It's funny how records are still best.

Merganser,

I know exactly what you mean. I'm sure those old LP's are taking up too much space that could be used to store new SACD's and CD's. You can easily store 4 or 5 in the space that one LP takes up. So, if you're inclined to get that old vinyl stuff out of your way let me know. I'd be glad to take them off your hands. It would be a slight burden, but I have a large, finished basement with lots of storage space. Just consider it a favor between A'gon members.

Merganser and Czbbcl, I respect your opinions and decisions. Now, how about letting go of those LP's you have? Why would you want to keep them if you don't think they're worth listening to? Seriously.

BTW, I see this whole thread as a troll, a fun troll, but a troll none the less.

Hi Chuck,

I don't have a distaste for digital. I happen to enjoy my CDP very much. In my very humble opinion it is necessary to have both to enjoy all of the music that is available. And there certainly are examples of the ceedee being better than it's vinyl counterpart, usually due to remixing or just crappy vinyl. As good as my CDP is, there is still a real step up when I spin records. Very much like the difference between SS and really good tubes. Granted, my sources while not being the creme are still a long way from modest. While quite good in some cases, SACD never seemed to me to reach the "analog-like" claims. Plus I have always been leary of what I consider a proprietary format from a company that has long held tightly to the reins of how there products are marketed and seem to be developed to sound best when all of their components are used. Call me paranoid but I don't trust Sony as far as I can spit. Then there is that whole issue of buying a library that again is driven mainly by a single company and limited in choice. Naw, I'll stick to redbook thanks. At least until there is an end to the format wars.

I agree with you that I don't see how people who buy vinyl with the grooves worn out could get them to sound good. But then the idea is not to buy the worn out ones. I tend to buy mostly from local used record stores where I might average $6 per but I can see the vinyl and judge what I can clean and what will usually not recover no matter how many times I clean it. I've also had those 50 cent near mint garage sale LP's, but they are not the norm from this source. I would say that many of my best samples have been given to me by folks such as yourself who kept their records for many years, took great care of them and in the end decided that they weren't ever going to play them again. I do disagree with your friend about the need for heavy vinyl. I have some 180g LP's that just are well made. Then I have some of those wafer thin LP's from the '70s and '80s that are very quiet and sound terrific.

Now if we use background noise as the criteria for deciding whether digital or analog is better then I would probably give the nod to the 1's and 0's. But when you consider the sonic qualities there is no question in my opinion that analog is better. I wish it could be reel-to-reel but I'll take the licorice pizza's!

Hi Chuck,

I am very curious about hybrids but admit that I don't know much about them. Is this only cd/sacd? In all fairness, Sony is only part of my issue with sacd. I did get burned by the Betamax thing years ago and then there was my brief excursion into quadraphonics. OH, the horror! Blue-ray makes me cringe just thinking about it and I haven't experienced it at all, yet. Upon reflection I believe that I suffer from "early adopter syndrome". This hasn't paralized me 'cuz I bit into HDTV a few years ago. Glad that investment is starting to pay off! I chose an analog tube HD set based on picture quality. Don't know what that means except that video is an area where digitalization is an improvement. But it ain't worked for displays. High-end plasmas may be the exception, but they still suffer from motion artifacts.

Back OT, I can sympathize with the noise issue. I suppose that since I grew up with vinyl I learned a long time ago how to listen passed the occasional ticks. But then again, that is why I believe that I have always been more anal about playback than most people I know. I can easily tolerate some noise between tracks but it does make me squirm in my chair abit when it happens during a critical piece of a song. Looking over my vinyl collection it is no wonder I have several copies of some LP's. But when it's right, wow! That distortion you mention on loud passages makes me want ot try adjusting VTA,VTF, better tracking tonearm or cartridge. See! I'm ill with it!

Yea, vinyl is not a perfect format and it does take alot of fussing and tweaking. But I've always been into hands-on kind of hobbies. So to echo the cliche for others that might be following along, if you're willing to put in the effort it can be very rewarding.

Thanks,

Dan