Comments on: Vinyl Is Back In The Groove

Audiophiles Shun MP3s and CDs For "Old-Fashioned" LPs, And Companies Meet The Demand

[rf35]

I''m old enough to remember vinyl and I can''t say I miss it. The audio clarity of CDs compared to the hiss and pop of LPs is what converted me. I''ll stick with the clear sound, thank you. A tweak of the equalizer takes care of any %u201Cfullness%u201D issues I might notice.

[marcpcbs]

I''ve been an Audio Engineer since LPs were the best around. If they''re going to bring LPs back then were all in for a treat. You know how a digital photo is made up of small squares; well I can hear a similar saw tooth effect in digital audio. It''s most pronounced with acoustic instruments like violins. Digital violins sound like hell. Gee, now I''ll have to put my whole music collection back into vinyl. Oh well.

[ibzjem]

I think we can blame Sony for the the 16-bit 44.1kHz resolution of CD audio. They had the chance to make it 24-bit and/or 96kHz, but they opted for less. Perhaps due to space on the physical disk, but nonetheless, we could have had high definition digital audio long ago. The same fight is going on right now with high definition video.
I''ve not heard the new vinyl, but I surely don''t miss the snap crackle and pop of the old.

[extremophil]

I like LPs too, but anybody who thinks that they will make a real comeback might as well dig out their buggy whips and jump on the buckboard....cause it ain''t gonna happen. It''s a convenience thing.

[spotty17-2009]

just a little observation: back in the day....when recording seemed so popular, recording from a record vinyl) or the radio onto a cassette to play in the car seemed to be the rage. that kept the record in almost pristine condition resulting from so few playbacks. "brianbwb" (above) has made a good point regarding playback from a "vinyl" recording in todays environment; the vinyl record is copied from a "digital" source.
go to a music store and "hear" what cymbals sound like; digital recordings can''t capture the "ping" and swish of that instrument. snare drums have lost that snap that snare drums are most noted for when played back in the digital format.
a good comparison might be to listen to the "original" (analogue) Yes album "Fragile". the "remixed" (or remastered) version doesn''t compare through digital format. the soundstage has been decreased. the music has been "sanitized".
There are fewer mistakes that makes recorded music so attractive and listenable. sadly, analogue has been taken (stolen) away and the digital foray is far too overwhelming to dismiss. digital recorders aren''t cheaper to maintain, but when they break, it is much simpler to just get a new one. the parts cost is too great to repair. vinyl recording are still played today....sometimes over 50 years later. can you say that about digital recording?

[brianbwb-2009]

I am a professional engineer. The difference between CDs and vinyl can definitely be heard, because the "slices" mentioned in the article are 16 bits "wide", containing 65,536 volume levels, those whose ears are more discrete can hear the "stairstep", or "zipper" effect when the volume fades, as on a reverb, or "echo", and at the fade out of a song.

The "slice rate" of 44.1 khz CDs also creates problems when super highs are mathematically re interpreted, they color the lower ranges, an effect called foldback, which can be heard as distortion in the bass and low mids. (google Nyquist''s sample rate theorem for info as to why)

DVDs are different, 24 bits means 16.7 million sound levels, and the higher "slice rates" of from 48 khz to 196 khz, removes the foldback artifacts, and also the "zipperiness". Then the zero noise of digital, compared to the always present sound of vinyl''s needle friction, plate induced hum, wow and flutter, makes vinyl and even CDs sound like the old tech that it is.

New vinyl recordings are recorded with digital recorders anyway now, at up to 384khz, 32 bits, because the old analog recorders are too expensive to maintain, and only a couple manufacturers still make them, and the digital master is fed to the vinyl press anyway, so new vinyl is now basically a digital recording on an inferior playback medium.

[michellem99-2009]

I am 53. I do ''member the records..Had some as a girl..But like CDs as I am legally blind.

[chuckluck4]

On today''s show, Bill Flanagan did a piece on ''50 years of Grammys'' where he finished with something like '' But I still can''t believe that Chris.....'' and then someone changed my channel and I din''t hear what he was to say, and it''s driving me crazy. Can someone please fill me in? Thanks, Chuck

[tucano2]

CD''s are ok for use in a fast-moving somewhat noisy vehicle, but there''s no way it''ll ever put out concert-hall quality sound...how could it possibly when so much has been truncated and deleted?

[olebd]

Posted by grooves3 at 04:15 PM : Feb 10, 2008
+ report abuse

What a great post. I too am a fan of vinyl. I don''t know exactly why but I do remember listening to a new album on vinyl while doing absolutely nothing else. I would play it a few times in a row and my apprieciation for it would slowly grow. I remember when lyrics would actually tell a story. When there were concept albums that had a beginning and an end.

To me, with vinyl, it seems I can hear more separation, more range of tones, which equates to a better listening experience.

CD''s are instant gratification, more "in your face" Downloads are fragments of a collection of work.

Listening to music should not be stressful - LOL It should be more like sipping on a good wine.

[grooves]

While Dorham''s description of CD was fanciful, he got it right in that the sampling creates an unsatisfying listening experience even among people who don''t know they''re not satisfied. The switch to CDs is one of the reasons music has been marginalized and listening to it is no longer a primary experience. It''s a TURN OFF. That''s why people have moved music to background experience. It''s listened to while doing something else (cooking, exercising, eating, having ***, etc.) People USED TO SIT AND LISTEN. Remember that? People discovering or rediscovering vinyl are finding that for the first time, or once again, the music is compelling, emotionally involving and sufficient to capture their entire sensory faculties. Plus it sounds soooooo much better. Period. Want to listen on a spectrum analyzer? Knock yourself out. Vinyl is coming back because more and more people are hearing it and they are liking what they hear. As Neil Young said about it: "with digital, the mind is fooled, but the heart is sad." People are waking up to that and vinyl''s popularity will continue to grow....no disrespect meant. If you prefer listening to CDs, enjoy! But records sound much better.....

[grooves]

While Dorham''s description of CD was fanciful, he got it right in that the sampling creates an unsatisfying listening experience even among people who don''t know they''re not satisfied. The switch to CDs is one of the reasons music has been marginalized and listening to it is no longer a primary experience. It''s a TURN OFF. That''s why people have moved music to background experience. It''s listened to while doing something else (cooking, exercising, eating, having ***, etc.) People USED TO SIT AND LISTEN. Remember that? People discovering or rediscovering vinyl are finding that for the first time, or once again, the music is compelling, emotionally involving and sufficient to capture their entire sensory faculties. Plus it sounds soooooo much better. Period. Want to listen on a spectrum analyzer? Knock yourself out. Vinyl is coming back because more and more people are hearing it and they are liking what they hear. As Neil Young said about it: "with digital, the mind is fooled, but the heart is sad." People are waking up to that and vinyl''s popularity will continue to grow....no disrespect meant. If you prefer listening to CDs, enjoy! But records sound much better.....

[cyberdjs4]

Reporters never seem to know anything until they research for a story.

Vinyl never died. DJs have always demanded vinyl. Since the advent of the CD, it''s always been a niche format.

Personally, I don''t care for the added noise the mechanical playback system adds to the music.
As a purist, I know this noise was not there during the recording process.

Bands and their engineers go through a lot of trouble and money getting the sound as perfect as possible.

Any format that SIGNIFICANTLY adds to or removes from the intended outcome is a useless format.

That is why I prefer huge .wav files over MP-3 files.

[d7spirit]

"It''s a closed format," said Bernich. "Not everyone can have access to it. So if you don''t want your music to go everywhere, it''s one way of having control over your product."

***I''m a music enthusiast, so I don''t understand this. Which musician or producer doesn''t want their song to be heard by the largest amount of listeners? Or are they naive enough to think someone can''t capture music from an LP and post it online? GOOD LUCK!!

[d7spirit]

"It''s a closed format," said Bernich. "Not everyone can have access to it. So if you don''t want your music to go everywhere, it''s one way of having control over your product."

***I''m a music enthusiast, so I don''t understand this. Which musician or producer doesn''t want their song to be heard by the largest amount of listeners? Or are they naive enough to think someone can''t capture music from an LP and post it online? GOOD LUCK!!

[d7spirit]

"It''s a closed format," said Bernich. "Not everyone can have access to it. So if you don''t want your music to go everywhere, it''s one way of having control over your product."

***I''m a music enthusiast, so I don''t understand this. Which musician or producer doesn''t want their song to be heard by the largest amount of listeners? Or are they naive enough to think someone can''t capture music from an LP and post it online? GOOD LUCK!!

[tropolus]

"It''s a groove, whereas a CD takes music, audio, chops it up. And it''s done in little packets of data. And the trick is that you listen to it, if the data is quick enough, your ear ''makes up'' for the difference."

This is incorrect, Durham. you''re mistakenly referring to digital compression. The files on CD are not compressed so the the audio is not ''chopped up''. The information an a CD is literally the purest (meaning very little, if any, loss of audio information) form of audio reproduction currently available.

Now if you take that file and make it into a MP3, for example, then you are chopping it up and reassembling and, no, your ear cannot detect the missing information per se, but what trained ears can detect is a lack of clarity and attack in the highest and lowest of frequencies.

I don''t wish to disrespect any who enjoy the sound of vinyl, but I wish they would stop trying to rationalize their preference with incorrect statements like Durham''s. Facts are facts, and a simple test with a spectrum analyzer will prove unequivocally the CDs superiority in audio reproduction in all categories. Ironically, it is the insertion of additional audio information created by the phonographs needle passing over microscopic imperfections in the vinyl itself that create what listeners perceive as the "fullness" in sound they hear with LPs.

[ciarrai3]

last line: You ought to have done better by Maharishi.

[ciarrai3]

Your brief mention of the life and death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was disrespectful. Talk about being damned by faint praise. I''d like to know the source you used to come up with the possibility that he was a fraud. Let me assure all of you corporate folk that TM is a practice that works wonderfully on the individual living in these fast-paced, crazy times. It has allowed me to be calmer, less annoyed by the mundane and more clear about what I need to accomplish. I care nothing about the yogic flying you showed images of. As to the charges of improprieties during the Beatles time with the Maharishi, there have been denials and disputes about the veracity of the details of the story. Suffice it to say, the good effect of the practice of TM greatly outweighs any smears directed at its founder. You ought to done a better by Maharishi.