Vinyl, CDs or digital?

[Masternate2071]

I did a search on this, and I couldn't find anything. I apologize if a thread like this existed in the past. I'm curious how people prefer to listen to music. I included everything in the poll thing, even though I doubt a couple will get answers.

I prefer vinyl. It may require a lot of effort, but thats one of the many things I enjoy about it. I think it sounds much better then CDs. You feel like your getting more when you go to a store and buy a record over a CD, and far more then any downloaded format. I don't have an extensive collection, so I admit I listen to more music on CD format, but I still prefer vinyl.

So..what do you think?

[Austere]

CDs all the way for me. I only have about 560 (OK, exactly 560) mp3 files which I hear aint much these days. On the other hand I have over 200 CDs which I hear is a lot. Especially since not one of them is burnt!

I've got a little bit of vinyl too. Ill Communication, some old Beatles and some Devo. But I don't have a record player anymore...

I really don't know what you vinylists are an about when you say it sounds better...Mybe in some quaint, nostalgic, sentimental type of way - where you listen with your heart and mind instead of your ears - but to me, there's nothing better than listening to a good CD in a darkened room with headphones and a fatty-boombaddy blunt.

[Viper007Bond]

Lossless digital files FTW (although the size is killer). I have 10.5k MP3s which works out to over 38 days worth of music.

[Red_Bull]

Prefer mp3 files myself. For me, as long as they're above 192kbs, there's really no noticeable difference in quality. Its more convenient than a cd, and the vast majority of my music collection is digital.

[jeffy777]

I don't understand how vinyl can sound "so much better". Vinyl had it's day, but that was quite a long time ago. I can see throwing on a vinyl for old time's sake, but for everyday listening: New technology FTW.

I personally use 320kbs mp3's

[Masternate2071]

Originally Posted by Austere

I really don't know what you vinylists are an about when you say it sounds better...Mybe in some quaint, nostalgic, sentimental type of way - where you listen with your heart and mind instead of your ears -

For me it has a warmer sound, and also closer to what the original recording in the studio would have sounded like (which doesn't really count if the recordings were done digitally). A lot of it is nostalgic, but if I play a vinyl and CD version of the same album, the vinyl one has more depth then a CD version.

[Viper007Bond]

It's all in your head. All vinyl is doing is playing a lower quality, noise filled version. Sure, it may sound cool and such, but it's not an exact reproduction of what the artist played.

[watto]

I have 2402 mp3's. I have 127 CD's. My Dad has about 300 vinyls (including every Beatles album ever released, including a higher-quality Japanese pressing of A Hard Day's Night)

Vinyls for sound and nostalgia, CD's for home use and mp3's for ease of use... I don't know which one to pick.

[jeffy777]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

It's all in your head. All vinyl is doing is playing a lower quality, noise filled version. Sure, it may sound cool and such, but it's not an exact reproduction of what the artist played.

Exactly. Digital media will give you the closest reproduction of what actually occurred in the studio because it doesn't have the frequency loss and additional noise that vinyl does.

Trust me. I went to college for Audio Production and have spent more hours in the studio than I care to remember

[vRS]

I have just under 5gb of music so thats around 1,300 tracks. I also have 100's of CD's but digital is now the way to go, plus its cheaper and more accessible.

[Blayde]

Would love the live show, but got too much digital (~70GB) to say no to it

[avanti]

just mp3s, all my cd are stored in boxes in my garage, its to much hassle. 15.126 songs on the pc, how much shelve space would that require??

[Blayde]

eed to end you'd need a 9m long shelf

[jensked]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

It's all in your head. All vinyl is doing is playing a lower quality, noise filled version. Sure, it may sound cool and such, but it's not an exact reproduction of what the artist played.

WRONG!

Abstract: vinyl captures the original better (more dynamic, more accurate), but degrades over time.



Vinyl is analog, CD and digital are...well..digital.

The original sound IS analog. This means that, by definition, a digital recording is not capturing the complete sound wave. It is approximating it with a series of steps. Some sounds that have very quick transitions, such as a drum beat or a trumpet's tone, will be distorted because they change too quickly for the sample rate. This means that the waveforms from a vinyl recording can be much more accurate, and that can be heard in the richness of the sound. But there is a downside, any specks of dust or damage to the disc can be heard as noise or static. During quiet spots in songs this noise may be heard over the music. Digital recordings don't degrade over time, and if the digital recording contains silence, then there will be no noise.

More information: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question487.htm

[mautzel]

Background music and on the move (e.g. bicycle): MP3 / MD
Really listening to music: CD

[niccce]

Originally Posted by jensked

Looks bullshit unless i misunderstood it. cd-audio is a 44 kHz format, so 22+ kHz per channel (or even 44kHz/channel, i dont remember if it's "summed" freq or not). That'd be an exact curve match.

[Blind_Io]

For buying music: CDs - I like to have a copy in-hand so I can rip DRM-free MP3s. They are robust and hard to break or scratch.
For replaying: Digital: small, easy to transport or stream to any part of my house.
For pure listening enjoyment: Vinyl or a tube radio - bulky, fragile and easily worn out, it doesn't matter, there is something about analog sound that just seems more real than the crisp sterility of digital.

If anyone wants to buy me a tube radio for Christmas this year, I'll send you my address.

[awdrifter]

For daily listening, definitely digital. I have a 20GB mp3 player, so I can basically just put in whatever songs I want and not worry about storage.

[zenkidori]

I really really miss my turntables and analog shit. I voted vinyl, but I use MP3s every day, but analog fucking rocks so much harder if you're really going to get down to it. that is, for analog music. for techno and shit(barely any electronic producer uses analog anymore) it doesn't matter.

[Vltros]

Depends on the kind of Music.

House music it's definetly better in Vinyl, specially if you are into DJ'ing. I don't know, It sounds much better than any CD or digital format. Whereas I prefer digital format for any of the other kinds of music.