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Records are better. I actually heard it

Just went to a friend's house whose dad has a (somewhat low end) audiophile system. He had on a couple CD's in the background, but once we started talking audio stuff, he plopped on a record.

And I actually heard with my own ears how much better records sound than CD's! Granted, maybe his CD player was crappy, but really so was his record player. He bought the table at the swap meet for like $50 (supposedly great for bargain tables and records as well), and added a $200 MC cartridge.

But the music, oh the music. I had always just assumed it was going to take a ridiculously expensive system for me to be able to hear the difference. But no. The music was alive. Like it was right there, that's the only way to describe it. And it flowed. The highs seemed effortless and non-fatiguing. The record even had some scratches or whatever in it so that it crackled and popped a bit, but even with this I still preferred it.

I need to find a way to make room, but I don't think I'm going to be able to hold off on getting a turntable for very long. Is there anyone who thinks it would be a big mistake to follow in my friend's dad's footsteps and buy an old table at the swap meet for $50 and add a nice $200 MC cartridge to it? He's picking up records at the swap meet for $1-$2 apiece. That's an entry cost of like $300 for sound that appears to kill CD sound.
matt8268

Showing 3 responses by sugarbrie

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Of course LP's are better, but I need both because the world did not end in 1989 when they stopped making LP's.

Just make sure the alignment of the cartridge is proper, and check your tracking force.

Since LP's actually have something physical going on (the stylus vibrating in a record groove, and the "moving" magnet or coil) they really come alive. There are some records where the stylus can jump off the record, the music is so violent (Some recordings of the 1812 Overture come to mind.)

CD players need some help; mainly interconnect cables and power cables to take the glare and edge off. But they still can be a little flat, since nothing physical is going on.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I'd say that I listen to music and not listen to my system. I'll buy a 1955 recording released on CD. If I later find the LP great. But I won't deny myself the enjoyment of listening to that performance, when it could take me years to locate an LP in good condition.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Of course I know they still make LP's, TWL; but what about the 200+ CD's I have that came out since 1989 that they don't have LP's for; that would have been on LP if that was still the standard format?

I still remember the day BMG forced me to switch to the CD club. The only good thing was they gave me a list of their remaining LP inventory, and let me buy as many as I wanted for next to nothing (basically the shipping charge).

I am currently waiting for a used LP I bought that's coming from Germany. But I wonder if I really would have bothered going to all the trouble, except there is no CD for it.

I feel sort of that way about SACD. I'm not going to buy an SACD player to listen to the one SACD I might consider owning, and then only if it totally kills the redbook issue.

There was a time when the wealthy had their own live-in orchestras and musicians.
This is still better sounding than even LP's, but...........

My box seats overlooking the stage at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall is still something that I would keep, if I had to make a choice of either giving them up, or my LP's. Tonight, Yuri Temirkanov conducts Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev. and Shchedrin. Can't wait!
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