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I've purchased vinyl for over 30 years now, and still do. I find it a tad annoying when the vinyl is from a digital source (you wont know until you play it), it sounds harsher & with no depth. Still slightly better quality than a CD as the sampling rate has not been dropped to 16Bit44Khz cd rate. I can tell the difference between an analogue source & a digital source, which is why I still but vinyl only. Sorry no cds for me. If it is not on vinyl, it does not get purchased. End of. What would be nice is if vinyl had a logo that informed you if it was from a digital source or an analogue source.

The Dead Weather latest record was analogue all the way, and listening to it, you can easily tell. Sounds oragnic with more depth.

I started recently buying vinyls again after a long time. spontaneously when I used to come home and wanted to relax I always played a vinyl. at the end of the day I concluded it was just because it sounded better. as a matter of fact the vinyls I use to play are in great condition after all those years, most of them are inherited from my p[arents. since I lived in yugoslavia our manufacturing facilities were not on par with western ones and our vinyls sounded a lot worse usually. in those cases cds probably will sound most of the times much better. in the end there are both better sounding LP records or cds. recently I had conctact with both an american and european edtion of air`s album pocket symphony. I was surprised that the european pressing was better and the sleeves were of better quality. so there is also the matter at which facility an album got to be pressed.

on the topic of digital remasters, if the remaster is taken from a high bit rate and sampling rate which excedes the normal cd capabilities then maybe it is not what the purist want, still it should sound better. the problem would come if as in the case of pink floyd`s dark side of then moon during remastering it was also done practically a remix, then the original feel of the recording has gone. but victims of this are cds too.

to be honest, there are new turntables to be bought which are not bad at all and that don`t cost a lot, one such manufacturer is pro-ject from austria which manufactures in the czech republic. also entry level thorens models exist. of course there are always the cheap japanese models from denon, marantz... in the end there are the dj models too, such as the technics 1200mk2 or numarks...

I've been a DJ for years, both a mobile jock doing weddings and the such, and a house dj playing clubs & raves. I've played 128 bps MP3's over big sound systems that sounded sufficiently good to rock the party. When I play house music for enjoyment, it's ALWAYS vinyl. I have both Technics 1200's & Pioneer CD players in my home setup, but I just do not enjoy spinning CD's (or MP3's.) When I'm at a club, I couldn't tell the difference between formats, and I'm sure nobody else can either, maybe I'm wrong though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqXLUHRy1gc

we just moved about 20,000 pieces of vinyl from brooklyn to jersey city. lotta house, techno, rare disco. check out the video. peace.

one more thing...

this weekend, i love vinyl is sponsoring a record sale on 14th street and 7th ave. in the Dapper Dan's Imperial Gallery.

see http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125973252776&ref=mf

buyers and sellers welcome. email if you are interested in selling.

someone mentioned the I Love Vinyl parties. the next one is august 29. see http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/223 and join the facebook fan pages at facebook.com/ilovevinyl
facebook.com/ilovevinyltheparty

long live the real thing.

vinyl is more than just a nostalgic tool. it's a classic, warmer technology born decades ago. i still value my turntable, the whole process of listening to records. i do buy new vinyl as well as compact discs. i don't own an Ipod myself. am i a vinyl junkie or just an alt guy who needs an outside life outside this format? i dunno. anyhow, the vinyl revival is underway. go ahead open that sleeve, hear the vinyl like u did years ago. it won't let u down.

Can we have psuedo-pure scientific thread of discussion here and talk sampling rates? If the album was recorded on analog tape then the vinyl record will be the closest analog duplicate. But, given that most albums are produced from digital recordings in the studio, what are the average sampling rates of the final master recordings? The sampling rate being how rich the sound is within the digital format. Pro-Tools, the most popular software for making albums, has top sampling rate of 192 kilohertz, whereas the consumer CD is 44.1khz while a Super-Audio CD is 2822.4 kHz.

So, the final question is...is there a point when the digital sample rate is so rich that it makes the pure/analog/vinyl issue a non-starter?

A good primer on the technical aspects of digital vs. analog.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question487.htm

From the NYT, FEB 9, 1992: "At Last Gasp, LP Remain the Champ"

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/09/arts/classical-view-at-last-gasp-lp-remains-the-champ.html?scp=2&sq=edward%20rothstein

Great article!

I liked your show about vinyl today, and I've always preferred vinyl to other musical formats. But I feel it should've been mentioned how cost-prohibitive it is to produce vinyl these days, especially for small bands on small labels. United is one of the few pressing plants left in existence, and they are not cheap. My band has often been told by our label that they won't (can't afford to) release a vinyl version of our album. Jack White of course can afford to do whatever he wants, in whatever format he wants, whenever he wants.

p.s. I'm going back to vinyl when I rip the electrnic ignotion out of my car, and put in distributer points and condenser; and rip out the fuel injection and install SU Carburators.

I got a digitizing turntable in order to put my LPs onto the computer/Ipod and I love it. But I still have a hard time getting rid of the old records even once they're digitized. It does seem inevitable though, if only because they take up so much room....

Best vinyl store ever - Euclid Records in St. Louis. www.euclidrecords.com

But where do you get a good turntable? I'm not a DJ, so I don't need something crazy, but something better than those cheap things you see around.

Years ago, I bought vynal on a weekly basis at Downtown Records & Vynal Mania. I also spent several years putting together a good, class A, stereo system. It's a matter of personal taste in your listening pleasure: analogue or digital.
But the bottom line in the absolute sound is the recording process itself. Garbage in, garbage out. Anyway, neither one sounds like the real thing. I prefer listening to the music, and not the sound system.
Also, it should be noted, Donald Fagan in recent years has made an effort to raise the standard of digital recording. Check out his Trilogy Box Set.

1.A pile of CDs is much easier to move than a pile of records. A portable hard drive is orders of magnitude easier.
2.When traveling, the portable CD or MP3 player makes it possible to lie in bed in a hotel room, or someplace with no electricity, and listen to Brahms 4th symphony or the Bangles.
3.And for classical music that is mastered to make each instrument crisp, I like the sound of CDs better. LPs often sound muffled (apologies to you soft music lovers).
4.Most albums consisting of songs, regardless whether old blues or jazz or new hip-hop or rock, have a lot of songs I just don't want to hear. The CD or MP3 type format is far superior to taping the old albums with the bad songs left off.
5.I don't like MP3 compression. It is okay for the stuff my kids listen to, but it is especially noticeably bad with classical music.

Love the vinyl. Have well over 1000 albums --plus everything from 78s, 45s, etc and 4 old turn tables -- 1960s RCA, 1990s B&O, 1980s Technics and 1930s Zeinth in a large radio; and one new one -- a Crosley with radio, CD and cassette. My question is one genre selling better than others? Jazz v. pop, etc? I would love to sell a bunch of them, too.

Might I also add this: Two cornerstones in the stereo salesman trick book is (1) whatever you own now sucks, and (2) whatever you settle for instead of going “top of the line” sucks as well. In general, few people who debate audio quality actually enjoy the music.

Kind of like guys in a guitar store who don’t play outside of the store, yet will criticize everything you buy. You’ll never win in a debate with folks like that.

What about CD sound on a quality player and decent Amp-mid level quality like an NAD unit? I definitely noticed an improvement just replacing my 25 year old Yamaha receiver and updating my NAD Player, opening up lots of warmth, depth and bass that are considered vinyl attributes.

The radio discussion compares extremes-losey MP3 vs vinyl. Also, to get a good vinyl sound you need a good table and cartridge. Dollar for dollar i wonder which is best.

HA.
I came up at the end of 78rpm's. The longplay 33 was a great improvement; but was limited by its own medium. I can remember going to lighter and lighter cartrages, and then being able to hear footsteps from other floors in my speakers. Crank it up too loud, like at a dance party, FEEDBACK.

CD's are just better.
MP3's are a step backward, they are degraded fidelity. I can hear the difference between CD's and MP3's. I can understand why people who like MP3's also like vinal, THEY CAN"T HEAR.

I'm not going back to MP3's, Vinal, or Shellac.

P.S. can the Asphalt guys play "It Must Be A Camel?"

I love vinyl- I have all my old records and play them often. BUT, why has no one mentioned the scratches and popping noises on vinyl. Sometimes you have those sounds even on a new vinyl record, but it is inevitable on all vinyl records no matter how well you treat them.

I believe this is the reason tapes, CD's and mp3's became so popular.

Growing up we would always go to music conventions in search of that elusive picture disk, sometimes paying upward of $100! Dont most people listen to music nowadays on the train/gym/car? Isnt this what caused the downfall of the LP?

i'm surprised no-one has mentioned the difference between 'active' listening (VYNIL) & 'passive' listening (MP3)

Music in any form is fine with me.
Get it where you can, and accept the limitations and advantages of each format.

Another thing about vinyl...new turn tables are pieces of industrial art. Take a look at a VPI or Clear Audio or products from any of a number or other turntable mfgs. They are simply beautiful.

The Thing, a thrift store in Greenpoint, has an entire basement stacked to the walls floors and ceilings with vinyl. Part of the joy of vinyl is spending an afternoon just digging through boxes, finding amazing and ridiculous cover art, and reveling in your finds.

As a mix DJ, I was buying dance record vinyl in the 90's which, as Joe points out regarding Radiohead, was digitally produced. It was a case of digital saving an analog medium. Today there is plenty of equipment to replicate the "warmth" of tape, thus making the recordings indistinguishable from tape recordings.

I own approximately 5000 pieces of vinyl, and have run out of storage space. I primarily buy 320kbps mps, and, truth to tell I can't hear any difference between that and my vinyl. Let me add, my speakers cost $800.00 each, which I'm guessing is a lot more than most peoples total cost of their sound system. At the end of the day, unless you're an obsessive audiophile with an analog system costing at least $20,000.00, whether it's a cd or a high quality mp3, there will be no truly noticeable difference in sound quality. Vinly's best feature for the average consumer is will never loose data, and the great record covers! If a cd or mp3 sounds crappy it is probably the result of it's mastering, something even vinyl can't save.

I have some vinyl that I play occasionally, but I recently got invited to a friend’s house to listen to music. He’s a “certifiable” audiophile, and has a complete Snindo system that cost as much as my house. The music was stunning. He has a birch lined listening room wit bas traps and other sonic devices. He did play a couple of CDs, but the vinyl was the bomb. My buddy would never play MP3.

agree with matthew--we own both and are quite content. but our vinyl collecting has pushed ahead of digital in volume, based on a bit of single purchasing.

some dj's are switching to vinyl, too. the monthly "i love vinyl" events have been hugely popular.

I spent most of my teen years sifting through bins and lugging LPs and 45 and you know what, MP3s are better. And CDs and MP3s are really on equal footing.

It's all fetishism tinged with hipster masochism. Vinyl is not better. MP3s 4 Ever!

I have 1100+ LPs collected over the past 39 years.

I have three TTs, all over 30 years old. I have a mix of Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classical, New Age.

Digital music (e.g. CDs) can sound good, BUT it requires a high-quality CD playback.

I have a 17 year old Nakamichi MB-2 that sounds as good as my vinyl.

You have to listen to music with high quality equipment.

I have a hard time thinking people really care all that much about the quality of the sound they are listening to these days. I hear earbuds blasting music daily on the subway. What kind of enjoyment could that be?

My friend, the very talented Ryan Anderson, recently formed a vinyl-only record label called Blood on the Vinyl (bloodonthevinyl.com) that gives you a code to download a free digital copy of the record with every purchase of the vinyl 12". I thought this was a cool compromise between the vinyl world and the mp3 world, allowing people to get one without having to give up the other.

and i agree with your last caller--vinyl elicits great conversation at all of our home gatherings--much more than digital plays.

Mp3's are clearly inferior to higher quality digital. However, CD's are also inferior: we are stuck with the 44.1k sampling rate, which is less than half the rate available for audiofile recording.

Nevertheless, CD's sound better than vinyl. Vinyl noise simply cancels out its other qualities.

However, the analog recording process, namely 2-inch 24 track recording, is far superior to any digital method. The best records are recorded analog, mixed to digital using analog gear, and then mastered for digital (CD) replication.

Records connect me to the past. I am so into record players that I just bought a huge 1970's stereo console with a built-in German Dual record player which slides out on a wood shelf. It doubles as both furniture, and music player. Cant get that from an Ipod!

I don't get how this host keeps proposing it as an either/or LP vs mp3.
Everyone I know who collects vinyl, also collects mp3s.
They are totally different things, not in competition with each other.

One more thing: Sure, vinyl sounds great - if you like the inevitable inherent clicks, pops, distortion, and reduced dynamic range. (That was sarcasm, BTW.) :)

the vinyl junkie in me feels vindicated.

i use joni mitchell's "court and spark" to test drive sound equipment--it's the perfect recording in so many ways, because it's dominated by acoustic instruments.

I buy new vinyl and I love it! I am too young to have bought vinyl when it was in its Heyday, and most of my music is digital, but I love the organic sound quality of vinyl as well as the great artwork on album covers and sleeves. There is also something to be said for physically owning a piece of music, rather than just a computer file.

I buy CDs directly from bands at a show, or special edition vinyl when it's really nice... but it's a PAIN to store, especially in a NYC apartment. I like the artwork and the experience, but at some point, it's just not worth the space! MP3s are portable and keep my apartment from overflowing

Vinyl simply sounds better for the price. A good $500 turntable/arm/cartridge sounds better than any $500 CD player if the rest of your playback equipment is any good. (MP3 isn't a high fidelity medium.) A good SACD player sounds better but the cost is higher and the pop music business killed off the format, although SACD is alive and well among independent classical music labels.

The inconvenience or rather the ability to incorporate ritual inconvenience into the listening session has an appeal...wet/vacuum cleaning each record before you play it, along with the tweeky placement of the tone arm on the spinning platter that has your personal choice of geeky accessories increases the user's involvement in the musical experience.

The red-book CD recording standard is inherently limited. Higher bit rate (192/24) encoded digital files are now available from a number of sources. Blu-ray disc music has much higher information content than CD or SACD, but I can't comment on that...I haven't heard enough.

Convenience doesn't have to dictate the popularity of a medium. I think vinyl is coming back because it's a return to a communal way of listening to music, as well as a return to the album format.

i'm diggin Cameron's answer too because it is all about the esoteric nature of vinyl now and that it's arcane makes it novel.

I love vinyl, and I think it's resurgence is in direct response to mp3s.
I only recently started collecting vinyl, and it's because I find Mp3s lacking.
Mp3s are not precious, they are free, easy to find and low quality.
With vinyl, you get an object, something you can hold, collect and even fetishize.
Most things I buy on vinyl, I already own on mp3, but the vinyl sounds better, has artwork, history, and I'm more likely to listen to as an album.

It's misleading to say, as the host just did, that MP3's are "missing 90% of the quality of the source." 90% of the *data*, perhaps, but the amount of "quality" loss (which is an intangible variable) is undoubtedly far less.

It's misrepresentative to talk about this is a trend of "people moving to vinyl". There may be a few hundred thousand people buying vinyl, but that's comparable to the number of people buying tube amps and other fad audio. But it doesn't represent where the bulk of the music listeners are or where they're going.

Just last night I played an LP that I bought about 30 years ago. It was still in good condition and sounded good ... until my five-year-old granddaughter (yes, I'm dating myself) bumped into the cabinet that holds the turntable. (Make scratching sound). I'm afraid Side 1 of my beloved LP is no longer in good condition.

I think the "vinyl" aspect is irrelevant, but the SIZE (design aspects, tactile variety) and the listening style (sequential control, immersive, gestalt of all the tracks) of the format is so wonderfully different. It's an entire work of art, not just a single song.

My husband and I don't buy new vinyl (we don't currently have a working turntable), but nor do we get rid of any of our existing vinyl -- very nostalgic about our records! even though we can't play them!

I been a collector for over 30 years, nothing compares to the sound of vinly. Mp3's and cd's just can't beat it. Long live the 33rpm.

We're getting calls and comments from people that love vinyl. Anyone dislike vinyl or see the sales surge as just a fad? Share your thoughts.

One of the things my wife, Katie, and I love about buying new albums on vinyl is when labels have the foresight to provide free MP3 downloads along with your LP purchase. Is that something you all predict happening more? Fingers crossed.

Are new LP releases such as Radiohead's album mastered from analog masters, or digital? I suspect the latter. If this is the case, people are simply fooling themselves if they think the vinyl version sounds better. It's still a digital recording at heart.

College students make up one of the largest categories of vinyl consumers in the present-day music market. As both a college student and someone who would like to consider myself as in touch with what’s going on in the music scene, I have experienced this trend first hand. While the vinyl vs. CD/mp3 debate often centers around a discussion of sound quality, I think the biggest factor that is overlooked is the incredible influence of what is considered “hip.” In recent years, it has been deemed “cool” for a college-aged kid to have an extensive vinyl collection. Young people who have acquired such a collection are thought to be, possibly as a consequence of the sheer inconvenience of the vinyl LP, more dedicated and involved in their music consumption. The dramatic increase in vinyl sales over the past few years could be a consequence of this behavior catching on and becoming a trendy, hip thing. I have observed, at least on my college campus, that more and more kids my age have begun to establish record collections of their own in the past few years. Also, stores such as Urban Outfitters have begun to sell vinyl releases of both newly and re-released albums in their stores and online, making the purchasing of vinyl even easier for the average college-age music lover. While I agree that a discussion concerning the sound quality of different forms of music distribution is significant, I think the influence of what is considered “hip” isn’t something that should be overlooked. Is it not possible that the sudden rise in vinyl sales over the past three years is largely just a consequence of this influential trend? Perhaps in the future the idea of owning vinyl won’t be “hip” anymore and vinyl sales will again begin to drop. College-age kids are an extremely important market for these different forms of music distribution and the power of what is considered “hip” might be much more influential than we think.