Vinyl vs. Digital according to the Daily Mail - What do the 'experts' think?
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You can comment on this video at YouTube
Sunday January 7, 2024
David Mellor
David Mellor is CEO and Course Director of Audio Masterclass. David has designed courses in audio education and training since 1986 and is the publisher and principal writer of Adventures In Audio.
@ProgressiveHifi: So did you just say that thinking people listen to CDs? And I guess that non-thinking people listen to Vinyl just trying to clear that one up.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @ProgressiveHifi: It’s all in your head. You clear it.
@ProgressiveHifi replies to @ProgressiveHifi: @AudioMasterclass lol typical British answer
@joefish6091: If an audiophile music system sounds bad, then insert a preamplifier into the sound path then listen, repeat until the music is perfect.
@krushagrape786: CD is undefeated.
@johnschlesinger2009: Thanks for a good video. The quality of the D/A converter in any digital sound reproduction equipment is very important. The lesser ones often add a certain glassiness, especially at higher frequencies.
@bocook6167: Vinyl sounds great but it doesn't work in my car or at work or anywhere but at home!
@Wised1000: My take on the issue. Si😊mply put on some heaphones and you decide. And yes, the ritual of playing and owning vinyl is also superbly important, it's an actual physical, tactual thing that is yours! The day I scratched one side of the OneStep release of Barber'sCafe Blue I almost wept.😉
https://youtu.be/fCeTnasS0qg?feature=shared
@schipdude: If you are a GenZ-er raised on lossy, compressed mp3 files and low bandwidth streaming services, absolutely vinyl can sound better. Especially if you acquire good resolving amplifier,speakers,cartridge. Having updated my hifi after 20 years, what is disappointing is all these digital "DACs" are not necessarily "better" than say your 20 year old CD player. They may sound better than your mp3-streaming-over-laptop-or-phone. But "old gear" such as my late-90s-stored-away-for-twenty-years Accurus/Mondial CD Player/Transport sounds better than this new $700 Delta-Sigma-Oversampling DAC I bought. What a disappointment that is. I hear high-end digital clicks-pops-transients that the old CD player does NOT produce. Some onboard DAC filters are better wrt to this digital noise, but that old CD player's RCA outs still sound better and are nicer on the ears. Yeah, if you are a kid raised on compressed MP3s and streaming via your phone, vinyl WILL sound better.
@rogersharpe2490: I rip all of my CD’s as I gradually go through my collection . The results from my Innuos Zenith mk3 seem as good as, if not better than playing the silver disc through a dedicated CD player.
@MrDavidBFoster: Trying to recapture the sound of vinyl from my youth is the same as trying to recapture the buzz from my first joint... It ain't gonna happen!
@MrSlipstreem: I wouldn't be so quick to knock MP3 encodings in general. The biggest problem is people not knowing how to use MP3, and that goes for many so-called "professionals" too. Take your favourite CD and encode it with LAME in VBR at -V2, and it's highly unlikely that you'll hear any difference even in a tightly controlled double-blind listening test. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself.
@jefflabute2946: If anything, vinyl will keep the use of oil byproducts in demand.
@MartinLloyd-w1u: Why why versus!!! Just enjoy whatever ffs
@christopherward5065: Technically digital music carriers are easily good enough. Getting the recording back from a digital file is likely to be more accurate and precise than a vinyl record. Record players have so many sources of error that it’s hard to imagine it even working. It’s like a conjuring trick and as the equipment gets better, it does a good job of presenting music in a convincing way. Mastering quality is important and on good equipment there is a verisimilitude that is more compelling than the digital file. I don’t know if that is social conditioning or psychoacoustics but chasing the sweet spot that makes a vinyl record work beautifully becomes a pursuit. You read The Daily Mail????
@AudioMasterclass replies to @christopherward5065: I read the Daily Mail so that I can fact check GBNews.
@VintageGearMan: Not to beat a dead horse but I positively love this channel! 😃
@VintageGearMan: I spin records 95% of the time. The other 5% is streaming when I am a bit to busy or just plain wore out. Sometimes digital music can surprise me though quality wise . I have not played any of my cd's in years. And so it goes.
@TrudyTrew: The theory behind digital was rushed through to make money. It is actually pretty weak, but you don't need to take my word for it. However, If you don't have the patience to work it out for yourself, all you you need to do is listen to the world around you and ask whether it sounds digitised.
@TrudyTrew replies to @TrudyTrew: @nicksterj Those of us who prefer analogue records find that digital sounds unnaturally brittle and glassy. This is the thing that is the digital sound, and something very special has been left out.
@rickdarby3420: I can still remember a letter published in The Gramophone around 1990 discussing the relative merits of CD vs. vinyl. The writer said (approximately), "Vinyl loyalists are like sports car drivers who enjoy tuning up their car's nervous engines after every 200 miles on the road, and photography buffs who prefer black and white over colour ('so much more dramatic!')." That's how I felt then. That's how I feel now.
@2my-friend: Vinyl sounds better, and yes, even with a little extra noise, based on the experience of many.
@spqr369: Snap Crackle Pop!!! Vinyl Stinks!!! But it pairs well with Rice Krispies.
@simonzinc-trumpetharris852: CD's capture the sound wave in parts? Where the hell did they get that from? I take anything the DM says with a large pinch of salt.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @simonzinc-trumpetharris852: I’m quoting what analogue enthusiasts often say about digital audio you idiot. My video on how digital audio is sliced and diced is coming up soon.
@simonzinc-trumpetharris852 replies to @simonzinc-trumpetharris852: @AudioMasterclassI was talking about the Daily Mail.
@jordanjoestar8839: On my phone/digital equipment, I listened to "Tin Man" by America, all the time. Didnt care about an entire album the least bit.
Found the record on Vinyl for $8 used. Ive played the entire album on both sides almost daily for 2 months now.
Do what you will with that information. Through an 80s Technics B280, with a clean cartridge and great 12 year old Panasonic 5.1 ProLogic II system. Its the hughlight of any day, starting that needle on that vinyl.
@fredashay: A true audiophile listens only on Edison cylinders through a pure acoustic system employing a mechanical steel needle attached to the diaphragm at the base of a horn!!!
@raynerskk: Paul McCartney knows his stuff for sure.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @raynerskk: He does but I don't - https://youtu.be/aB3JNivlMnI
@HoundDogMech: It ain't the VIBE it Dummies got so much invested in VINAL they refuse to admit they're WRONG.
@dtz1000: The frequency response of CDs only goes up to around 20k before plumetting to zero. Vinyl goes beyond 60k. This has been proved here on youtube because someone measured and compared them. Ultrasonic frequencies have been shown to relax the listener. This is why vinyl is a more pleasurable listen than CD.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @dtz1000: I have watched some videos on the frequency response of vinyl. The question is whether this is actual content or merely noise. Some might say similar about DSD. I can't hear it anyway so I'm not going to spend time worrying.
@dtz1000 replies to @dtz1000: @AudioMasterclass You can ignore it if you want, but scientific research has shown that ultrasonic frequencies in music do affect the human mind in a positive way.
@goranmekota7540: A modern car is objectively better than an old-timer, but some people subjectively prefer old timers.
I prefer listening to digital, but on occasion enjoy the nostalgic experience and ritual of vinyl, taking me back to first childhood experiences with intentional engagement with music.
@JohnLenin-y1w: Vinyl forever..
@fullblastman: At least in this Biased video, he mentioned loudness wars. As a vinyl collector I know that digital can sound better and there were albums as far back as the 80's that touted being from digital masters even some labels that made almost exclusively digital prints (telarc for one) But all that aside from the studio recording , the implementation and mastering account for a great portion of the quality of sound, even all the way to the cutting engineer, who must constantly compute how much content is going to fit on each side of the record, get it wrong and the cutter has squeezed to many grooves and they can overlap and cause skipping, also reducing dynamic range. However all of this being said I have heard both crappy implementation on both digital and increasingly on vinyl due to the popularity of the medium and 2nd rate mastering and 3rd rate engineers and processing plants rushing anything to the market to "cash in" on vinyl's resurgence. Before the resurgence I found that the majority of albums produced from the 70's to 80's were done by veterans of the industry who were well acquainted with all aspects of their industry.....I.E. it was a mature format in quality and production. Now, with digital, I don't feel that way. Yes, I get occasional fantastic recording, however much suffers from label micromanaging, excessive loudness, format wars, cd format problems (super audio cd, gold cd's, xrcd's etc. ) Streaming suffers from the same problems, services that don't provide HD quality that they advertise, artists claiming streaming companies non-payment of rights, format problems, libraries purchased on platforms that suddenly delete content because of right's issues etc. I kept my album collection when all were abandoning for the latest better sound and am pleased I did, also I own the content forever, well at least until our dystopian world decides that I don't actually own anything.
@HenrikDall-d5s: Is Debbie a real woman or AI?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @HenrikDall-d5s: Debbie's real to me.
@HenrikDall-d5s replies to @HenrikDall-d5s: We all wish! 😄
@AudioMasterclass replies to @HenrikDall-d5s: @nicksterj Debbie has a range of skincare products coming out soon. You'll be able to buy them through my affiliate links in the descriptions of my videos.
@AntonyRosano: I agree with what you say, however, it remains that a vinyl with all its flaws can be heard better than many digital recordings where there is an excess of compression (Loudnees war) that for those with a serious playback system is unlistenable. I have dabbled over the years in transferring many of my vinyls to digital using reference software and appropriate hardware and the result is amazing managing to get a sound similar to analog is a quietness close to that of digital and using measured compression one can eliminate the excess dynamics of some vinyl recordings. This is to say that the two (analog and digital) can coexist peacefully if done correctly always remembering that we are analog beings.I follow you with interest, a greeting.
@legtrax2021: Very interesting analysis. I would though add that the other major factors are the age/hearing profile of the listener and the frequency response of the headphones/speakers/earbuds being used. It's one thing capturing a 'perfect' sound, its another hearing it! Plus, of course, compromises are made in mastering to translate to a wide of playback situations, none of which is likely to be a treated space such as the studio it was mixed and mastered in. If it sounds good to me and moves me in some way, then it is good.....no matter what may be technically wrong with it.
@MowestChameleon: I have watched lots of your videos recently after 20+ years learning about digital sound and mastering on Windows and Mac computers and I am unclear from your programmes just why DIGITAL SOUND is 'not so good'.....not hi-fi.!!!! I don't mean anything other than 'listening'[and feeling the vibe in the performance].... and not about people getting joy out of owning vinyl, reading sleeves, enjoying turntables etc which you and the Daily Mail have described. But being able to hear clarity of sound at 77 years of age with [as you say] ever deteriorating EARS....... is what I call 'hi-fi'....and on my computer controlled audio amp and speakers there has been nothing better since my Dad bought a Russian hi-fi unit in 1964 and I played my mint Beatles album on it. Recent articles have shown the confusion over this term....https://www.gearpatrol.com/audio/hi-fi-meaning-experts-explain/
So come on David....get of the fence and tell us why my 'hi-fi' is NOT Hi-Fi? You also commented on Dynamic Range and yet DID NOT mention the ranges applicable to good DR and generally apply to different types of music [ie classical/pop/house/tecno etc] so please address this to.
@MowestChameleon replies to @MowestChameleon: I only used that as an example of how things were in 1963......when the term 'hi-fi' was everywhere as what you should get to hear.....then the STEREO experience arrived and the train could be heard travelling across the room of the 'experience it' demo albums. My question is 'WHAT IS HI-FI TODAY?'
@donclingan3925: Ask a dj if he would rather use vinyl or a digital vinyl system such a Serato and he will pick the digital system. I love the nostalgia of physical media but cmon surley a 24 bit file wins everytime for quality
@donclingan3925: ❤😂 love it! Sometimes the only word that fit is "Bollocks" thanks just got a Fosi sk 02 thanks wicked dac😊
@sellmeyoursoul6601: the way he described cutting records is true for 78s before tape machines and later digital boards, so actually the process has one more transformation + the few stages of pressing the record. That being said with a not-so-huge investment you can get a pretty good sound if you buy bang for buck. The cable from the TT to the phono stage or amp is probably the most important thing in the setup, aswell as the phono stage (there are cheap good ones). So its a complicated and finicky tech, but Im actually impressed with some of the new made records, nice mastering usually.
My setup is Technics SlD310 TT, AT85EP, ART DJ Pre II and solid cables. This is a bare minimun so if you go below this level your shit will suck!
@DrWrapperband: It's a common miss-conception (promoted by CD shills) of the Nyquist frequency - repeated here - The Nyquist Frequency is the sample frequency to "identify a frequency" - Not to "Reproduce a frequency".
@tomharrigan: Just found your channel. Really enjoy your views, but I have several CDs that don't work. Any idea why?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @tomharrigan: From Sony... https://www.sony-mea.com/en/electronics/support/articles/00027417
@IdiocracyToday: Judging by some of the comments I think we can all agree that the pleasure in listening to music is purely subjective... as an half competent blind test can verify.
@deafdave6468: Who on earth wants to hear crackle??!! Eat a bowl of Rice Krispies while listening to your CD if you like snap, crackle and pop!!
@MrAbrantes1: Bravo! Excellent explanation. 👏👏👏
@MarkThomas-hm3ju: I think a big moment in the early CD history occurred when George Martin's Magical Mystery Tour was released ( he hired 4 musicians who called themselves the Beatles🙃) on CD. The vinyl digital break happened in the song Strawberry Fields Forever. Prior, to this digital release fans believed it said "I buried Paul." at the end as listeners used vinyl at the time. The CD release clearly reveals "Cranberry Sauce" and it might even be said again in a trail off.
@cybermau: needless to say, I like many got caught up in the vinyl craze.
I got a beautiful Transrotor ( German Turntable) ....and bought about 600 high quality Vinyl , like all respectable aufidiophiles...MOFI, Analogue production, Acoustic Sound and and and.. but even if the music was good, very good, I did not find it satisfying to listen to, and I said to myself: if others hear a difference between streaming and vinyl, where am I going wrong? even the soundstage did not seem so satisfying to me. I had a good tonearm, a good cartridge... but... boh... unsatisfying after all this money. The gesture of taking a record in one's hands... has always given me great uncertainty. the slightest line on the record, if I had mishandled it, would have decreed forever a crack or pop in an expensive 50/100 euro vinyl... and then I don't always need picking up a record, reading the cover and the written lyrics... I feel perfect just listening, maybe with my eyes closed, maybe in the dark at night with a nice jazz album...
And then fortunately my ears have decreed that I am unable to hear a "positive" difference in vinyl.
I sold everything and with the money from the sale of the amplifier (unison S8) and the turntable (Transrotor max) and records..... I bought two beautiful Mcintosh mc275 (I use these babies as mono Blocks) and a DAC Audiolab.
Needless to say, the soundstage became enormous and the satisfaction also. I'm just a lucky guy whose ears aren't so audiophile to require vinyl music. Have fun but also educate yourselves.
@Smog104: Pity you read the Mail on line it’s great toilet 🚽 paper
@acidtechno: not mentioned , tends to hold value over cds .
@channel4ferrets: Ther is no "vynil" vs "digital". There's just enjoying music in various ways.
@marcelpfeiffer6587: I've never stopped listening to vinyl and I think, despite all the physical limitations of the medium, there are two permissions. Firstly, not all albums are available digitally and secondly, in some cases the recording quality on vinyl albums is significantly better than on CD or streaming.
@Wised1000 replies to @marcelpfeiffer6587: 💯
@jmm21340: My simple observation! I have over 8000 Vinyl albums, mostly classical, and in that subset organ and choral. Very little of that has been released to CDs. I have over 10,000 Cds and enjoy them all. I found that in early CD days that CD sound was 'hard', lacking the warmth and ambience of the LP. My sound system in the 70s was all Acoutic Research [I lived just outside of Brattle Square.] from turntable to speakers. I now have a Denon AVR with a pair of Klipsch subwoffers, a pair of Fisher tower speakers, a Thorens TD160 in addition to my Fisher turntable and my AR turntable. Right now I am more than satisfied with the sound I have. I do have a pair of BSR 'ambience' speakers with 15 inch woofer and speakers on top [that's for my music room sound system.]
@f.herumusu8341: Im soooooooooo tired of that.
@jimromanski2702: I guess it's easy to make critical videos criticizing a lousy article. Digital technology when simplified sounds like a perfect way to store and playback music. But why have we had such tremendous improvements in digital sound quality since it first showed up in 1982 for consumers. It's all about the encoding and decoding. More so the decoding is where it's not as simple as putting the music back together with the digital information. They are still improving on the output side of digital and in my opinion SACD and DSD in native form is finally approaching analog in listening quality. And so we can finally enjoy the lack of surface noise and pitch correctness. As for dynamic range everyone focuses on digital being able to record louder passages. But I think it's digital's ability to have an extremely low noise floor that brings out details and subtle dynamics. These are things that have always existed in state of the art analog playback though limited by the noise floor. Digital offers more potential in the future. But having not understood that digital playback was never as perfect as people thought has given too many people a blind spot. I suggest you check yourself for just such a blind spot.
@lfcmarkeb7124: sigh!! last all respect after finding your a daily fail conspiracy rag reader!!
@sosimplyinhere: Three things I hadn't considered - 1) digital masters are susceptible to being overly loud, with non-technical and non-musical reasons driving that; 2) 'fatigue;' and 3) the phenomenon of reverb, which, when it's just right, disappears naturally into the playback. From now on, that is how I am going to regard using vinyl effects in digital masters.
One thing I have considered extensively - a language concept - when words refer specifically to things that can be seen, heard, and felt by others, beyond contention, that's high fidelity. Composed, clear considerations minimize fatigue.
Thanks very much!
@Boswd: Man this guy makes more videos on how much he hates Vinyl..... Did his wife leave him for some audiophile with a large record collection or something?
@normanbott: And let's not forget tracing distortion as well, even if your tone arm is 12 inches.
Ah, the daily fail - don't read it, wouldn't even put the paper in the cat's litter tray.
@ssgeek4515: As u get older vinyl gets better because your hearing looses its top end like vinyl.Also virtually all recordings are in PCM if its done in DSD well thats another thing
@jeromecable5608: what the heck is "an imersive listening experience" ?? a higher bullshit factor i guess
@russbutton9347: I've been an audiophile since Nixon was president. I have about a dozen recordings in both digital and vinyl formats. There are things about each format I like better than the other, but the ways that vinyl might sound better than digital are marginal.
The biggest problem with vinyl is the enormous expense one has to go through to experience those marginal differences. An adequate turntable/cartridge/phono preamp combinantion can easily run you $2000 and many spend a lot more than that. New records cost $20, and from that, you get about a dozen tracks, only half of which you'll likely want to hear a 2nd time.
For $20/month, you can subscribe to a high resolution streaming service like Tidal and have access to millions of tracks. Digital is a MUCH better value.
@geordietrout3914: "I read the Daily Mail.." Daily Hate reader. Enough said. Bye
@idtubenod: Enjoyed the thoroughness of the credits 🤣
👍👍😁
@traceysheneman8652: True, warm analog sound can be had, by me at least, by singing in a hot shower.
@Dj-Jon-E-C: Vinyl was good in it's day but I don't get why some seem to like hearing noise and crackle when you can get more how it should sound now. If digital mastered good it will sound great. You can record vinyl onto digital it will sound the same but try that the other way round.
@renyardfox8227: Streaming to music is the same as Kindle instead of a real book.
@markbrookes5953: I have a few duplicates in my collection on Vinyl and CD, and having got used to how the vinyl version sounded many years before buying the CD version when CDs first came out in the 80s and 90s, I often prefer the Vinyl version as my brain has learnt where all the odd pops and crackles occur and I miss them if I listen to the CD. Im sure that if I had heard and got used to the CD version first I would have hated the surface noise and crackles that unfortunately blighted many of the LPs released in the 70s.
Additionally I usually only now buy non 'Remastered' versions due to the loudness war destroying some if not all dynamic range on re-released CDs. Many years ago I remember digitising one particular LP from my collection, recording it several DBs below full volume so it could then be safely maximised (not compressed) and de-clicked if needed, and was surprised when listening to what was one part of the recording thinking it was a click to hear it was a single kick drum on the track that was about 7dB louder than anything else on the LP. I bet that dynamic would never survive the current studio practiced of compressing everything to an inch of it life.
Just a thought.....
@blairwooten8019: I prefer vinyl, over the years I built a collection of original master recordings/direct to disc albums. I have a Pioneer PL-71 direct drive turntable and a Pioneer SX-950 receiver that I bought new. I really wish they still used the same level of quality as they did in the 70s.
@avroman100: Old vinyl and some new sounds better then digital versions. I think old recordings were not digitized well. But why it happening for some new recordings? Is it done intentionally? Maybe some special mastering without compression or mastered not for earbuds?
@adrianinnavan3910: Has anyone mentioned the RIAA equalisation?
It always amuses me when 'audiophiles' refuse to mess about with the sound by using the TREBLE or BASS controls, if they have any, but don't even consider the equalisation applied to their precious vinyl.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @adrianinnavan3910: I intend make a video on this topic in the near future.
@canonwright8397: I got the ultimate answer to all this controversy. Just listen to everything live. I know it gets a bit expensive, but you won't believe the audio fidelity. Please, I'm a little deff on my left side, so send all complaints to my left ear. Thank you, and have a nice day.
@GilmoreDavis-x6v: Thank you for the interesting video.I have found that there are some very high res CD,s being made today that sound great. The 1st is Chasing the Dragon a studio in the UK. That uses wonderful recording equipment probably 50 years old and they make very high end tape. Vinal and CD,s. I just bought there 1st CD,s and it sounded great. Also there's a studio in US called Mapleshade store that recorded and made beautiful CD,s they have about 90 in stock. Also I hear that they are making some very good CD,s and LP,s in Japan that are very good because CD,s are so popular there. I recently just installed a Wiim Minny streamer and it also sounds great , I can't tell the difference between CD And Wiim. But I'm 70 years old and been a blacksmith for 50 so my hearing isn't so great. I think I've reached the highest level of sound quality with these new high quality CD,s and Wiim streamer. But the co in UK also makes direct cut LP,s that are supposed to be such high quality that it sounds like your in the same room as the musician,s. I wish my hearing was better
I might buy a decent turntable and buy some of these direct cut LP,s. But I'm happy with these new CDs so I,ll just stay where I am. Good luck.
@little-endian5957: Technically, the headline "vinyl vs. digital" is wrong to begin with as it makes roughly as much sense as contrasting "apple" and "green" where one rather is a possible attribute of the other.
Not only could digital data also be carried on vinyl, carpets or flower pots, but doesn't the term "digital" predicate any quality level either per se, either to compare it to.
Of course, what is mostly being referred to is the quite primitive analog usage of the raw vinyl material vs. probably something similar to CDDA specs, being PCM@44.1 kHz / 16 bit and here, the story can be cut very short: no chance; despite all the high-end voodoo, there is yet one to be found to succeed in recognizing some vinyl source from half a dozen of A/D-D/A-cascades in a blind test and PCM at those parameters by far exceeds the rumble-mumble of usual records anyway. Besides understandable nostalgia and haptics, there is simply nothing accounting for records, at least not when used analog and not as digital data storage which is probably very rared due to the required error correction and rather low achievable data rate.
Ironically, records on vinyl prove one thing: that technical parameters can be pretty bad while still possibly delivering an enjoyable audio performance. AAC or MP3 on vinyl would sound a lot better (as long as no one would know about the oh so evil digital processing and data reduction right from the devil).
@joefish6091 replies to @little-endian5957: Mp3 using LAME twenty or so year ago everybody was making sibilant S mp3s, they sounded quite nasty if your ears were up to the job.
@PaulAxe: Best music experience is live. Second is whatever you prefer. I like them all, vinyl, cds, cassette, 8 track, mp3… just don’t like people dismissing things that are very important for the others. And I have said.
@donk1822: I'm blessed with a choice of turntables.
AR Legend, RB300, AT-FT5.
A much modified Transcriptor Hydraulic Reference, SME3009/II, Ortofon 2M Black.
Michell Gyro with PSU and upgrade clamp (worth every penny), Alphason HRS100mcs, AT-OC7.
MF Vinyl phono stage, admittedly a cut above the norm but hardly exotica.
I also have an Alphason Sonata which was far and away the best turntable I have ever heard, sadly it went to turntable heaven about 6 months out of warranty with a PS problem and I have never found anyone who can, or wants to fix it :(. I use the arm now on the Gyro I bought a few years ago, it's a fine match and suits it visually. Given the use it had, it was like putting a brand new just bedded in arm on it.
My CD player/DAC is an Audiolab 8200CD and I admit, CD's and digital files played using its DAC often sound as good if not better than the vinyl.
But I have many albums in my collection that I have owned and cared for from new, Hawkwind's Space Ritual, Bowie's Aladdin Sane, Zappa's Shut Up And Play Your Guitar, for example. Neither the CD's or lossless files hold a candle to the vinyl even when played on the AR combo.
Truth is, as I see it, vinyl demands input from the listener, digital does not and I just prefer the mechanical interface.
@cgideas: t=334 "and if you're listening in your car..." Stylus skipping can be a bit of a problem, though, surely?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @cgideas: I don't know. I never had one https://lh3.ggpht.com/_hVOW2U7K4-M/S72Qmz9ygCI/AAAAAAABR9A/XwpdExJ4r_c/s720/5r6udrtre.jpg
@crd560: Back in the '80s, I was increasingly irritated by poor-quality vinyl pressings, especially for mid-line (budget) re-releases of older albums from the major labels. CDs seemed at first like an escape from all those problems, but it didn't take long to realize that some CDs sounded awful, either made from bad tape copies, or EQ'd strangely, or whatever. While CD technology clearly could make great-sounding discs, all too often it didn't, and over time the trends in this area have gotten worse, particularly with regard to excessive volume levels, heavy peak limiting, and over-emphasis of bass and treble in EQ. These days I sometimes buy vinyl LPs even for new albums because despite the limitations of vinyl records, they sound better than dynamically-squashed CDs with exaggerated EQ. (And HD download releases often sound just as bad as the corresponding CDs in that regard, though not always.) I think part of what's going on is that the music companies are thinking about people who are listening to music on their phones, not even using earbuds, but just playing music over the phone speaker. Exaggerated EQ and maxed-out volume probably helps the music to sound better over phone speakers (not that it will ever sound GOOD that way), but it guarantees that the music will sound absolutely awful in a real stereo system.
@msingh1932: With your brimming-with-substance videos style, would highly appreciate if the Master can give guidelines on when to use a sub-woofer, and when to do without one, especially on a 2.0 system.
@chriscook7479: Yawn. Vinyl sounds better. Yes more distortion but more organic, rounded and weightier through the mids. Less sterile.
@errolallen5007: I’m old school.
Vinyl, CDs, SACDs only no digital😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Digital is made for SNOW FLAKES
@middleman9183: This argument is tedious. Vinyl IF DONE PROPERLY will sound better BUT the equipment can be expensive. However, digital can also sound good, is cheaper and arguably more convenient. Most vinyl from the mid 80's was made with a digital file which complicates the issue even more. So, vinyl for sound quality - digital for convenience (imho)
@joefish6091 replies to @middleman9183: If your music sounds bad, insert a preamplifier into the sound path then listen, repeat until the music is perfect.
@fernandofonseca3354: The Daily Mail? Well it doesn't get much more authoritative than that, does it? 😂😂😂
@drivethrou: Thats why i keep my old records in perfekt shape
@manitoublack: one thing I really enjoy about physical media (format doesn't matter) is that it's far easier to commit to listening to a full album. And I like that. With streaming, while absolutely possible, it's often far too tempting to select your preferred tracks or go random. But for random listening I prefer a good radio station
@AudioMasterclass replies to @manitoublack: Your wisdom is good.
@Manu-Official: The Daily Mail makes stuff up, there is no point basing something according to their imaginary experts.
@edwinhurwitz6792: It's pretty hilarious that for some genres, albums provide a greater dynamic range than CDs (see: Loudness Wars). So much music is squished to within an inch of its life and then put on media that can go from quieter than you can hear to louder than you can stand. In any case, I love music, so digital, cassette, or vinyl, whatever contains the music I want to hear will get listened to by me. Vinyl is pretty fun, but really, it's the expense and inconvenience that keeps me hooked to my turntable.
@travelllller: Records are expensive and inconvenient. There is really nothing better than to listen to a 50 bucks record on a 1000 bucks turntable and have to live with speed variations, crackles, and hum. Record lovers are idiots..
..me being one of them 😆🤗
@alistentcanada: Booooo he said vinyls! CRINGE
@AudioMasterclass replies to @alistentcanada: I've said it in two videos so far. I'm not bored with it yet.
@iqnill: The "experts" don't seem to mention that the entire pipeline in the studio is (99% chance in 2024) digital.
Digital synths, DAWs, processing, mastering etc. then it's pressed onto wax cylinders for that warm hiss and crackle...
@rabarebra: So many dumb people commenting at one place. 😂
@apigge8723: Very well said @nickvickers3486!
@HerscherderGalaxis: Bullshit. I own dozens and dozens of records which play perfectly. No rumbles, pops or clicks. Sure I own even more which occasionally rumble, pop and click, but who cares. I can live with slight imperfections. Anyone who can’t needs professional help.
@OrdinaryWorld: I'm no vinyl evangelist and almost exclusively listen to digital music. That said, despite having a whole world of music at our finger tips, I miss the days of buying an album and playing it over and over, extracting every last element of joy from it until I could afford to buy another. It felt far more precious and valuable. These days, my kids barely listen to whole albums, and sometimes not even whole tracks before skipping along. Sitting down to listen to an entire album is a pleasure that's being consigned to history and from that perspective, I can see why the vinyl revival has taken place; not for hipster coolness but just to take time out to sit and deliberately listen to music, as an intent, not as backing music to other activities. The fact it's less convenient means it's a more deliberate act.
@joerosen5464 replies to @OrdinaryWorld: It's a subconscious response to crap sound; it's just not realistic nor pleasant enough to hold your attention for very long. Sometimes not even for an entire song!
I well remember when Seedies came out, how the pundits all blamed "competing technologies" all coming out & supposedly "competing" for our attention as the reason that Seedy listeners hardly ever sat through an entire song, never mind an entire 45 minute disc (since most of them were remastered albums formatted for the 20 minute sides of an LP that they were originally recorded for).
They blamed everything from Video Games to "Home Theatre" to home computers.
FACT CHECK: Nothing competes with listening to music. NOTHING.
It is a thing unto itself; only when it isn't any good does a listener get up & walk away. And that can be BOTH as a result of the content, or the sound quality of the recording. Sometimes both.
But when you are pulling out discs of music that you bought, that means it contains music you already love!
So that means the problem IS the sound quality (& really the relative lack thereof).
When the music sounds really good, you get more out of the music, you get ENJOYMENT out of the experience, & you usually let the album play right through the side.
Without worrying about making a trip to Blockbuster to rent a movie, or succumb to the urge to run & check your email, or to run downstairs & see if you can increase your high score on "Space Invaders"!
@OrdinaryWorld replies to @OrdinaryWorld: Except we used to spend hours listening to AM radio and were quite happy doing so. And even worse, recording the chart rundown from radio to cassette and that was our soundtrack to the week. Quality was rarely an issue back then. Music was music and we enjoyed in an many shapes and forms... and qualities.
@joerosen5464
@GCKelloch replies to @OrdinaryWorld: @joerosen5464 I think it's mostly because it's so easy now to skip along in albums that it becomes a habit. Most people wouldn't want to walk over to a turntable to move the needle to wherever and walk back to the listening position. Modern tech does allow much easier access to our whims. It's no mystery that we tend to take avantage of that...for better or worse.
@pinarellolimoncello replies to @OrdinaryWorld: Have to agree, scientifically speaking digital may be better but vinyl in my view has more of a 'sense of occasion' plus the visual stimulation and beauty that can be enjoyed from looking at a well engineered turntable.
@FrightfulMess replies to @OrdinaryWorld: Exactly! Vinyl is a “deliberate” listening experience.
@dinobubric967: Did article mention that the vast majority of new records are cut from digital? Some would argue that this in itself defeats the purpose, as far as sound quality is concerned. I have a reasonably large record collection. Mostly jazz and 60's , 70's era rock, which was created for 33/3 album format. All of my classical collection is on SACD/CD format, as flipping sides and high level of SN (during quiet passages) break the immersion.
@sgw8903: And yet "normal" people still choose to read the crap.
@n.miller907: Personally, I couldn't care less what a person thinks of this debate. Go ahead, spend a fortune buying vinyl and all that overpriced analog gear. No skin off my butt.
On the other hand, the continued popularity of vinyl has stunted the development of digital audio. I could easily write a book on that subject, but I'll spare all of you the details.
For me, as a music collector since the late 1960's, I'm happy to see vinyl recordings are still around (which I even predicted to others I knew way back when) but for a truly immersive listening experience, I go for digital audio surround sound. For those surround recordings that don't have a video component to the DVDs or Blu-ray disc, I have my computer run an audio visualization app that makes dynamically and rhythmic patterns on my 60" screen.
I also have digital music players that are tied to the internet and give me far better information about the band, album or song I'm listening to than any static vinyl album notes or cover.
Vinyl is overrated, although I do own many half-speed mastered and direct-to-disc recordings in my collection. My playback equipment is of high quality too.
And MP3 files can sound very good if properly encoded. It's not a dead technology either.
I recently forked over some BIG BUCKS for the limited edition 50th anniversary Devo vinyl box set. Not because I thought it would sound better but because I want it to be an heirloom for my grandson to envoy after I'm dead and gone. I have all the digital material the band released on CD or other digital formats. But occasionally, it might make a bit more sense to purchase a vinyl album that's special in some way. Otherwise, digital formats are perfectly fine (unless some idiot put on some crazy amount of compression... which isn't the fault of the medium itself).
@rabarebra: Ah, trying to get 100K subscribers? Easy clickbait? 😎
@kitko33: I call it Daily Maul... As the old joke goes... ' Two things the really drew me to vinyl were the expense and the inconvenience'. It's better than admit that one's dumb to choose vinyl and parted with their money for no benefit at all.
@VinylPro: 0:27 . THE RIGHT ONE IS BETTER !!!
@ReverendDr.Thomas: No mention of scratches, clicks and pops. 🤨
@apigge8723: ... Said James, "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent and a redheaded girl. Now Norton and Indians and Greeves won't do. Oh they don't have a soul like a Vincent' 52."... - Richard Thompson
@patbarr1351: "Vinyl vs Digital?" Yawn. Now "Vinyl vs. Polystyrene," that's a hot topic! (I'm gonna spin me some 45s 😎)
@ehanni: Why is it always vinyl being compared to CD's. We should insist on blu ray audio. Or hi res files like flac or DSD. Even DVDA's And SACD's are superior to CD's and Vinyl.
@yvesfrancoisritmo: Digital CD reproduction is FAR superior to a vinyl album . The mastering of CD can he fantastic to horrible , the album, extremely good to horrible. There are many vinyl albums that sound better than CD but it's the mastering issues, not the format.