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Yes, now that we've been spoiled by music rising up out of the wonderful dead silence of digital, we need to get back to the glorious days of pops, clicks, scratches, surface noise, and shrill, screechy highs resulting from vinyl "grooved-out" by a bad stylus. I miss the great graphics of albums, but sure as hell don't miss analogue sound all that much.
I say this as I am about to make a car trip this weekend to visit friends in McKeesport, Pennsylvania with a carload of 500+ albums I'm going to dump at either Jerry's Records or Eide's comics in nearby Pittsburgh. I've kept a few nostalgic keepsakes--my gatefold copy of PLANET OF THE APES, the hexagonal pressing of ANDROMEDA STRAIN, among others. There are some I just never got around to converting to CD but I just need to clear the clutter at this point in my life. (And, this doesn't take into account a few score of my remaining laserdiscs.)
At some point I may even deal with the prospect of sucking a few thousand CD's into several external hard drives for listening on Ipod and computer.
One ponders such thoughts as one approaches one's 69th birthday.
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Posted: |
Jun 21, 2016 - 12:00 PM
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By: |
John-73
(Member)
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The current vinyl 'revival' is unfortunately beset with quality control issues, and anonymous production details (i.e. what was the vinyl master cut from?).
The reason audiophiles in the main preferred LPs was due to it being a full analogue production process, from master-tape to mixing to LP cutting. LPs pressed way back when also had the advantage of being cut when the mastertapes were new/fresh. 95% of current vinyl is nothing more than a CD or DAT master cut onto an LP lacquer master, and then copies pressed from that. You'd be better off buying the equivlent CD without the additional degradations. You certainly won't get the famed 'vinyl warmth'; you'll get a digital sound with analogue crackle!
The trouble is, the rise of the bearded hipster stereotype collector & joe public believe pops, clicks and crackle is part of the 'scene'. And they want that. Whereas audiophiles are used to high quality vinyl playback with minimal noise. Not somethimg one can achieve with a cheap plastic fantastic usb deck. Many are just buying the vinyl for the artwork - some don't even play it!
So, make sure you KNOW the mastering, what you're getting, before buying. Don't encourage this practise by buying blind. Full analogue pressings are the ones to go for, or vinyl cut from higher res. digital masters as a good second best. Email the labels to ask exactly what you're getting.
Otherwise get the CD 
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Most use digital sources, so you get the worst of both media. Seek titles that use analog masters.
^^This.^^
Truth.
Whatever-
Nothing is recorded in Analog these days. Some rock acts with all the time in the world, maybe. If you can still find analog tape.
In the high pressure world TV and movie production, pro-tools hard drive recording is the standard, though certainly at 96k or 192k sampling.
I like old tech as much as the next guy, but when the new tech is cheaper and easier and better, I move on.
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The part of the above referenced article that hit me was the bit about the last track on a side sounding worse than the first. I always loved the "Bernstein-ish" side one closer track of Hamlisch's THE SWIMMER, "Hurdles." But, after 2-3 copies, I never heard a good, clean, transparent-sounding copy until FSM put out their CD of it.
The closest argument for analogue LPs vs. CDs might have been the superbly press RCA Gerhardt series or perhaps the London Phase 4 Herrmann releases.
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Posted: |
Jun 22, 2016 - 8:56 AM
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By: |
slint
(Member)
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Another problem with vinyls is that you need quite an expensive turntable and stylus to get an audiophile sound, which sometimes mean hours of playing with the adjustments of your turntable. Otherwise, be prepared for mild distortion, mild speed fluctuations, etc. This can be frustrating. Furthermore, while no CDs I have bought in the past 20 years had any defect that needed a return, my experience from vinyls is that even if you buy it new, you can find out there are skips or noises that won't go away.
Otherwise I don't really mind, the sound quality from a mint vinyl from a properly adjusted turntable is certainly as good as a CD, but it takes a lot more work, money, and luck it seems.
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Nothing is recorded in Analog these days.
There a current pressings of plenty of LPs from the analog days. And the better releases use an all-analog chain in the process.
Yes, I suppose stuff recorded prior to, let's generously say, 1995.
Even ST-TMP and The Black Hole were digitally tracked (though possibly mixed in analog), and that was in 1979. BTTF II & III are late 80s and tracked at 24b/48k.
Digital took hold a lot earlier and faster then most people realize.
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