Your preference Vinyl, CD's or mp3?

[Synthpopfan]

I love me my cd`s . [:D][;)]

[hutter]

I like the convenience of cd's, but vinyll is still king. Try putting the Power Records comic book & 45's on cd or mp3 formats. There's no f-n way. Vinyll format(scratches and all) is still the best way to package an album.

"Never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump" W.C. Fields

[obs]

[i]What irritates me most is the limited choices of stereos with dual cassette decks AND turntables.[/i]

Buy used! Get yourself a nice <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5863058375" target=_blank>Nakamichi Dragon from EBay</a>, and a quality wood base <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5862014614" target=_blank>Dual turntable</a>. The Dragon's not a dual deck but it sure is a nice one [:)].



[i]I wonder if it's simply because of the emergence of really great optimizer/compressor/EQs and super high sampling rates that allow the engineers to massage the hell out of the music without the distortion that you would have gotten in the old days.[/i]

I think it is because "louder sounds better" so some swifty decided it would be to their advantage to jack up the levels on the CD. Of course that advantage is lost now that everyone does it so the consumer loses out in the end (as usual). Maybe it will swing back the other way in the future but I doubt it.

[Surly]

My main preference is CDs - while I'm quite happy with my 1,000+ vinyl collection, I still prefer CDs...the surface noise on records always makes me crazy. I dig the Japanese mini LP reissues, though - a lot of them pay great attention to detail.

I went through a brief period in the early '80s where I bought a few cassettes here and there - I had a Walkman early on and wanted stuff for it without having to take the time to record an album onto a cassette. I did enjoy making mix tapes, though. I continued to buy a few cassettes in the mid-'80s when they started making them in clear shells...for some odd reason, I thought that was cool. I eventually replaced all of them with the records or CDs.

I got my first CD player as a gift in 1985 and I've never looked back since. There was a brief period in 1985-87 where, due to limited manufacturing facilities at the time, the CDs often came out about a month after the record/tape. If I couldn't wait, I'd just buy the album...but since I worked at a record store at the time, I'd often return the record and exchange it for the CD upon release. I have over 4,000 CDs and I'm not getting rid of them - I like owning the physical product, having the packaging, etc. I'm a collector! I also have a surround sound setup, so I own many SACDs and DVD-Audio releases...nothing like hearing music in true, discreet 5.1!

I do load many CDs onto my computer (iTunes), but only to have them on my iPod. I use that device for my daily workouts, and when I travel. I'll also have iTunes playing at night when I go to sleep. I'll never get rid of CDs after loading them to the computer, though...the sound quality just isn't good enough. I don't like burning CDs on the computer as the quality is bad - I have a CD recorder on my stereo for that purpose. I use the recorder to put vinyl onto CDs, some of which I then load into iTunes. I should invest in software to remove surface noise, but unless it's a loud pop, I don't really notice it on my iPod so much. I really just have some random tracks from vinyl on my iPod; songs (or versions) that are unavailable on CD.

I have a 6-disc changer in my car, but most of the time, I am tuned to my Sirius satellite radio. Favorite stations are 1st Wave (22) and Left Of Center (26) - that's where I get my new music fix from. Of course, mornings are always devoted to Howard 100! As others have said, I like the "randomness" of a station like 1st Wave where they pick the songs for me, and I'm often pleasantly surprised by a rare track, or an album track never played by old-fashioned radio. I have a second Sirius tuner in my apartment.

At the office, I listen to CDs all day. I have a good stereo system there, and since I'm in the biz, I'm expected to listen to music there! That doesn't mean I only listen to my company's music, though [;)]

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

[Bitter Almonds]

I have a cd recorder boxed up somewhere. I remember when I didn't have a computer, I'd actually have to rifle through my cd collection for each song in order to make a cd compilation... and if I made a mistake somewhere along the line or if the cd-recorder fucked up (which it often did, as it is a product of Philips), I'd have to record from the start again using another blank cd. Sometimes it could take over an hour to record a mix cd! Almost like cassette mixes. That's dedication, right there - I also liked to make them for the chicks[8D]

I never could figure out how to equalise the volume, so they all come out uneven in volume[V]

[rotator]

In answer to your question:

I am selling all of my 400+ collection of CD's.
I am keeping my 2000+ collection of (vinyl) records.

------------------------------------------------
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[Element]

Vinyl and CD.

I don't even have an iPod or use my computer for music much. I have downloaded a few things, but online exclusive type stuff.

I'm a vinyl nerd pretty much.

www.depeche-mode.com

[geoffolehane]

I can't get enough of my CD's. I still buy vinyl from time to time because even now (as we all know) some of our favorite stuff has never been released on CD. And I'll put it on CD or MP3. I've always been a headphone listener anyway and I love my portable CD player.

I don't always like it when they re-master the vinyl though. Often there are changes for the worse in the sound quality. I prefer direct copies. Some of the older vinyl-CD transfers of the 90's had a sort of echo chamber effect in the final product because of the analog-digital conversion. I like that quality, especially in the headphones.

Part of my problem is that I've not been able to justify spending the money to buy a new turntable. My AKAI turntable is 25 years old and the stylus is no longer available. I don't listen to my vinyl enough to spend the money.

[obs]

[i]I got my first CD player as a gift in 1985 and I've never looked back since.[/i]

Was it a gift from Glenn Guglia? (the Wedding Singer) [:)]


[i]I don't like burning CDs on the computer as the quality is bad[/i]

How is the quality bad on a digital copy from a computer? Unless you mean recording an analogue source to the computer.

[Surly]

[quote][i]Originally posted by obs[/i]
<br>[i]I got my first CD player as a gift in 1985 and I've never looked back since.[/i]

Was it a gift from Glenn Guglia? (the Wedding Singer) [:)]


[i]I don't like burning CDs on the computer as the quality is bad[/i]

How is the quality bad on a digital copy from a computer? Unless you mean recording an analogue source to the computer.
[/quote]

I mean that it's a compressed sounding file - I don't know the technical terms, but using a CD recorder gives me the same quality as the original CD. When I load CDs onto the computer, it compresses the songs into smaller files, and the audio quality suffers because of this. If I record a CD on my CD recorder, and make an identical one using iTunes on my computer, the disc made from the CD recorder will sound clearer and louder.

Someone here with the technical knowledge can probably explain this better than I can.

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

[obs]

[i]When I load CDs onto the computer, it compresses the songs into smaller files, and the audio quality suffers because of this.[/i]

It's just a setting. If you're on Windows, rip the files to WAVE, and I believe on Macs, it's AIFF. I can't remember where the setting is on ITunes but it is there somewhere.

If you're on Windows, I suggest using http://www.exactaudiocopy.de over any other software (unless you have a Plextor drive). It's essentially free. It's not fast or the most user friendly since it requires some configuring, but the key here is "exact". Setup tutorial at http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac-qs-en.htm

[korova1]

I think they all serve a purpose.

Vinyl is sweet for the memories and the artistic integrity of music as a commodity. I still buy vinyl... I love the warmth and the sound it gives. As long as they are making turntables I will keep buying vinyl.

CD's serve a good purpose for getting a clean sound even after a 100 plays. The low end on CD's makes up for the other audio shortcomings. Now CD's are starting to come around to this and by adding the extra tracks and the "remastering" on many releases they've become even more superior to even the hot presses of the first vinyl runs. Some of these SACD's sound phenomenal and many of those DCC MFSL Gold Discs are incredible sounding too! (REM for example). On the flipside they've got some pretty crappy remasters out there too!

The digital formats and MP3's are pretty exciting because they are helping preserve some rare stuff. They've turned me onto alot more styles and artists than the previous 2 formats combined. In the past five years I've gone out of my way to find stuff I didn't even know existed or was impossible to find. For example: some of the stuff on Soul Jazz, Acute, LTM, Renascent, etc. It has been like Christmas for 5 years running if you are an underground 80's music fan. Thanks to the MP3 format and the low cost (especially the free ones!) to get them out there, we've been able to enjoy all types of rare and hard to find music that previously we'd never get the chance to hear.
Getting to climb a mountain and listening to almost anything I could dream of can make life alot of fun. Plus there are a million obscure releases coming out every year on vinyl and CD because of secondary sales on Ebay and the MP3's revolution. Personally I think the Recording Industry should get on their hands and knees and thank the internet and Itunes... they just haven't figured out how to make it work yet.
But as the three formats go, at the moment they all complement each other - Vinyl to CD to MP3.
I feel bad for my cassettes, but I still throw them on occasionally in the garage tape recorder just to get the old memories comin' back!

Interesting factoid: The Library of Congress still uses vinyl as their preferred storage option. I wonder if CD's and MP3's on CDR's will stand the test of time as well as vinyl has?

[coop41]

Excellent points korova1, well said



[quote][i]Originally posted by korova1[/i]
<br>


Interesting factoid: The Library of Congress still uses vinyl as their preferred storage option. I wonder if CD's and MP3's on CDR's will stand the test of time as well as vinyl has?


[/quote]
They probably aren't up to speed yet ...[;)]you know like computers!!!

[Bitter Almonds]

Yep. mp3 is good for out-of-print and hard to find stuff. I haven't used a turn table since 1993, so finding songs by Vicious Pink and Poesie Noire can only be done in mp3 format for me - unless I buy a record player and bought the vinyl records.

[tonyod]

Hi Guys, a 42 yr old newbie here. I am in the process of transferring my vynil to mp3 cd's using 'audacity'(freebie) which can tinker with the sound quality a bit to give the best possible reproduction, though I like to leave in some pops and scratches as long as they don't interfere and drown the music. I think the vynil experience 'was' wonderful, but move on, the sound can be fairly accurately recorded and used for convenience on mp3 without loss of nostalgic effect. Skids, Ruts, Bill Nelson, Y.M.O., Kraftwerk all keep their original, if diverse, appeal if treated with respect during the recording process.