Hey
Why has vinyl become so expensive like CDs in the day? Are they worth collecting even though we have streaming these days from Spotify/Tidal?
What would you recommend to play vinyl? I read that a counter weight on the arm is better than not having one as this can damage vinyl over time.
That’s me. I have some vinyl. Usually special edition stuff from my favourite acts. Never played it, don’t even have a record player.
Some of the rarer vinyls go up in value over time.
A proper vinyl/vinyl player/valve amp/speaker combo is some of the greatest music you'll ever hear. You'll hear intricacies in the music you never knew existed.
And, as above, it's a hip thing.
For that kind of money you'd want to. :)
Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of vinyl from the 70's and 80's and I think I prefer the sound from those as compared to a CD, but the CD's don't have scratches and pops either. And yes, all of my vinyls were played once and recorded onto a cassette to keep them in good condition. :)
CD's sound crap these days due to crap mastering - too much compression aka "louder sounds better' aka "loudness war". Not a new thing but everyone started doing it in the mid 1990's.
Check the first picture in this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war; colossal clipping. Batman!
Real hipsters should be collecting vintage CD's by now.
Anyway, vinyl sucks, tape sucks less, CD sucks the least, but digital media wins.
They really should be collecting mini disc to be ultra hip.
The word here is "proper". You want to have good quality equipment or it will be overlayed by the sound of the stylus and the track noise. The records are also more delicate than CDs. For the average listener the inconvenience of vinyl will overcome any perceived improvement in sound. For streaming it depends on compression of the audio, the device(s) you are playing it on and the headphones/speakers.
Personally, having dealt with vinyl in my youth, (even my parents 78s), I would go down the CD or Spotify path; unless you are an audiophile or a massive hipster.
BTW - If you watch "Mars Attacks" the music that they use to kill the Martians is Slim Whitman's "Indian Love Call". My mother had that record on a 78 and we pissed ourselves laughing when we heard it in the film - we never stopped ribbing her about that.
You'll hear intricacies in the music you never knew existed.
What if you're not a dog or the Six Million Dollar Man and only have average human frequency response?
You'll hear it man, you'll hear it.
And after forking out all that cash, you'll REALLY hear it and want to tell the world.
Like, really man.
Perhaps "intricacies" = "distortion."
@thevofa: Nah man, when you play it through your tube amp (like you should be).there's no distortion like transistors have, because the tubes like add warmth and stuff, that's what the glow is.
You don't get that glow with solid state, just tubes.
Bask in the warm music, my man, and you'll be alive like you never thought you could be.
Spotify and CDs are cheap to set up but their potential is limited. They are digital formats, and with any digital format, it lacks depth.
Vinyl has vastly greater potential to produce better sound. The reproduction and maintenance of the physical disk matters. Moreover, the cost of setting up a semi decent system that can beat digital will be in the thousands. A decent turntable and cartridge alone will be $300… And thats just to reproduce CD like quality.
Unless you're looking to get into a hobby that will take hundreds of reading hours, hundreds of contemplative hours, and tens of thousands of dollars… Stick with digital.
I like to own my music, even if it's in a digital format. So even though streaming is convenient, I've never been a huge fan. I collect vinyl, mainly because I prefer to own my music in a physical format. Often, vinyl releases will come with digital download cards, enabling you to simply download the album as MP3 or FLAC files. Vinyl records aren't all that much more expensive than CD releases (just stay away from places like JB), and since they come with the download card, it's easier to download the album than to rip a CD. Long story short, I like physical media and vinyl looks, feels and sounds better than CDs.
Watch out for CDs decaying. Since it is a relatively new format, we have recently observed CDs decaying, effectively rendering them useless.
Like wine, you need to store it correctly. But yes some cheap pressings will just decay anyway.
But that also goes for vinyl.
Vinly is pressed from a single material. CDs have a thin laminate that can suffer from delamination.
Both stored equally well, CDs are apparently suffering from decay earlier. We are starting to see the first wave of CDs with the shiny film peel off.
I don't have CDs that old but my 60 year old vinyls still play perfectly.
I guess it still comes back to production. First wave of CDs production was not great, materials got better over time. I would say that vinyl varies a lot as I have some that have been low run presses that have just been done cheaply and are barely listenable now. Some of the stuff from the late 80s early 90s were wrecked within about 20 years!
@serpserpserp:
Oh for sure. Vinyl is very analogue and handiwork matters. I've returned some pressings before I have even played them.
Time will tell with CDs although I'm not holding my breath. I've read that the format's film bonding to plastic is the main failure and nothing's changed in that regard.
Only 180g+ pressings for me.
I reckon hipsters need this laser turntable that can play vinyl without wearing them down, for a cool $15k.
I’m waiting for the Xiaomi one
I collected vinyl originally because back in the day I could get amazing albums for $3-$5. Then the prices sky rocketed and it's just ridiculous now. Stick to CD's or streaming if you don't have the budget.
I still like buying music and supporting the artists when i can. Love the look of a vinyl cover and reading the liner notes. But yes, like the hipsters out there i probably give it a spin once on my SL1210 then primarily listen to the digital version i have ripped to my phone.
Used to be able to pick up vinyl records for $3-$5 from opshops and record stores like Ashwoods and Martins (for those that live in Sydney) but now hipsters have driven the price up to a point where people are asking $200 for their mums collection of Kamahl and Olivia Newton John records.
Mainly buy through FB groups and when the odd sale is on. Speaking of sales i spent about $400 on the recent amazon 2 for 1 vinyl sale. think its still going.
Suspect vinyl is more expensive due to the lack of pressing plants.
Usually I prefer the sound of digital to vinyl - the sound is way more accurate and so music is more exciting and real. At times it's like the musicians are in the room with me - using loudspeakers of course, not headphones. Have never come close to that with vinyl.
For streaming my favourite is Tidal HiFi - sounds identical to CD quality - better sound than the highest level of Spotify. This has saved me thousands of dollars per year compared to the bad old days when I only bought CDs.
For downloads I have used mainly Bandcamp - they only take 20% of what you pay - the rest goes direct to the artist or record company. Again you can choose CD quality.
Regarding a record player - all conventional arms need a counterweight. I use a technics SL-1210M5G turntable and a Denon DL-110 cartridge.
It's a hip thing.
Edit: A recent survey claimed that about half of recent vinyl buyers never played them. They were just for the decor/feeling good/showing off/etc. Wouldn't surprise me.