CD's or Vinyl?

CDs as I detest surface noise and inner groove distortion/pinch effect.

I follow the artist. Some release on vinyl, some on CD, and some on cassette. And increasingly files and file sharing. I don't consider myself a mainstream music consumer. And I don't consider technology to be the end all of my listening experience either. Streaming reaches pretty far, but still leaves big holes. I just want the art.

I support living artists, so whatever format they're selling at a show or in a record store, that's the one I'll buy. I stream as well but often use that to decide what to buy (and who to support). 

Quality wise, CD usually but I like LP artwork, the ritual of playing vinyl and reading the occasional liner note.

FWIW, this discussion is similar to many I have in the photo world (I'm a fine art photog). Digital vs Analog. At the end of the day, they're just different experiences.

Much of it for me, is not better or worse, but LP sounds different...regardless of equipment...

CD. Forever.

Happy Listening!

About 80% streaming for me because of the convenience. Having millions of tunes at hand is incredible and the sound quality is good on most tracks. The other 20% is vinyl because, to my ears, a clean, well engineered vinyl pressing still sounds better. Maybe growing up with vinyl created a conditioned response, who knows?

Sorry for the off-topic... 

@artistx - I'm a fine-art photographer too and am currently working on putting together a few books. I also used to be a concert photographer through the 70's. 

Vinyl, no question. There is more music I like that is only available on vinyl vs. only on CD. And the Artwork, of course. 

Vinyl without Question. In spite of all the effort I find it much more involving. I have plenty of 35$ wonderful reissues but continue to find excellent used records in VG+ to M- condition for 3-12$. I am beginning to treasure many of my mono, mid 50s to 60s albums on London, Columbia, Angel and other labels. They have a certain magic. 

I have about the same number of albums on CD as I do on LPs (c. 4K each) and switch back and forth.  The digital is all ripped to a network drive for convenience.

I would not opt for either exclusively over the other.

@larsman Good luck with your book. I had my work published in a book many years ago. I enjoyed the process (but I’m a designer as well so…)

CDs and no gun needed lol.  LPs were great and the gatefold albums and inserts and pictures look better big but CDs have it from there.  You didn’t ask about streaming but that has overtaken CDs for me.  I have my Qobuz playlists with me to play on any system on land, lake or air.  

For those who prefer streaming, to what music do you listen? As not all artists, conductors and orchestras are listed and you sometimes only get  one version and not the one you want.

Vinyl is final for the best sound staging. that being said I have a killer analog setup with Sota Cosmos Eclipse vacuum table, SME V with Koestsu Jade all running through tube pre and amps. Cd's or the Aurender to me are for back ground music not critical listening. IMHO

People who don't have experienced actual concert (classic, jazz, pop, whatever) usually say that analog (vinyl) is better or true to the music. I know why. Except some cases of very high end analog system and LPs with highest quality, most analog systems give soft sound rather than sharp sound (this sharp sound is only available from real concerts). So, no-concet-experience-people might think the soft sound is musical. Oh, poor people! I cannot talk any more of audio/music listening with the poor people.

CD is absolutely better than LP. This is what Herbert von Karajan said many decades ago!

Much depends on the (digitization) quality of the media. I once did an A-B test on some of the Beatles' original vinyl albums and their early CD releases. The CDs sounded really 'plastic', thin and harsh compared to the Beatles' old vinyl albums. In addition, playing vinyl is more of a ceremony. Playing or streaming a CD is more of a technique. Anyway, enjoying music is the goal.

Vinyl for sure because of so many reasons. Top three are that it sounds much better than my digital set up, artwork & the nostalgia of it all.

Vynil

Physical media already somewhat obsolete in that vast majority of available media is used. Fewer and fewer new releases on vinyl or cd, especially true for cd. I continue to keep in touch with vinyl availability since I still run a pretty nice vinyl setup and titles available just simply pales in comparison to what is available on streams. 

There have been some recent threads here which have spoken to the superiority of listening to the music vs the sound. If this is true than streaming wins hands down, so much music available and so easily accessed. And if sound quality is important, as I fully agree with, a properly optimized streaming setup can be a winner here as well. 

My take is vinyl will never become totally obsolete due to unique sound qualities that are timeless. CD will die, it has no unique sound qualities vs streams, also more costly and more hassle.

There’s room for all. 
Do what you like. 

Vinyl, no question. It's what I actually look forward to actively listening to. Streaming is awesome for when I want music in the background during my day. My CD player has been collecting dust for about five years now, not sure why it's even in my rack.

I think the amount of hype regarding the curation/care of records is completely overblown, and for me it's part of the magic. Oh no, I have to actively engage with physical media! Next you're going to tell me I have to turn the pages of a book (remember those?)! :)

@r27y8u92 

You know what else von Karajan supported, right? Hint: it was about 8 decades ago. 

Both. New and re-releases are sometimes only Digital and Vinyl or Digital, Vinyl and CD, or Digital and CD, or Vinyl only. 
 

I’ve ran into this a number of times. 

I abandoned vinyl a few decades ago and never looked back.  I prefer CDs and streaming only; primarily for the sound and convenience.            

Vinyl it is for me!!!

Im another vinyl fan......CD's sound much more mechanical.   ...a definite difference in tonal character as well....all Ayre /Vandersteen system with Ortofon Winfield cart.

"People who don't have experienced actual concert (classic, jazz, pop, whatever) usually say that analog (vinyl) is better or true to the music."
As someone who has gone to at least one, sometimes two or three concerts a week, I could not disagree more. Vinyl is far closer to the real thing.

+1 @saugertiesbob 

I have always found the vinyl revival maddening, given the inconvenience and expense of vinyl.  The album covers beat CDs and that’s it.

  Streaming is great.  My LPs were destroyed in a house flood in 1985.  I was frustrated with vinyl at the time and welcomed CDs except that I was broke, could barely afford a player , and since it was years before I had disposable income and budget classical CDs were released, I basically listened to the radio 90% of the time.  Streaming would have been a Godsend.  However now I own a few thousand CDs.  I’ve ripped a bunch but the software for music storage works poorly with classical.  Qobuz doesn’t have many of albums that I want.  And there are constant big box releases at around $2/CD.  So my heirs are going to be stuck with lots of the silver discs

So, somebody is going to follow me around for the rest of my life with a gun to my head making sure that I only listen to one form of media?

At that point, I would say choosing the form of media is the least of my problems.

Based on "rumours" I did some research - current estimates are that 30-50% of LP buyers do not own a turntable - they are buying LP like some buy books simply to decoratively fill a bookcase or record shelf...

Vinyl is the best sounding, IMHO. 

I have about a thousand records and 100+ gigs of digital and generally listen more to digital files out of convenience. 

When I first (re-started) buying records some 15 years ago, I used an entry level Pro-Ject with Ortofon Red MM cartridge. I "over thought" the cleaning of records and did fight with some pops and clicks. However, as I went up the ladder, it became apparent that the cartridge is key to how much surface noise one gets from a record. That, and of course, coming to grips that buying used records is generally high risk - sadly more so now than 15 years ago. 

I have zero interest in streaming. I burned most of my CD's to 192/24 and some others lossless. Some I burned in both formats. When I compared the two I did not hear a discernable difference in sound. I would consider my rig as mid-fi, so those that are in over 15K may disagree.

For most - myself included - vinyl provides better bass and sounds better (scales up) at higher volumes. I prefer clean uncluttered sound and so I jettisoned my sub-woofer some time ago which provided cleaner sound to hear finer resolution. That process provided finer sound with digital files vs. analog.  Digital resolution can exceed vinyl and while that may be true, the two sounds are extricably different and analog is just more realistic, IMHO. Most who say one is better than the other, have likely invested greatly on one over the other. 

I have enjoyed some Japanese CD offerings and remastered CD's but that comes with risks. Some are poorly remastered, and some Japan CD's do not offer better sound at all. It would seem that CD mfg could be bettered. Some new releases of old music I would deem a racket. Buying either format has pitfalls.

For those that stream, beware your costs will go up in parallel with your lifetime. Meaning that if you choose to stream at an early age in order to avoid purchasing any medium, you will likely pay more for music vs. those that own over your lifetime. It is important to realize (as I have) that there is a limited amount of music that you care for. Buy what you like, renting is for suckers.

As is well known, CD's come in with varying volume levels and that requires keeping the remote handy. None of that with vinyl; set the volume and you are done. I do find 45 speed LP's superior, but with those, you will need to flip the record every 10 minutes or so. Nevertheless, if you are entertaining others, record playing is truly a party maker. Playing music for others via a remote or computer is dull. What is the opposite of "Two Turntables and a Microphone"? I would say, "one remote and a couch". You can engage or disengage and it sounds like a lot of folks here are more likely to lay down than get up ;)

@jl35

I got a similar result (50% buy records without the ability to play them) when I queried a.i. on that. Not sure how that can be, but having purchased a thousand records in the past 15 years I can tell you that prices have spiked and while I did not know it at the time, vinyl turned out to be a good investment. I am quite sure I made 5-6K doing that, unknowingly.

@saugertiesbob  has a lot of time on his hands. Let me assure you, Saugertiesbob, that there is no limit to any profuse amount of words that you may offer upon the universe that will dissuade me from my masochistic attachment to my 6,000+ LP collection. Nor the 300+ 78 collection. 

Are you up the river from me? I’m in Newburgh NY. We can meet somewhere midway, say in Esopus, and have a duel.  Instead of swords, we can use tonearms. I’ll bring my Sumiko MMT. What sayeth thou? Fight, you coward!!!! 😡😂

Me again,

Just a brief addendum to my previous post on the subject.  Have become much more “selective” as to what company is recording/pressing the vinyl when purchasing. For classical music first choice is Deutsche Grammophon and for jazz our go to is Blue Note.  Columbia also produces excellent jazz pressings.  Whether your preference is Cd, vinyl, streaming or other sources, in the end, Enjoy the music    

@unreceivedogma 

I got your back.

That would be Bob, from Saugerties, New York. Last I heard, he was hiding out in a cabin high up in the Catskills. No internet up there and his phone is a beeper.

@vetsc5 

Selective is right! Buying vinyl or CD without knowing the audiophile quality of the recording is a true hazard to the hobby. 

Is there a reliable website that you use for such information?

Hello goodlistening64,

Glad to help.  Here are my go to sources;

http://www.musicdirect.com

http://www.audiosource.com

I also go directly to the record companies that select/sign the artists

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com

http://www.bluenote.com

Enjoy the music.

LPs are cool

CDs are not

I stream

@laoman  When you say Vinyl sounds more like live music, you must be equating all the pops and clicks on vinyl to the coughing and hacking you can't avoid hearing at a live show?  On that basis. I must agree, Vinyl does sound more like live music. 🤣

@bigtwin 
Pops and crackle? You have a poor analogue system and do not look after your LPs? Well that is your problem.
As I stated in this thread, Until recently I attended usually 2 concerts, often more a week. In addition because of my circumstances I got to hear and compare a large number of classically trained singers live and in recordings, sometimes in the same venue on the same night.
Nearly all artists preferred the sound of vinyl to other sources as it is far closer to the live performance and does not have the digital "glare" of CDs. Streaming is a distant third source. I guess if people listen to pop music this does not matter much.

I listen to LPs more than CDs, but most of the time I stream, preferably higher-res files from Qobuz.  Only very good records can surpass the quality of well-mastered, high-res files, and it does take time to keep clean records clean, but I'm OCD enough that I don't mind destaticizing the LP, cleaning it and the stylus.

With a good R2R DAC and transport, I imagine CDs could generally be quite satisfactory, especially if you don't like the fuss of maintaining vinyl.

@laoman   I actually have an excellent system and take very good care of my Vinyl.  Many LPs going back to the 70s that are still in great condition.  IMHO, it's virtually impossible for Vinyl to stay pristine over time.  Not to mention the few pops & clicks that arrive on almost any new vinyl purchased.  As for CDs having a "glare" in the sound, I would have to turn your comments back to you.  Maybe you just have a poor digital rig?  All things being equal, and they usually aren't, I don't have the golden years that can appreciate the glorious life-like sound that only vinyl brings to the table.  Sucks to be me I guess.  Cheers. 

Vinyl by a mile for me 

Playback Design MPD8 has always sounded ok to me. 

@jl35 would you please cite sources for your research? I'd be interested to read whatever article (or articles) that information was derived from. 

- vinyl by a long shot

- few pops and crackles for me, even those 60 years old 

   - I take care of my LPs

   - I have quality vinyl playback equipment 

- yes, it sounds more alive than digital 

- I wrote previously about vinyl as a sacred ritual practice

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/50-of-vinyl-buyers-dont-own-a-record-player-data-shows/

Both. Many CD's I own (sound like CDs)(ya know what I mean) and I am fortunate enough to own one of the best cd players ever made. Ditto records (which I own many more of and collect) Some vinyl records are staggeringly good listening experiences, some not so much. So, I enjoy both CD's and records. I do tend to spin vinyl more I guess. The effort of changing sides on a record or changing the CD get's me off my ass. The streamer was a disappoint for me. 

Well, I encourage you to use both formats!  They both have a place in the audiophiles system and home!  

I have both and alot of each.My equipment is good and I do have a few set ups.So I like both.But with the cheap prices on used cds .I now my cds.Mh local library has them for a buck and no tax to.....