Vinyl

[Dinaric Leather]

I'd say most Metal sounds best in analog formats, but some are particularly well suited for it. Especially very bass oriented albums. I never thought much of the Analog vs Digital debate, but I recently heard Blessed Are The Sick on vinyl and never looked back. I now only buy vinyl and cassette tape. I'm going to sell my CDs so I can get more vinyl. I badly want to hear Varathron's Majesty at The Swamp on an analog format but it seems impossible to find.

[Linnaeus]

I agree. I recently found Unquestionable Presence and Cause of Death on cassette at a record store, as well as Pestilence and some other stuff, and listen to them much more than anything I own on CD.

[Conservationist]

There's a philosophical argument for analogue (continuous curves) versus digital (discrete sampling) because samples have thresholds, and thus approximate, where the curve is fractal-perfect in that details are maintained in exact proportion to the larger patterns that enclose them.

However, I don't have the patience for record players or tapes. It might be an interesting project to try to create an analogue compact disc...basically create it like a record printed on alumnium foil, seal it in plastic and have the laser reproduce the pattern of pits and grooves in sonic form.

[Dinaric Leather]

However, I don't have the patience for record players or tapes.

What? How much patience do you need? Just hook that bitch up to some speakers, put the vinyl on the record player, put the needle where you want it and kick back.

[WAAAAAAGH!]

I find vinyl no less convenient than digital media storage devices. I find the output of say, an ipod, is far inferior to a record. I still have to hook the fucker up to the stereo and monitor the songs all the same. I find no added convenience between the ipod and the record. The record sounds better than the ipod. I could play CD's from my stereo, but CD's are no less or more convenient than a record. For me, digital music is handy both on the go and on the computer. When I want quality I have to move from the bedroom to the living room all the same. To get my digital to mirror the quality would require more work than simply playing the vinyl. If we are talking simply monetary value. I find a vinyl to be the better buy. Often, you get a poster, large artwork and quality sound. I lose the "physical" product with mp3's and I have a record player which will convert to mp3 anyway. Which I abuse.

[istaros]

...I recently heard Blessed Are The Sick on vinyl and never looked back.

I noticed this as well when I got a copy of the original pressing run on vinyl. MOST albums don't significantly benefit in sound from format differences. "Audiophile" is just a euphemism for "asspie." But some albums do seem to be mixed/mastered very differently between formats, enough so that when I play them on my bottom-shelf-cheap turntable even I can note a significant difference. Blaspherian's LP is another example, the vinyl pressing sounds monstrous in comparison to the CD/mp3's.

[holy ghost]

This is an internal debate I'm driven crazy by. Since I was about 14, I only bought records, CDs when that was the only option. When I hit about 24 I stopped buying so many records and moved to CDs, mainly due to changing tastes (most of the prog/jazz/noise/krautrock I was listening was CD only or else originals were crazy rare. Now I'm back to buying vinyl almost exclusively and there's a ton of stuff I could never even have dreamed of finding in LP format a few years ago sitting there new for a reasonable price, so I'm re-buying favorites I already had on CD.

Yet more than half the time, I listen to music on my phone in 320 mp3, on the go since I don't have even a fraction of the time I'd like to spend in front of my record player. Now I have to make time to actually listen.

Does vinyl sound better? It is more dependent on the stereo/turntable/speakers/headphones than the format. I bought my first "real" stereo about 5 years ago - I didn't go overboard but I bought an excellent system and wonderful speakers. CD, tape or vinyl, I felt like before I had ears filled with shit. CDs shouldn't sound any worse if you're listening to them properly.

Here's a great article on vinyl vs. CD from the hifi shop down the street from me. Great store, even if the level of audiophile insanity is really just ou to lunch:

http://www.planetofsoundonline.com/articles/yesvinylisback.php

[holy ghost]

More points:

Earache has had to admit that a lot of their recent reissues were just the CD master pressed to vinyl. Any benefit to the format then? You're essentially getting a much more aesthetically pleasing cover with a digital signal path.

Most albums rarely receive a separate vinyl master. Same way the early CDs were rarely master properly at the start of the digital age.

Most albums are recorded digitally, then pressed to vinyl. Typically unless you pay out the ass, most pressing plants involve a digital stage even if it's recorded on analog tape.

There's very little accountability from vinyl labels - take 4 Men With Beards. I bought their reissue of Cluster 71 and the fuckin' thing is full of pops and clicks. Where are they sourcing this material from? Where are they pressing it? They don't even have a website or a contact address. Great cover with a cheap standards of quality. And look how many albums they issue every month. Is there any benefit besides aesthetics to these?

I have records from the 70's that are well played well loved and then sat in a musty basement for 30 years and play perfectly. I have new records I bought last week that are full of pops.

In summation: anyone who says, with authority "vinyl (or CDs) are better" that person is not looking at all the issues involved.

[aquarius]

In summation: anyone who says, with authority "vinyl (or CDs) are better" that person is not looking at all the issues involved.

I can see the advantages of both.

For vinyl, I love the raw sound and to a lesser extent, the ritual aspect.

Mind you, I think it's only worth getting the original pressing. There is a difference.

For cds, well they're easier. Ideal for walking in the woods or fields with 'discman'.

And while drive, drive, driving on the autobahn

[Parasite]

When it comes down to it for me its either MP3 or Vinyl.

If i'm on the go(biking,walking, or driving) i have my mp3 player.

If i'm at home its vinyl 100% of the time.

Regarding reissues...  There are some out there that are just of horrendous  quality.  Not too long ago I bought Beneath The Remains LP and it sounded so flat and weak i had to have my speakers full blast for it to be listenable.  Needless to say i chucked that piece of crap, actually i traded it in, along with Spiritual Healing for KREATOR - ENDLESS PAIN, banzai issue.  FUCKING PHENOMENAL SOUND!!!!.  That Kreator album rules on vinyl!! Mp3 and Cd versions sound weak in comparison.

Whichever you prefer though, it all boils down to the quality of the speakers/sound system.

[analrapist]

I've got like 20 CD's I haven't even opened. I got the files from this forum, never needed the CD after that. Next time I get a virus or the hard drive crashes , I'll need it to rip but until then, why bother.