Why vinyl?

Digital gets a bad rap. The current CD format is 25 years old already (amazing, isn't it). 331/3 Lps were the bomb for only about 30 years. I have many CDs that sound better than many LPs.

The medium is not so important as the will of the manufacturer to do it right.

Digital technology today can support much higher quality although cost for mass market consumption is probably an issue. The best possible seldom finds it's way to the masses, but it does to those willing or able to pay.

The big unknowns surround which channels will be most successful in delivering the higher quality stuff.

So love your vinyl, but do keep an open mind to better things that are possible both today and in teh near future.

One thing stands out from many of the responses. The quality of the recording and mastering is the primary delimiter whether LP or CD.

One person asked a question that has yet to be answered. If new releases on vinyl are from a digital recording/master, what's to gain on the LP?

Agree with ojgalli 100% + very good point!

With good playback equipment (ie your medium to higher-end home stereo/audio system) mastering and production is by far more important than delivery medium.

There are some very old recordings that are full of technical flaws from a modern perspective yet sound most wonderful and enjoyable on a good system.

For example, I've heard some very old stuff by Louis Armstrong broadcast over the internet on WWOZ, New Orleans, using my Roku Soundbridge, on Christmas Day (wish I could remember exactly what the recordings were??) that blew me away as much as anything I've heard on the best vinyl or CD.

Ojgalli writes, what's to gain on a digital lp? I'd take a digital lp any day over the same CD, at least for orchestral music. Presumably, the Lp is cut directly from the master digital tape, which preserves the hi-rez. The tape is "number-crunched" when transcribed to CD with "flattening" and harsh results. I still like analog, (or at least the better, more tasteful recording technology that came with it), but digital lps work for me too.

Jdaniel: Not sure I follow you. Are you saying that IF the original master is 24/96 or higher, the LP is cut directly from that master through a 24/96 DAC, and that CDs are pressed from a downconversion, 24/96 to 16/44? What if, as is the case most of the time, the original recording is 16/44? And can an LP handle all of the information on a 24/96 recording without loss?

And a related question that goes out to all.

Do LPs from an analog master sound better than LPs from a digital master?