both vinyl and CDs - what do you think is your better collection?

"As in - what do you think holds more of your favorite recordings?"

Unfortunately (perhaps) I believe this IS an analogue versus digital question, because time and tide move onward even if we try not to move onward:

-New performances by gifted new performers become available, i.e."Take it from the Top", and those performances will probably not be available on vinyl;

-The standards for Virtuoso Performance creep ever higher;

-New performances are recorded with ever greater fidelity than in the past [go listen to some Edison wax cylinders!];

-Our tastes and interests usually change as we mature;

CDS's and DVD's are more convenient to use than vinyl; and

-The wear components of obsolete equipment become ever more difficult to maintain.

One chap here noted that his Grado cartridge may be worn out. The longer he procrastinates on replacing or restoring it, the more difficult and expensive it will be for him to do so.

I bought some V15-Mk5 (final version) several years back (stocking up, as it were) for $125 each. I bought these V15 because they are a perfect match for the SL1200 Mk5 tables I had bought at $400 each. I was bummed because those V15 would have been $75 each had I bought them a year or two before. Two years later (?) those V15-Mk5 carts were $600 EACH.

I gave up on my SME Type3 because it is an ultralow-mass tonearm only suitable for cartridges such as my beloved-but-deceased Sonus Blue [That was a wonderful combination!]. I thought about increasing the effective mass of the tonearm to make it suitable for, say, the V15, but then I had to marry it to a new table. I have many other demands for my time.

[thekid]

I probably have around 700 of each format but my answer is a slight twist from the original question.

I probably have more favorite albums on CD because generally I am not going to buy a CD for that "one song" that I really like. However since I have purchased the majority of my vinyl for a $1 or less I much more inclined to buy vinyl just for that "one song" or out of curiosity. So my favorite albums are probaly more in the CD format but I have more favorite songs on vinyl.

[TheHills44060]

My cd collection is better since there is more of it but I have never re-purchased any vinyl in cd format. I've bought tapes but never cd's...not completely sure why but I just cannot make myself do it.

[Mash]

when CD's were starting to catch on. Lovely European recordings at very reasonable prices. Today LP's are usually pricey and inconvenient to aquire, while CD's and music-oriented DVD's are much easier to find. Still, the LP collection IS significantly bigger now and mostly does not overlap the digital library.

One day the LP collection will likely be the smaller collection but it will take some time. I do not worry about which is the "better" medium. The LP's are more work to care for, and it is best not to enjoy wine or other spirits when playing LP's. This could be a dealbreaker for some people.

Thoughts:

1. Can I can keep the LP playback equipment up to snuff?

2. If the digital recording format I have becomes displaced, it would be bargain-hunting time again because CD/DVD players last a long time.... Planned obsolescence is everywhere.

[pixelthis]

MOST OF my vinyl got wiped out in a flood, only my most valuable survived, being in my
"favorites" milk crate.
Can't compare my vinyl and CD, vinyl was IT until CD came out, and has a lot of memories
attached.
Honkey Chateau, my first long playing album, a gift from mom on my 14th birthday.
Everything from Bowies 1984(1974) to Bob James "4" to Gill Scott HERONS album.
Each album has memories, of friends, good and bad times and places.
PRICELESS...really.

[pixelthis]

What has surprized me is that vinyl has not really become valuable as a collectors item.
I saw Riki LEE jONES album going for around 24 bucks, and Elton John's Honkey
Chateau for about the same. Just not much market.

[pixelthis]

If you're going to own an album, this is the one..BTW.
I have the original master version.

[poppachubby]

w Today LP's are usually pricey and inconvenient to aquire, while CD's and music-oriented DVD's are much easier to find.

I went into HMV with the full intent of buying CDs. I walked out with a movie instead. Their "jazz: section was a joke, and I told them as much. Frankly they shouldn't even bother if they aren't going to stock it properly. No standards, no classics, just a bunch of wannabe "Best Of" collections.

I walk into my local record shop and can find a ton of new releases, or can order what i want. Of course, there's a ton of used Lps available also.

Perhaps your area is Shangri La of CDs, but not mine. If you want a generalization, discs are old hat, as much as vinyl frankly.

[02audionoob]

I wander into record/book stores to flip through used vinyl while having little or no idea what records I might leave with. For that reason I have more favorites (and more junk) on vinyl than CD. I take chances on them because they're cheap and many of them pan out, while others don't. I still buy CDs of new releases, but I usually don't listen to them too much because I'm caught up more in my vinyl discoveries.

[RGA]

NO ONE I spoke to (including most of the salesmen), at the recent CAS preferred digital to analogue. NOT ONE PERSON! A very few perferred ss. If you cannot hear the difference between the best analogue and the best digital, God help you!

You know it's funny - you liked the AN room even though it just used CD. Their digital is arguably the best that I have heard (musically). And even their designers will take a turntable at less than half the price.

Unfortunately there is a lot of great music out there and it's only on CD - so you have to get something. I've been listening to the CD 2.1 for the last 5 hours and it is as fatigue free as it gets for digital. I'm in chick listening mode tonight. Eva Cassidy, Lizz Wright, Madelein Peyroux, Sophie Milman (for a young artist she has stunning tone), Loreena McKennitt. The tube OTO SE helps (the amp and the phono stage were designed by Guy Adams of Voyd).

I think vinyl gets a bit of a bad rap and I suspect it is due to the turntables, carts, phono stages and set-ups. I had a NAD (Rega P2 clone) and it never really convinced me that it was better than CD - it showed flashes but not enough to put up with the hassle. A really good rig however and it's lights out.

To the OP

Most of my collection is now vinyl. Best is about the same since I generally purchase my favorite artists on both formats. LP has a superior classical selection than my CD. Largely because classical is not popular and thus the used store that carries classical generally sells it cheaper. I would say my Jazz collection is generally bigger and better on vinyl. Pop is generally better on CD. Certainly more current music is better on CD.

[tube fan]

I listen to CDs via my Mac and iDecco with gallo Strada speakers. the sound is listenable and convenient. However, compared to my analogue system (tube AR Sp8, ARd-70, Fosgate Phono, VPI Scoutmaster, Benz Ruby 3, and Fulton J speakers), it's just no contest. For ME, the analogue sounds several steps closer to live music, in dynamics, in timbre, and in detail. My wife keeps me up to date on new music, and, yes, almost all of that is on CDs. I work out to her CDs via my Mac and Ipod. It sounds great in that context, and I enjoy learning about new music. However, I've compared vinyl versions to Cds of the same performances, and for these ears, the analogue trounces the digital.

[pixelthis]

I listen to CDs via my Mac and iDecco with gallo Strada speakers. the sound is listenable and convenient. However, compared to my analogue system (tube AR Sp8, ARd-70, Fosgate Phono, VPI Scoutmaster, Benz Ruby 3, and Fulton J speakers), it's just no contest. For ME, the analogue sounds several steps closer to live music, in dynamics, in timbre, and in detail. My wife keeps me up to date on new music, and, yes, almost all of that is on CDs. I work out to her CDs via my Mac and Ipod. It sounds great in that context, and I enjoy learning about new music. However, I've compared vinyl versions to Cds of the same performances, and for these ears, the analogue trounces the digital.

Classic denial from the 1940's audio standard crowd.
You listen to CD on a computer(if that is what you call a MAC) and records on a mega-buck
system, and proclaim that the records are better.
The stradas are nice, but still monitors. You need more equal systems
Get a decent SS system with decent speakers and decent playback.
And join the 21st century anytime.