Does vinyl sound better than CD?

[@jntdad]

All I want to say is the most gut wrenching Bass I have ever heard is of J S Bach Toccata and Fugue on Cassette - so the recording/Mastering also play's a huge part. Vinyl is different from CD but both Vinyl and CDs are now considered old hat and cassettes dinosaurs - yet I gain huge pleasure from all these formats. I like to own the hard copy and hardware that will play it - digital streaming is evolving but as corporations see ways of wiping out your music by withholding licences for a particular codecs or discontinuing access to a loved streaming service - my hard copy material is playable even if I have to stoke my wood fired generator to get the electricity. I like ownership and control - so hard core old school it may be but consider how LP,s were first introduced in 1949 and still going - nothing beats the best.

[@philippeory9165]

I purchased the SONY CDP-101 in 1983, it is still in working order. I've loved the CD format ever since and the SACD!

[@davidholmberg9999]

Sometimes the first run of a new product is overbuilt and lasts way beyond subsequent products (due to cost-cutting & component redundancy) I'm typing this on the first unibody Macbook from 2008

[@r.c.anderson5632]

Perfectly said! I have bought a LOT of vinyl records in my life.... and they were charming and wonderful in their day. In fact I have 2 Magnavox console stereos from the year 1968... so I have some vintage vinly I keep with them just to play on the Micromatic turntables. However, in 1986 I went all out and bought my first CD deck for 370. A lot of money now, but A LOT more back then.... and the reason was because I could not stand those "ticks" and "pops". So I have over 300 CDs, but now only have a couple of dozen vinyl albums and those are only for nostalgia, not serious listening. THANKS for your incredible video which gives me a TON of useful arguments why I love my CDs. Especially helpful was the reminder that if a record is made from a digital source, it can't possibly be smoother than the digital master. Makes SO much sense. Thank you!

[@foljs5858]

" and the reason was because I could not stand those "ticks" and "pops". So more like OCD than caring about the music

[@fortworthron]

@@foljs5858 To support r.c.'s comment, well the ticks and pops are not a part of the music! 🙂 I'm in the same boat as r.c. - I have maybe 30-40 vinyl albums (mostly bought in the 80-90s), but 400-500 CDs. Another thing to speak about regarding media is that vinyl is not very transportable. You don't see many people playing vinyl in their car! 😉

[@foljs5858]

@@fortworthron "well the ticks and pops are not a part of the music!" they kind of are... they track the record's age and your relationship to it, like wrinkles on a person. Digital is like those plastic fake-ass looking people with no wrinkles at 70

[@GNewcomb-q9v]

@@foljs5858ok, you can’t handle someone having an opinion & liking what they like!

[@anendtowar]

I tend to listen to vinyl when listening actively, cd and digital for passive listening. Both serve a valuable purpose- to perpetuate love for the beautiful gift of music!

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

You got it the wrong way round.

[@pnichols6500]

​@@simonzinc-trumpetharris852He nailed it, streaming is for background music, quick listening or seeing if you want to buy the record. CD are not quite as bad, but you want to get serious, buy a great turntable, cartridge, phono preamp along with a good system. I'll bet you dinner that I could do a blind test with you playing 5 quality pressing and 5 CD's and bet you would say the vinyl was better on the majority.

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

@@simonzinc-trumpetharris852 No he doesn't. He listens in the manner that gives him the most musical enjoyment and listening satisfaction. You don't get a vote. You do you.

[@mrboat580]

CD was the greatest audible improvement to audio in my lifetime. Gone was the noise from both vinyl and tape. I still have the 70 main vinyl albums I always kept, have a TT and revisit them occasionally but that's about it. Now I stream mostly, Regardless, the speakers have always been the star of my audio show.

[@wiebl5266]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this video. Thank you for the facts explained without too many scientific jargons. This is my go-to for explaining vinyl and cds. 4 thumbs up.

[@sjbang5764]

I'm glad I ran across your video. I have nothing against vinyl, I grew up listening to vinyl. But, since 1983-84, I've gone the cd route, at first because I had no choice. Where I grew up, record stores stopped stocking vinyl records. As you have pointed out, cd's don't wear out, and they don't skip, hiss, or pop. Of course, there are faulty cd's, like anything else made in the world. Something else I like about cd's is that I can program them. If I wish to listen to tracks 1, 4, 7, 9 on a record, it's easily done. As I said, vinyl was what I listened to growing up, so I've no problem with it, what bugs me, however, is the attitude of some people, definitely not all, in the vinyl community who seem to look down their nose at cd's and those who collect them. I don't get it, but I see it. Anyway, I'm glad to know that cd's actually sound pretty good, I can rest easy now.

[@genelemons5654]

Great presentation, Tony. You convinced me that CD's have a better sound without offending my love for my 55 year collection of over 1400 vinyl records!

[@dtz1000]

Yes, vinyl is still better than CDs.

[@williamhopper6602]

Cds Rule

[@cryptidhunter9901]

Sound quality is a subjective matter. Your ears will tell you what kind your prefer, and wont need someone else to tell you what you should like.

[@paolomarcelogalvan1938]

The CD is noise while vinyl is quite 😂

[@johnholmes912]

And yet when I play an LP and a CD of the same recording everyone says how much more depth the vinyl has

[@georgebertozzi8267]

Great video. Lots of good points raised. As an owner of thousands of both Vinyl and CD and having worked in both Analog and Digital formats, I can say that there are far more advantages to Cd's than Vinyl. Even Hi-Res files are great! Your listening experience is personal but Cd's have a far greater selection of music in all decades. Vinyl stopped being readily available after the big Digital overhaul in the 90's. Cd's last longer, are portable, much quieter, you can clone them and they are far cheaper with far greater liner notes and multi page booklets. A good DAC upgrades the CD and Remastered CD's often contain bonus tracks that cannot be fitted onto a vinyl record without badly affecting audio quality. I love both fornats because it's all about the MUSIC, but building the mother of all Rock Collections is far better with CD's!

[@chrism4948]

I gave my nephew over 300 lps in 1990, the year I switched to digital music. I have never regretted, never looked back. I feel nostalgic for the collecting of, the jacket art etc. But, as for audio quality I’ll take cds and hi-res lossless audio every time. Good clip. Thanks

[@zundap100]

I did the same, and since then I never heard a good rock guitar sound again.

[@cannrmleen]

"Warm Sound" Hi everybody and thank you very much for this REALLY competent and objective explanation on that subject. Having Engineered and being present at countless Final Record cuttings since the early 70ies I can only appreciate this post. Obviously I was part of the whole Digital Recording Process as well. In addition to this post, I would like to mention the situation of the High Frequencies, which are also part of the "Warm Sound" experience. Equal to the situation of the Low End, the Analog/Tape Recordings roll off significantly at 16 KHz. Digital Conversion easily handles 40KHz and above. When we try to listen to a "Dog Whistle" which is above 23 KHz we can't hear it. However it's there and it makes us uncomfortable. In music terms high frequencies even above our hearing capabilities can be used to produce excitement. Now if we understand the limitations of the Analog Audio Recording and consequently Vinyl Sound, We can make a Digital Recording sound very, very similar to the Warm Sound of an Analog Medium. While at the beginning of the Digital Recordings, there was a well founded critic of the Sound Quality at the time.These days however our Digital Converters and the Dynamic Range have being developed to a level, very, very few Golden Years claim to hear the difference. Another Aspect would be the Phase Relationship in a Stereo Recording between Left and Right. A Vinyl Cutting won't allow "Out of Phase" music, or the needle would dive and consequently jump. Digital Recordings allows this to happen but is not pleasing (Warm Sounding) in my opinion. All that said, I still offer a complete Analog Chain Recording and Mixing in my Studio and I love it ha, ha, ha.... Besides to have only 24 Tracks versus 100's of tracks is very challenging and can support creativity and excitement in the Music. Good Recording to all of you ❤

[@buckdown4104]

excellent points - and I'll add that another variation is channel separation. in the Digital world - at every level - the left/right channels are purely discreet (meaning there is no unintended bleed between channels. They are separated by an untraversable digital wall), whereas - in a vinyl setup - you need a REALLY good stylus to keep down the crosstalk - and you also have to pay special attention to making sure that your speakers aren't on the same surface as your turntable (a common mistake) or you will start bleeding even worse. It took me years to realize I needed to have every part of the signal chain physically decoupled from each other. Having said that - once you get it right - it does sound phenomenal. As I mentioned above, vinyl can surpass digital - but it takes a LOT of money and work to do it.

[@dtz1000]

Actually, vinyl has been shown to output frequencies of 50khz and higher. CDs can only output up to 22khz.

[@larrytracy851]

​@@buckdown4104😅😊

[@Bizzle65]

@@dtz1000Yes and the drastic low pass filtering needed to enable this 22khz cut off, leaves nasty artefacts (aliasing) audible in the high end of CD audio. That’s what makes listening to CDs tiring and essential annoying. You can’t get away from it. It’s makes me feel uneasy!! A well recorded, mastered and pressed vinyl record, will alway beat a CD for me, noise floor and all!! I have demonstrated this to many non-believers over the years and they all had to admit they they preferred the sound of vinyl.

[@mdhj67]

@@dtz1000 Theoretically, a 'pop' from an LP can output an enormous frequency range.

[@KenTeel]

Well done, Tony. You've pointed out enough facts about the advantages of the CD format, so as to point out the illogical choice of going with vinyl. Nostalgia is vinyl's biggest selling point.

[@lucalone]

Nostalgia and the damn LOUDNESS WAR MASTERING on compact discs !! And that crap is still far away from being over !!

[@KenTeel]

@@lucalone Yes, indeed: Loudness wars. It's just so absurd. But, you know who is driving this loudness war: The consumer. Musically ignorant consumers, really feel the beat, first. If the beat is loud then they percieve it as attractive. Most people respond in a sensory way first, and an intellectual way second. Adding to this is, the customer doesn't want to become more sophisticated in his listening skills. They simply want something that they can wiggle their a$$es to, or sing along with, or both. The bar is low (hence The Rolling Stones.) Dynamics in music, with lots of current pop music seems to be a lost concept. Record companies are in the business of making money, not really selling art (unless both of these happen to coincide.) This is different, to some degree, when actual musicians, were the executives of record companies. Louder CDs simply sell. And that's good enough for the record company execs and those who follow their ways.

[@ChrisWhittenMusic]

@@KenTeel You can buy fairly cheap CDs from the late 80's and thru the 90's that aren't brick wall mastered. Yes in new releases digital is often inferior to vinyl due to the crazy watering that has become standard. I refer the sound of CD myself.

[@KenTeel]

@@ChrisWhittenMusic OK, Chris, thanks for the response. This is timely. A friend of mine told me that my recordings are clear as a bell. I thought: No way. Then I strapped on a pair of Sony 7506 headphones, and sure enough, the recording that he referred to is very clear. It's the limitation of my multimedia speakers that was adding some distortion I have recently auto mastered some of my stuff through a computer based mastering service. I'm comming to the conclusion that mastering is required to make up for the inefficiencies of people car stereos, living room stereos, etc. My recording sounded better, after mastering, only because of the limitation of my speakers. Through good headphones, the unmastered sounded better. I mastered at -15 LUF in order to leave plenty of headroom for dynamics. I'm not into the volume wars, either.

[@jerryspann8713]

If brick and mortar stores refuse to stock CDs and stubbornly just sell vinyl, more people are forced to buy the garbage because THEY HAVE NO CHOICE. ITS ALSO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY BEHIND THIS SHIT.

[@earthoid]

You nailed the problem with vinyl: there are too many variables which can cost a lot to get right. For CD playback you do need to purchase a good DAC and then connect it to any old disc player that has a coax output. Done.

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Yup... all the media's have positives and negatives. I usually buy the physical media that's least expensive (as long as the record isn't in horrible shape)

[@zacharyyoung1083]

My 2 channel system cost about $650 total, and the sound quality smokes most systems that I hear in other people’s homes. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon turntable (used $150), Cambridge Audio Topaz AM10 Integrated Amp (used $175), and Wharfdale Diamond 10.2 bookshelf speakers (New $250). It’s seriously one of the cleanest sounding setups I have ever owned.

[@zizendorf]

@@zacharyyoung1083 As an owner of a very pleasing "mid-Fi" system. Does my heart good to read your reply and the enjoyment you get from the music. It's always about the music.

[@srenkrabbe2991]

My experience as being a sound-engineer for 35 years make me totally agree - but I still love the LP format :-)

[@platterjockey]

Why does no one ever say that vinyl can sound as cold and lifeless as a CD? I have many examples of this in my collection. Also, what many hardcore vinyl-lovers never mention is the cartridge/stylus, which has a huge impact on what the vinyl will sound like. They never seem to tell you what they are working with. I also submit that if you think vinyl sounds warmer, whatever that means, you are actually hearing the surface noise and probably some element of the turntable. Tony does mention this.

[@vinylmastersgr1036]

Mastering play the key role. Nowadays in old remastered vinyls make normalisation in waveform and cut many peaks, they have much loudness at 98-99db and hard bass, closed sound comparing to the original old vinyls. And they cost around 50 dollars or euros, each vinyl.

[@georgebertozzi8267]

Some great points raised here about vinyl's shortcomings. For me it's all about the Music so I collect music in Vinyl, CD and Flac formats. Vinyl alone doesn't satisfy my huge appetite for a huge collection. It's usually old good for old music we are tired of. I want old and recent music.

[@adammorgan4379]

@@georgebertozzi8267 Same here. I collect vinyl, CD, SACD, DVD-A, HDAD, Bluray Audio.....and I enjoy ALL OF THE FORMATS. But what makes a great disc is the production put into the recording itself. Garbage in.....garbage out.

[@saikatbose8370]

@@platterjockey so sad too hear your experience and that's exactly what I mentioned earlier in my comments. Actually most of the people now lack real knowledge about this format and end up getting the wrong experience and wrong equipments. To cut it short y r better with streaming than records and cd with all bad equipments and wrong.adjustments.

[@platterjockey]

@@saikatbose8370 You misunderstand: I grew up in the vinyl age. And, I am well aware of how good vinyl can sound. I'm just saying that so much of it - average vinyl releases, especially from the 80s, sound cold and lifeless.

[@BirdYoumans]

Well done video. At about 7:30 you hit the real difference. If your LP is mastered from digitally recorded material, you will not get the sonic difference other than maybe some reduced highs. But when you master from analogue recorded material, there is a textural difference. Very subtle and would be lost on most casual listeners, but it is there. So if you are buying music recorded in the modern era, in all likelihood it has been recorded in a digital format. So just get yourself a good CD player (mp3's sound OK, but they are not CD quality) and a good system and just enjoy the music. The difference most are experiencing with vinyl mastered from digital is a lack of highs thus making the vinyl give the illusion of warmth. So a good graphic equalizer can do about the same thing. But for that small textural difference that few can hear, the benefits of digital for most will out weigh the benefit. Just my opinion of course. Having said that, I did love my records back in the day! Clicks, pops, scratches and all. Most pop and rock records don't have much dynamic range either by the time they are recorded and mastered, especially today. Orchestral music on the other hand can have a significant range depending on the piece. Oddly enough tho, orchestral music is where I noticed that textural thing I speak of the most. It's a balancing act. I like both formats for different reasons. Oh, and you are so right about the quality of the "record player".

[@insightsouthwestenterprise3925]

Thanks much Tony; this confirmed what I have believed because my ears told me so. It's great to have the technical facts to support our preferences. Your video greatly appreciated!

[@ashokbaral2007]

Thanks. You have covered all the aspects in the comparison.

[@gregbartley2475]

I started collecting records in 1972 and unlike many people I know from that era, I kept mine. When I play them, it’s an emotional connection. It’s like getting into a time machine and going back to that time in my life. Some of the sound quality still remains but even after thorough cleaning, there is still some noise. I have some newer records too and it isn’t as much of an issue. I also have several cd’s I started collecting when they were first introduced. I play them occasionally. But these days I’m probably 80% streaming. IMO with a good quality streamer and DAC playing full cd quality or higher. It’s a great way to enjoy music. No other format lets you build playlists on the fly. Just my .02

[@adammorgan4379]

Fuck an A. I hear ya.

[@blackwaterdogs4256]

Excellent tutorial, full of useful (and critical) information. Thanks for sharing ! I have been an audio enthusiast for over 55 years, and still embrace (and regularly use) a number of formats. Vinyl, CD, reel-to-reel, and even cassettes each have their own charm. I have lots of Redbook CDs as well as a few Chesky recordings, which are outstanding. Same thing with vinyl, the recent "super-premium" LPs like MoFi`s One-Step and the UHQR offerings have raised the bar (and the price !) quite a bit. We are fortunate to have an abundance of good source material available to us. Currently listening to: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" on CD, great album, excellent SQ.

[@garys628]

Hi Tony I am so glad to have came across your wonderful presentation of CD V Vinyl. I am just about to delve back into to the rabbit hole of home music systems and formats. Ive not played vinyl for over 30 years, then had a decent collection of CDs, and recent times inhabited the Dark Side of streaming. I've recently been researching the latest turntables amplifiers...???? speakers etc. I was always under the impression that record always beat CD sound quality hands down !!! I also loved the look of some of the striking turntables available, but as I thought more of practical differences .... storage , PRICE etc I'm so glad that I have watched your video. CDs will suffice for my untrained but appreciative ear. Many thanks for sorting me out. 😀😀

[@wesdildine]

This is excellently and irrefutably presented, Mr van Veen, thank you. I have and still will occasionally purchase vinyl but digital is how I record and release music and it is undeniably the more robust medium. I sure do love full size vinyl album covers, tho, a big part of collecting music has gone missing since there is no need for the kind of artistic presentation album design used to offer.

[@freeman10000]

For me it is Compact Disc for the sound, vinyl records for the ritual. Both formats are nostalgic to me.

[@mafi211]

Vinyl is actually good for nothing, btw don't call it vinyl record it's just vinyl

[@Badassvidsz]

@@mafi211 There's nothing wrong calling vinyl records the vinyl records dude .. after all the vinyl is the kind of the material , by my opinion vinyl reord is a completed phrase than just vinyl . Anyway have a happy new year and happy listenings .

[@mikewinburn]

I hear lots of folks talk about the “ritual” around playing a record that adds to the experience and make records better than CDs. I sheepishly admit, i don’t understand to what this refers. If this means the action of playing a record (this is what i assume is referred to), then how does that differ from the ritual playing a CD? Would be glad to hear your thought on what the ritual means and what makes it special.

[@Pillitoes]

@@mikewinburnwhen they say ritual , they prob mean , putting the vinyl on , wiping and cleaning it down before playing , anti static brush etc. not just putting the lp on

[@mikewinburn]

@@Pillitoes- thanks for your insight, partner. In the 90s, when CDs were a big item, along with audiophile CDs magazines, one could find the disc cleaners, brushes, polishers… practically everything one did with records, it was sold and marketed as valuable for quality listening sessions with C’s as well. So given your excellent reply, I might venture to guess the “ritual” is the same for both audiophile camps - those with vinyl collections and those with optical collections. Just seems the vinyl crew weren’t or aren’t aware that the optical crew still maintain the very same ritual.

[@michaelcharters]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, I found this valuable.

[@tibormolnar9518]

My friend spent on HIFI line, he spent about 300-600 USD per unit on Streamer, turntable, speaker, DAC, amplifier... He has new and old pressed records. We listened to the records, they sounded nice, but the sound was still not the real thing, I thought that the speaker was the weak link When I switched to the Streamer, we listened to music from Tidal, everything that was missing until then appeared, as if the whole system had changed, there was a dynamic , life, deep voice. Thank you for the nicely collected thoughts! ​

[@NicholasOsella]

this video was very informative, thank you for uploading!

[@hyperball01]

The biggest selling point for me personally for Vinyl is that its a physical piece of art. You can ofcourse say the same about CD's, but as someone who listens to hundred thousands of hours to music, i caught myself really wanting to find that "one" song, play it over and over and move on to the next "one" song. The way you cant skip a song on a vinyl player (well, you can, but you know what i mean) and really appreciate the album of a artist opened my world up to appreciate music alot more. The "hunt" for certain vinyls is another big deal for me personally. I love the search and speaking to other music enthousiasts to get in contact with the one person who has the vinyl i so desperately want. You can ofcourse argue that you do the same with CD's ofcourse, but personally, it is a different experience.

[@peacearchwa5103]

Thank you for your detailed analysis. Human beings often rely on the phenomenon of "confirmation bias", which would be holding pre-conceived notions of how something "ought to be" and then mentally "confirming" that expectation while actually experiencing something, such as playback of a vinyl LP record. Speaking of this, a major anniversary in the industry occurred earlier this year which was ignored by the vinyl LP industry: June marked the 75th anniversary of the vinyl LP record! I think a few veteran album collectors were aware of this historic anniversary, but the industry apparently was not. Go figure!

[@silvershield2342]

Tony, your presentation here is excellently done and accurate. Adding my two-cents, perhaps the warmth listeners sense is the noise floor of the vinyl. Or, maybe listener opinion of a song played on vinyl may also be colored by the "warm" blank sound after needle drop and prior to song. That "floor" is maintained mentally throughout the music. Idk, just a thought.

[@guillermomartin8248]

What I have found as a new experience with vinyl is that I feel I need to most-likely spend a lot more than I would want to get the sound quality I achieve with my digital setup. I have about a 20K digital setup excluding the amplifier and I spent roughly 3500 on a vinyl setup and I don’t feel it sounds “better” in any way, different definitely but, not better. Turntables of quality are EXPENSIVE, cartridges of quality are EXPENSIVE then you need a capable phono pre-amp for usually that moving coil cartridge to get it up to snuff.

[@felixfranzen7318]

@guillermomartin8248 3500 for a turntable set up sounds wildly expensive. A second hand SL-1200 can be had for $500 and turntables doesn't get much better than that. A good Technics direct drive is basically just as good as the cutting machine, so while there are better speced spinners out there it really don't matter in practice. Also, you're right. A $50 CD-player easily beats the best/most expensive vinyl rig on the planet when it comes to fidelity.

[@abc456f]

​@felixfranzen7318 I recently took an almost 30 year old Technics SL-QD2 turntable out of the closet. Took me some time to get the tonearm to behave correctly, but I finally did. Put on a new stylus on the original Shure cartridge. As all my albums are in terrible shape, I ordered the Beatles white album, remastered in stereo. It sounded fantastic! I forgot what it was like to handle an LP, clean it, brush the stylus, cue the tonearm. It's a very tactile experience. Does it sound better than cd? No. Does it sound different in a way I like? Definitely. My next album is a remastered Aqualung.

[@charanguitoandino]

Wonderfull video! incredibly well explained, thank you very much!

[@cliffinkaemurd1320]

Thank you for settling it. This is a technological difference Analog vs Digital

[@PJPsounds]

Digital sound is superior to Analog in every way. Funny when original digital recording sound is converted into vinyl and then "vinyl audiophiles" claim that it sounds superior. I don't even mention noise, cracks and pops of vinyl. Vinyl was re introduced by Corporations to prevent piracy and some "audiophiles" swallowed the bait. CD costs say 10£ and vinyl £30- and more and that's the secret of good salesman...

[@adammorgan4379]

Is the weather warm up on your soap box ?? What a blow hard.😅

[@MichaelBraid-xf3dw]

Vinyl can easily go to 60KHz modulation for 4 channels of sound CDs are limited to 20KHz

[@Nightwing300]

I think the drum cymbals sound horrible on digital

[@meindertsprang7491]

@@MichaelBraid-xf3dw but you wouldn't be able to hear that, would you?

[@MichaelBraid-xf3dw]

@meindertsprang7491 without looking through the whole thread I assume you referring to the 60khz is the carrier for the sound that has been de modulated to extract the sound to give the four channels of sound

[@michaelresch1792]

Great video, Tony! Very informative.

[@roncarlson7682]

Aside from what you’ve mentioned, Tony, you’ve got the individual’s ‘listening ability’ for lack of a better term. As I have learned to hear more details in audio reproduction, I notice things now that I didn’t when I started listening to music. I think this adds to someone’s preferences which, as you’ve mentioned, figures into what format a person prefers. Well presented as always. Thanks!

[@tonyvv]

True, though that probably applies equally to records and CDs. Another thing I didn’t delve deeply into is the social aspect of listening. Listening to vinyl records, with the ritual of sliding the record out of the jacket and the sleeve, placing it on the turntable, dropping the stylus, and flipping the record over after 20 minutes, had become almost a tiny bit of performance art while hanging with friends. This is perhaps one of the most fun and engaging parts of listening to records.

[@roncarlson7682]

@@tonyvv : Yes, the album jacket perusal is one thing I miss the most. That was a standard activity for me with new records. I’d read everything on the jacket while listening for the first time. One of the items in my ritual (which I don’t miss at all) was getting out my Discwasher brush & fluid to clean the vinyl before each play. This started in tandem with my Audio magazine subscription. They had one particular article about what happens to the vinyl when played which was co-authored with Audio Technical. I never played an album after that without cleaning it.😀

[@walteraziz]

Tony somehow when I listen to vinyls of music recorded in 70’s and early 80’s they sound better on Vinyl than CDs than the music recorded nowadays on Vinyl. What you think?

[@tonyvv]

Quite possible. For starters it’s a 100% analog production, from multi-tracking to your turntable. Plus, maybe, the nostalgia factor of those old records?

[@MikeDS49]

Well said! 6:30 correcting a misconception: Digitally sampled analog sound is a series of point values x_i at each sampling time t_i. The DAC does not convert these values into a stair step analog signal. It's not like a pixelated digital image. The DAC converts the data into a completely smooth signal just like the input. The stair step visualization of digital data is erroneous and is better represented as a "lolliop" style diagram. Monty Montgomery from made an excellent video illustrating the D/A to A/D process.

[@tmjcbs]

Indeed! I wrote a similar comment and then proceeded to read other comments, I could have saved me some time...

[@MikeDS49]

@@tmjcbs I've done that more than once!

[@wayne-lj4in]

@@tmjcbs I'm seeming to run into these [this'] lately. I went ahead and responded this evening. Not sure.. would doing a link to Montie's 'Digital show and tell' be poor form?

[@stevejones8660]

I’m back into vinyl after chasing the digital carrot for 35 years. Music is back in my life like being a teenager again.

[@dtz1000]

This is no surprise to me as CDs and other low quality digital files do not include the ultrasonic frequencies that are emitted by musical instruments. Vinyl does include those frequencies which have been shown to be important.

[@Esus4]

Everyone has an opinion which is better vinyl or CD. Everyone can have their own opinion but actually the best quality will always be reel to reel despite how ridiculously expensive the tapes are ($400 for a 50 year old Kiss album recently on eBay. That is just nuts.)

[@djshineboy]

@@dtz1000😂😂😂 Ya gotta love sarcasm!

[@dtz1000]

@@djshineboy Where's the sarcasm?

[@djshineboy]

@@dtz1000 I don’t even go there 😂 Vinyl vs CD is like Android vs Apple…

[@tomosborne661]

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate this "video offering" to those of us wondering what the real differences truly are. Great talk - thanks!

[@raywayne]

Well explained, thank you. Now I don't have to argue anymore, just send a link to your video. The secret is to multitrack in Pro Tools (or whatever), and mix down to an analog one inch two track. You didn't kill yourself (and wear out the tape) doing analog multitrack, and have a big transient analog 2 track mix to make a CD from. Another gem for sound quality with CDs ids HDCD.

[@henrikfisch]

I have the following meaning about vinyl (which I shamelessly borrowed from »Darko Audio« here at KZbin). But it's soooo true: I love EVRYTHING about vinyl except the sound.

[@darraghkane18]

My favourite element of vinyl is cover art.

[@jefffoster3557]

I've been digital since 86. The only albums I own are for wall art, or ones that were never made available digitally.

[@dougg1075]

For me it’s the hunting, finding , hearing and looking at an old album on vinyl.

[@georgebertozzi8267]

The problem with the cover art for vinyl is that many used records you look at have ringwear on the cover. Pure crap. CD's give you multi page booklets with far more detail than I ever get even with a Gatefold vinyl cover.

[@ricobonifacio1095]

Old vinyl to me sounds like a live-in studio performance in some aspects, which sounds better to me, but I do know the same album on cd would be so much clearer and crisp on the digital format. Case in point is Year of Sunday by Seals and Crofts.

[@kevj9928]

Fantastic! I didn’t know most of what you covered. I always thought the smooth flowing analog signal vs the digital stepped one was the reason for better sound.

[@ModusVivendiMedia]

It's like asking: which sounds better, a "clean" guitar sound or a "distorted" guitar sound? The answer is "whichever one you like." If the question is: "which sounds MORE ACCURATE, then CD, without question, wins 100% of the time, by a wide margin.

[@bestuurdvsgroningen3603]

Cool video. I tend to agree on the technical part but as a vinyl enthousiast I have some notes: -LPs already can sound so good that your ears aren’t missing anything when the format is concerned -vinyl masters are usually better. The choice for loudness on digital masters is made to have songs pop out on the radio but it does not work when you want to listen attentively. It is a choice of sales over quality and not my choice for sure. Theoretically, CD provides more Dynamic Range but in practice the LP almost always has more of it. This is because LPs don’t allow for a loud recording. It would skip or not fit much music as you described. This theoretical downside forces master engineers to produce better, or more realistic sound and benefits music lovers. - if you compare a same cost vinyl or cd setup, the turntable usually is better sounding than the CD player. This is certainly the case in my personal setup where a marantz cd6006 does not compare well to a thorens td 145.

[@mafi211]

CD is superior to vinyl in every possible way

[@gpapa31]

Apart from longevity.

[@pegasuswings951]

No my friend, no

[@georgebertozzi8267]

I own thousands of both formats and Cd's have many more advantages over Vinyl. Selection, Cost, Booklets, Longevity, much quieter, far superior Dynamic Range and other advantages. You are not a true Musiv fan if you do not embrace all Music formats.

[@gpapa31]

@@georgebertozzi8267 I will agree to almost everything except longevity. Vinyl surpasses lifespan by a large margin if taken care of. And the booklet element is subjective. I own both formats (mostly CDs) but I’ll spend more time reading and admiring an LP gatefold than a CD booklet. But that’s purely personal.

[@mafi211]

​@@gpapa31CD booklets are absolutely fine, but if I want to read I will get a book, longevity and vinyl? What a joke 😂😂😂

[@Wordsalad69420]

You can still love the vinyl FORMAT for what it is and acknowledge that CDs are technically superior. It's ok, the two are not mutually exclusive. This is what people don't understand.

[@tonyvv]

100% correct.

[@TheBeardedLibertarian]

I use a Maverick Tube DAC, which adds some 'warmth' back in. Either my direct CD or Lossless cuts sound great. I feed this into my SONOS system. works for me. Great Video

[@andrewkealaher4688]

Outstanding- for me the pops and crackels drove me nuts!

[@steveowens398]

I'm sure you're right about the advantages of digital recording. When it comes right down to it though, I often prefer to dig out one of my LPs and give it a spin. You can compare this to the Japanese tea ceremony, in that there are a lot of actions around playing a record (that is, if you want to keep it in good condition), and a lot of associated parts, like the cover and liner notes. I'm not using a high-end turntable, but it and the cartridge mounted are adequate for enjoyable listening without excessive wear - that's 'enjoyable' as I perceive it. When I have less time or am just using music as a background, I'll throw on a CD or streamer. My choice often comes down to which version of a recording I have available. The quality of the original recording and the approach to duplication are probably big factors in the final sound of either media. I've purchased CDs that were absolutely awful, but the same can be said of some LP pressings too.

[@tonyvv]

Yeah I love the ritual of playing a vinyl record too.

[@TayDaley]

Thanks for your videos Tony

[@adam872]

Bang on. This argument that vinyl sounds better has endured, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. I love my LP's, but I'm under no illusions that they sounds better than my CDs.

[@tonymonaghan5993]

Wow...what a brilliant video. Very helpful. From somebody who had no clue this was very informative.

[@NackDSP]

I put a record under my USB microscope. It was very interesting to see the dust. I used Elmer's glue to remove the dust. It worked well. I also noticed that the bass notes moved the track perfectly side to side which I soon realized means that the bass is mono on a record. The groove depth only changes a very very tiny amount that my microscope can't really resolve but the side to side motion is large from the bass. Between the mono bass, the constant surface noise and the compression required to make the needle stay tracking and not jumping over the grooves records are far from CD for fidelity, but they are kind of fun to own and play. I have been studying how a stylus tracks a record groove for several weeks. It is interesting to note that different parts of the stylus edge contact the record surface as slopes down, goes flat or goes up, effectively causing phase shifts or jitter. It is apparent that just the stylus tracking the groove is responsible for distortion levels reaching 5% or more at then end of a record at higher frequencies.

[@akmmonirulislam3961]

Vinyl reminds my childhood and today I feel my past while listen to vinyl which CD does not have any emotions attached to. I listen both vinyl and CD but feel better with vinyl. Once I used to listen to cassette and vinyl but again vinyl gave me far more satisfaction than I got from cassette. I understand CDs are far better media but I love vinyl. Thanks.

[@kosiekoos9408]

Great video. The best explanation on the tube🎉

[@4ujase]

2nd-3rd harmonic distortion on vinyl adds to the lovely colourations and most vinyl LP production is mastered on digital processing, so this in the purest sense isn't derived from analog.

[@davestevens4193]

Nice video. Don't forget the RIAA curve. Without it the stylus would just jump out of the grooves. Old guy here. Quit vinyl in 1988 and pretty much haven't looked back. Good multibit DAC, BS Vault2 and Tidal subscription and I am good to go.

[@Phangaea]

CD > vinyl

[@pegasuswings951]

Vinyl > CD if you want to listen to music. For anything else, dancing, listening while...whatever, yes use your cd.

[@johnbravo7542]

That was great agree with you 100% I built all of my own equipment from Amplifiers,pre amplifiers,to speakers and all cables,now my records consisting of standard thickness to 180gm sound great,I keep them clean,so rarely get any if at all any clicks and pops,but I also have CD's from the mid to late 1990's that sound really,really good. Unfortunately where I live in Australia well recorded and and well pressed Vinyl records are very expensive,hence why I made all my equipment,except for DAC,and CD player(Blu Ray) in the first place,but also because I have a furniture making back ground,and Electronics is my hobby.

[@mesparky9]

Great vid, but cd's are boring. You dont need much equipment to get a good sound, you can walk out of a record store with one in your coat pocket. Whereas an album comes in its own special bag, you know you have just spent your hard earned money on something physical. Yes i suppose thats called nostalgia but thats part of the attraction. Also buying a turntable and experimenting with different upgrades to get a better sound is part of the joy. I enjoy both media's, including streaming. However you like it just enjoy your music, its our greatest invention.

[@LadyIno]

I wanted to buy the BG3 vinyl soundtrack because I thought it might sound even better than the high quality digital soundtrack I already own (I have zero experience with records and vinyl players). But your video kinda taught me "Your digital OST is superior, so don't waste money". Thanks for explaining the differences!

[@rongreen4536]

Ok here is the bottom line. Listen to what you like and tell anyone who doesn't approve to kiss you where the sun seldom shines. I am 70 and have been collecting records since I was 14. And chased the great white well spending 1000s on equipment to get the best sound possible. In 1980 my sister started dating a sound engineer, he laughed at me. " You are wasting money the the noise most of this gear you have takes out can't be heard by the human ear"! When CD's came out I thought at last perfect on the cheap. Turns out I hate perfect, who knew? None of my records have pops or ticks because I have such a large collection no one record is over played or over cleaned. Do CDs produce a perfect sound yes. If you prefer them great enjoy. Having said that, I can hear the natural sound wave and prefer Vinyl.

[@johnorourke1636]

I don’t use vinyl anymore but I agree with you 100%.😊

[@sf6657]

I was one of those musician, producers in NYC who was front and center to the DIY revolution. I remember personally walking my physical DAT and CD masters to your place in Chelsea. My personal projects are still distributed by CD Baby to this day. Speaking as a lifetime producer of music and a man of a certain age, I think the most important point of your video was the last one. The nostalgia of original vinyl is unparalleled. And even though there has been a resurgence of attention to vinyl, It’s not something that younger generations have the capacity to truly appreciate. Most younger people are simply following the herd of contemporary vinyl culture. And once someone adopts a certain belief it’s difficult to explain anything that challenges their bias. That goes for people of any age. My most recent quest has been to acquire original pressings of the albums that I think defined my musical foundation and trajectory. A very short list. I’m also fantasizing about finding an original console to play them on the way that I did in the 70’s. And of course the albums prominently displayed on my walls where anyone can pick them up and appreciate the album artwork. That being said, All of your points were laid out in a clear, cogent manor. And I’m quite certain you did not need to caveat your qualifications. There is no arguing the facts and to a lessor degree the subjectivity of perception. Thanks for the video.

[@foto21]

I remember when cds first came out, how some artists like Yello took total advantage of the new medium. There was no question then. Of course the cd was the beginning of the miniaturization of the album cover and eventual devaluation of music overall, so its easy to understand why people care about vinyl. The recording and mixing and mastering is more important than the format ultimately. Part of why people still look back to the production standards of the mid 70s to 90s as a golden era.

[@Mulberry2000]

Well buying a CD for £12.99 in 1989 was damn expensive. Compare that to £6.99 for a vinyl lp then.

[@citygirlfarm]

Thanks for the video, very enjoyable and good information. I look forward to future and reviewing your past content. Agaain, thanks.

[@loiswilcken1758]

Thank you, Tony. This helped me decide whether or not to get a turntable. I won't. My chief concern has been with archiving and preservation, and nothing beats digital for that. I would still love to know more about psycho-acoustics, that is, what happens in the brain after the sound wave is converted from mechanical to electric. Something must be compensating for the voids (real silences) between samples. Anyway, I liked this video a lot and will put it in one of my playlists.

[@Coneman3]

I went to a very hi end audio show and vinyl was the dominant source medium.

[@davidmesa7008]

Vinyls are still cool af though. If you have the money to invest in a turntable setup, it’s still amazing for music lovers. CDs just give you an as good, if not better, music listening experience for a fifth of the price.

[@Demonstrations_SP]

There are no "voids" or "silences" between samples. Absolutely ridiculous idea!

[@TheFilm2011]

Thank you for a well thought out analysis. Best wishes.

[@rayc4244]

I love my reel tapes, cassettes, mini discs, 8-tracks, 78's, 33's, 45's, and CDs. I also stream music! They all have good and bad aspects - but I must say my CDs sound the same today as they did when I first started buying them in 1984. "Born in The USA" and "Elvis' Golden Records" sound as PERFECT in 2024 as they did in late 1984! 40 years!?? Now I feel really old. . . . .

[@henryhecking4026]

Early digital 1977-ish sounded terrible, but got much better over time.

[@adammorgan4379]

Very well done sir. Great video and great information.

[@jaycoleman8062]

I liked what you said about personal preference. That to me is the big one. Cool information, the bits that i completely understood especially. 😅

[@dirface]

Since most of us, at one time or another, happily used Spotify or KZbin, the answer is simple; no one cares what's 'best' anymore. Putting this beaten horse to rest. Finally.

[@andyr8812]

I am almost 61 now, and bought a great turntable some 5 years ago after only listening to digital since 1990. Reason: It brings me back to my younger days. Pure nostalgy. Vinyl can never beat high quality digital audio when you have a good DAC. Spending several thousands of dollars on an "exclusive" turntable and pick-up cartridge is nothing but madness.

[@tankerock]

Those who complain about digital should throw away their smartphones.

[@dennishill290]

Exactly...that's why 90% of my collection is cd and 10% vynil...which I usually play in the winter for the " warmth "....lol. good job.... !

[@ronytomano]

I definitely think records sound warmer. I still like digital music too though probably more but records are cool to listen to sometimes especially old recordings on vinyl that are real

[@OrangeMicMusic]

I don't know why someone would chase the "analog" sound when: All the vinyl releases after 1980 done by major mastering facilities, were using Vinyl cutting gear with pre-listen Head (like Studer A80 or Neumann VMS-80). This means the signal was converted to digital and back to analog. So, after this year, no more 100% analog releases. And last, but not least, so many famous albums were recorded on digital machines (like Sony PCM 3324 launched in 1982), then digitally mastered, just to be pressed on vinyl.

[@dtz1000]

I don't think that is entirely true because I saw someone on KZbin measiring the frequency response of a vinyl record made after 1980 and it was showing a frequency response of up to 60khz. That is way beyond what a CD can do.

[@StrangeBrewReviews]

on some vocal jazz albums that pre-echo is absolute magical sounding.

[@cjay2]

Only the control signal for spacing the grooves is driven by the digitized audio. The audio is recorded analog from the master tape.

[@OrangeMicMusic]

​@@cjay2 I believe these guys know what they're talking about > I can't post websites links on this channel, but you can read the entire article called Around the World in 80 Lathes, Part Three on PS audio website blogs/copper/around-the-world-in-80-lathes-part-three There are many resources on the web saying same thing ​

[@OrangeMicMusic]

@@cjay2 I believe these guys know what they're talking about > I can't post websites links on this channel because they get deleted, but you can read the entire article called Around the World in 80 Lathes, Part Three on PS audio website. There are many resources on the web saying same thing.

[@giles852002]

I love both formats. Vinyl has a unique sound I enjoy & I enjoy the convenience & sound of CD. So I get both.

[@1JUSTGOTLUCKY1]

great information, clearly presented...thank you!!!

[@jdoc1357b9g]

What I take from this is that CD sounds better in theory, and that would probably hold true in reality if the music industry didn't brickwall most of their CD masterings and kill all the dynamics "by choice". So it really comes down to the mastering. A CD that is mastered in the 'old' way, retaining dynamics, should be able to better vinyl most of the time, but we don't live in that world. What is the value of CD having the capability of more dynamic range if the manufacturer "chooses" to compress it all away before selling us the CD? The volume/groove limitations of the vinyl format forces them to make a different choice and re-imposes some sanity back on to the mastering. So for many albums, if you want to hear some space and dynamics in the music, and not have everything loud and in your face at all times, you have to hear it on vinyl. Classical CDs are usually mastered well with good dynamics, other genres tend to be hit or miss, and some almost always miss. So whether a CD or vinyl will sound better in reality will in the end depend mostly on the mastering more than the theoretical advantages or disadvantages of the formats. Also I always thought the "analog warmth" idea had a lot to do with the noise floor. Having that little bit of constant 'white noise' underneath everything either from surface noise or tape hiss has the tendency to soften the edges of everything just a little bit even if you can't hear the noise directly when the music is playing. And that can be perceived as having a warmer sound, while digital audio with no noise floor can leave every edge exposed and seem to sound more harsh or 'cold'.

[@sikachukuning2473]

What an amazing explanation. Clear, logical and fact-based. Music is very personal taste. If you like vinyl, despite of all its technical limitation, go ahead and enjoy it. If you like digital music, there is also nothing wrong with that.

[@danmoss388]

I’ll take a laser reading a cd flawlessly over a needle being dragged across vinyl, picking up the sound of every speck of dust that may lay in its path, any day.

[@dtz1000]

It's not flawless if it doesn't include the ultrasonic frequencies that are emitted by real musical instruments. That's why CD was flawed from the beginning. It doesn't include those frequencies, but vinyl does.

[@emilspec1227]

​@@dtz1000no need for ultrasonics, you're not a whale. Any feedback from those ultrasonics that find its way back into the frequency range we can hear should be there from the mixing process.

[@eklektos44]

​@emilspec1227 if you could hear them they'd annoy the crap out of you. It would be as enjoyable as a dog hearing a high frequency whistle.

[@BarneyMayerson-x4z]

Do you have bats that listen to CDs?

[@efco]

Nobody is going to mention harmonics?

[@RonieYamoyam]

I am a product of the 70s and i was a venyl player operator at a young age of 5 , love the 45s back then. Cassette, and Cd came soon and was a hit. Yes i believe nostalgia is the reason we love sticking to antiquated technology etc.

[@GNewcomb-q9v]

I prefer the sound of CDs over vinyl! I also prefer to own my favorite music rather than stream it! I also like how I can find the original recordings on CD where digital downloads & streaming only offer remastered versions or remixed! I also do not like how they can remove certain albums or an entire catalog without warning! That’s where ownership comes into being a huge factor! Plus I believe in supporting the artist over the platform! A band will make more from one CD sale than they can from a weeks worth of streaming/downloading!

[@maynoldmoreno7888]

Thank you 👍🏼

[@heinztheuerkauf8383]

Thank you for the excellent analysis!

[@geofflongford2008]

I spent $75,000 on my turntable. I gotta tell you all the crackles and pops sound amazingly clear now.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

What a complete waste of money!!

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

Yep! All that dosh to spin a bit of noisy plastic.

[@dtz1000]

I think he is joking guys.

[@kadaad]

🤣🤣🤣

[@jaguara2440]

Baited

[@johnb6723]

In some cases CD will sound better than vinyl. Not always, however. The Adele albums sound better on vinyl than on CD, and that is due to the fact that the person who is responsible for mastering for CD didn't do it right.

[@jakecraddock2575]

a very nice presentation, thank you

[@volpedo2000]

Imagine travelling to a world where instead of CDs we had laserdiscs for digital music. We would 3+ GB of space for high res music and most of the enjoyment and ritual of handling a vinyl.

[@manolokonosko2868]

The attraction of an LP record, is similar to the attraction old European, whimsical classic cars have for collectors. There is a greater sense of thrill when the car or motorcycle, which requires special handling and care, finally delivers its ride. Same with the LP, it delivers the sound. Why not just play CDs as they last forever, never wear out, are convenient and deliver far superior dynamics? Probably because there is little involvement in the process of playing one. An LP requires your attention as the play time is about 20-25 minutes while a CD you can play the full 80 minutes as background music. I collect both, and love them equally, but there are more variants of the sound in an LP than from a CD. I believe suitcase record players are crap and that people who are into vinyl should make an effort to buy the best components they can afford, but not to the ridiculous ends I see with turntables costing more than a house, a toneram as much as a car, and a cartridge as much as a motorcycle. I've been to HiFi shows and though the equipment is impressive, I don't think the marginal improvement in playing a record is worth cracking my 401K or mortgaging my house.

[@robertjermantowicz-uw3iw]

I agree! If the CD required as much tweaking as an LP audiophiles would like it more!

[@robertjermantowicz-uw3iw]

People like Michael Fremer of The Tracking Angle are nuts to spend $10K to $200K on LP playback. $1000 gets you an excellent turntable/cartridge (Pioneer PLX1000 and a Denon 103R). Add another $150 for a Schiit Mani 2 phono stage and you will have excellent LP playback. I have the PLX1000 and the Denon 103R. I use an RGR 4 preamp with its phono stage plus a step-up (SUT) transformer to boost the very small voltage from the Denon 103R moving coil cartridge (.3 mv).

[@mdhj67]

I recall the first time I heard a demo of a CD player in the early 80s. It was a stunning experience. What was stunning was the fact that there was almost dead silence and then the music started. I was so accustomed to the hiss of the stylus in the groove before the music started. I was sold on CDs and it had nothing to do with other superior technical aspects of CD vs LP. To not hear that hiss was all I needed to be convinced. The salesman doing the demo showed me the CD before he put it in the player. It was significantly scratched, on purpose as part of the demo, yet it played perfectly. In a higher end CD player, scratched media will still play perfectly. By 'higher end', I don't mean a multi-thousand dollar unit; just a quality player. CDs will never compete with LPs with respect to album covers.

[@MarcusHast]

Regarding the part about "analog warmth" and how analog signals are smooth and digital are "ones and zeroes that can't replicate the smoothness of the analog signal". This is a myth based on a misunderstanding of how DACs work. When a digital signal is converted to an analig signal (so your speakers can play them) they do in fact replicste the smoothness of the analog source perfectly. This is something Shannon prooved with the "sampling theorem" back in the 40's. But the mathematics behind it are not that easy to follow so I think you typically don't bunp into it unless you take university level math classes. (Point being, few people actually see this in school.) The limitation you have is that you have is that your sample frequency needs to be at least twice that of the signal you are recording. Otherwise you get artifacts. But as long as you filter out hugher frequencies before you get a perfect reproduction. Personally I think the biggest failing we have in modern digital storefronts for music is that we don't have the option of multiple masters of the music. Its really the mastering that makes a difference. And these days there's nothing really stopping us from having multiple versions of the same song. So you can have one master with loudness when you are going for a walk or in your car, and a different master for when you're at home.

[@VirgoVertigo]

I love the sound of CDs (thank heavens for this technology after the hissing sounds and the pain of rewinding of the cassette tape); but I also love holding and (painfully physically) playing vinyl music. I love the debates, and I love the two perspectives. Can we just agree to disagree (esp the vinyl record haters?) Thank you for this video!

[@callumbrowns]

Disc Makers Can you please do a video sometime on what Vinyl inch has the best overall sound quality that be great help many tanks!?

[@epg2501]

I collect mint pressings of older albums that were cut from tape (recorded via analog). I have a high end system as well as a record cleaner with a vacuum. After that I still clean via solvent spray with a felt brush and then use a Furutech Destat III before every play. Sometimes the records have to be cleaned a few times before they're ready to be played. Given all of this, my vinyl plays are usually flawless with no static pops and no noticeable noise, etc (from the seating position). There are only a very few records I have that I will experience that in certain spots. Then it's up to me if I want to buy another copy instead (which I've done). All in all, I feel the playback is really great. Any albums that were recorded digitally, I just stay digital. However, I have a non-oversampling tube R2R dac with vintage chips which helped the digital sound more "natural" and not as harsh/precise as my Delta Sigma based dacs did. That helped a lot (in what I like). All my system components are all tube as well. Really, the ultimate for me would be Reel to Reel for those older albums but a lot of hassle and expense trying to hunt down really good copies (15ips would be the ultimate) from the master tapes, etc. I've seen some safety copies and such, etc. In my system, the quality of the recording is really dependent upon how well it was recorded, generally not at the mercy of CD or Hi-Rez. A higher sample rate of the same recording yields just a bit more of a "natural/analogue/smoother" quality to my ears. If playing a CD I usually upsample it and it sounds "better" for some reason with more clarity. Go figure. LOL. So bottom line = YES digital is EASIEST and CLEANEST in comparison but its all about 1. The original recording (if done originally in analogue) and 2. The ritual and sound of analogue:)

[@aspiran2010]

Many thanks! Well said I cannot agree more. I would argue that a low quality cd player may sound not so good though. So the dac is important and turntables do not need dac although they suffer from loads of other things. If you get hold of original brand new LPs from 70s and 80s they sound incredible simply because the CD equivalent of those songs may not be mastered as good. Sometimes they are tho. I have hotel california original on LP and it sounds defo better than CD and tidal but that is just one song on one LP. Overall LPs are just cool and they sound defo better than spotify haha but not CDs in general. By the way you dont need 24bit for listening but ut helps for digital volume control sometimes.

[@xburgos1]

Same thing I said when I learned how to set up turntables a couple decades ago. Then got rid of all my CDs But hey Music is soooo subjective that saying one is better than the other it’s kind of insane

[@wayncupo]

The only thing I like more about vinyl is that the art work is bigger. How about keepping the cd inside an vinyl album cover!