allure of vinyl?

[Bruce53]

I obviously have absolutely no knowledge regarding this. Got rid of all vinyl in 90's.
Other than nostalgia, can someone explain to me what is so special about vinyl recordings compared to newer ones?

 

[mazersteven]

I don't know if this has a Logical answer.

 

[slipperybidness]

I obviously have absolutely no knowledge regarding this. Got rid of all vinyl in 90's.
Other than nostalgia, can someone explain to me what is so special about vinyl recordings compared to newer ones?

I scooped up most of my vinyl in the late 90s when everybody was bailing on vinyl for CD.

 

[highfigh]

We used to read the jacket or liner notes as we listened and it's much more difficult when the print is so small. Getting up to flip the LP wasn't much of a problem because the last song on each side doesn't continue into the next, anyway.

WRT sound, while it's not as noise-free as a CD, it can be damned good when a really good cartridge has a decent phono section to feed. Might not be ruler flat, but the sound of the low end on a lot of my LPs sounds more real and that's coming from a bass player.

 

[Gmoney]

Its all about the "Wow and flutter" them Groovy waves man on that black vinyl. lol but really what @highfigh just posted up. I still have 40 or so "LP's" thats "Long Play" Albums from the 70's and 90's still to this day sounds as good as the day I opened them up. You can't find any of those any more. Not all of the song's not even on CD. So that's 1 reason why I still use Vinyl. But the main reason is Its my hobby and I need it Now!

 

[highfigh]

Its all about the "Wow and flutter" them Groovy waves man on that black vinyl. lol but really what @highfigh just posted up. I still have 40 or so "LP's" thats "Long Play" Albums from the 70's and 90's still to this day sounds as good as the day I opened them up. You can't find any of those any more. Not all of the song's not even on CD. So that's 1 reason why I still use Vinyl. But the main reason is Its my hobby and I need it Now!

A direct drive turntable will have no audible wow and flutter, but when we got a bad one, or a tape machine with that problem, we would say "Wow! What flutter!".

The problem with vinyl is that it starts to wear on the first play, but how bad that wear is, depends on the stylus and its alignment. Never saw the reason for making a cassette copy the first time an LP was played, since cassette adds distortion and noise. Some were very good, but the fact is, cassettes were best used for playing somewhere else. I get a kick out of people who say their cassette deck makes tapes that sound better than the LP.

 

[Gmoney]

A direct drive turntable will have no audible wow and flutter, but when we got a bad one, or a tape machine with that problem, we would say "Wow! What flutter!".

The problem with vinyl is that it starts to wear on the first play, but how bad that wear is, depends on the stylus and its alignment. Never saw the reason for making a cassette copy the first time an LP was played, since cassette adds distortion and noise. Some were very good, but the fact is, cassettes were best used for playing somewhere else. I get a kick out of people who say their cassette deck makes tapes that sound better than the LP.

Tape Never sounded as good as Vinyl. Don't care how good your DBX was. When CD came out in the Early 80s the first thing I stopped buying was Cassette Tapes. Junkie a$$ cassette tapes! Oh and #2 Pencils

 

[Swerd]

I think it's entirely nostalgia. Guys in their years beyond 50 finally have enough money to buy what they craved, but couldn't afford, when they were young. So they buy vintage or vintage-looking gear. Some even fall for the trap of vintage speakers. It certainly isn't because of better sound quality.

It's like that with sports cars too. Only they find that enough money isn't the only thing they need. At age 50+, they aren't as flexible or slender as they were at age 20. Getting into or out of some of those cars can be a bitch.

 

[Bruce53]

Thank you guys for the insight.

 

[Mikado463]

Tape Never sounded as good as Vinyl.

actually reel-to-reel is arguably some of the best analog out there.

To Swerd's point those of us old enough that started collecting LP's back in the sixties and knew how to take care of them probably have sizable collections. Mine, while modest still numbers 1500 + or -. My investment in analog playback, again, while modest compared to some produces what I consider to be incredible sonics. That combined with many of my recordings which are not available on digital combined with the early years of CD's being dreadful save but a handful of labels all adds up to a continued enjoyment of 'black pizza'.

Now if I were starting from scratch today would I, probably not ...........

 

[highfigh]

actually reel-to-reel is arguably some of the best analog out there.

To Swerd's point those of us old enough that started collecting LP's back in the sixties and knew how to take care of them probably have sizable collections. Mine, while modest still numbers 1500 + or -. My investment in analog playback, again, while modest compared to sum produces what I consider to be incredible sonics. That combined with many of my recordings which are not available on digital combined with the early years of CD's being dreadful save but a handful of labels all adds up to a continued enjoyment of 'black pizza'.

Now if I were starting from scratch today would I, probably not ...........

Tape has several possible issues that don't affect other media- magnetic fields, heat and exposure to air can degrade the recorded signal and cause loss of sound quality. Heat is another, but we all know that it affects vinyl, too, Tape adds noise, too- whatever noise is produced when playing an LP is just part of the signal but if someone records tapes at the slowest speeds (3-3/4 IPS for open reel and 8 Track or 1-7/8 IPS for cassette) will have more noise and that's the whole reason for Dolby, ANRS and dbx. The slower speeds can't produce full bandwidth, either- cartridges are only for convenience, but done right, they can sound good.

 

[3db]

Tape Never sounded as good as Vinyl. Don't care how good your DBX was. When CD came out in the Early 80s the first thing I stopped buying was Cassette Tapes. Junkie a$$ cassette tapes! Oh and #2 Pencils

I disagree. I copied CD to tape using dbx and my friends could not tell the difference between the CD source or the tape. DBXII was the biggest game changer in NR . All my Yamaha decks with dbx have an SNR greater than 90db.

 

[Gmoney]

A direct drive turntable will have no audible wow and flutter, but when we got a bad one, or a tape machine with that problem, we would say "Wow! What flutter!".

The problem with vinyl is that it starts to wear on the first play, but how bad that wear is, depends on the stylus and its alignment. Never saw the reason for making a cassette copy the first time an LP was played, since cassette adds distortion and noise. Some were very good, but the fact is, cassettes were best used for playing somewhere else. I get a kick out of people who say their cassette deck makes tapes that sound better than the LP.

Only had one belt drive that was back in the Early 70s all Direct drive ever since. Sure Vinyl wears out from the start, tape hiss is from start and Never goes away. DD had to invent something to make it go away some be not much. Friction is a bitch huh. Don't know if You knew I know, but I'm watching You watching Me, watching You.

 

[Gmoney]

I don't know if this has a Logical answer.

One word, "Virgin" I believe OP maybe asking about the "New" smell? "Penis" 180 G Virgin vinyl?

 

[Gmoney]

I obviously have absolutely no knowledge regarding this. Got rid of all vinyl in 90's.
Other than nostalgia, can someone explain to me what is so special about vinyl recordings compared to newer ones?

You asking about them "Virgin" yeah you can buy one now. Big Market now for "Virgin" 180 G. I have to say, does have that nice Virgin smell still after the first use.

 

[lovinthehd]

Beats me for the most part as I was glad when digital came along. I still have my tt and vinyl collection but don't play it much except for nostalgia or a recording I don't have a digital version of. The pedestal it has been elevated to is a bit over the top....yeah, it's different and works well enough but....

 

[3db]

I obviously have absolutely no knowledge regarding this. Got rid of all vinyl in 90's.
Other than nostalgia, can someone explain to me what is so special about vinyl recordings compared to newer ones?

Vinyl recordings compared to newer formats? Is that your question?

 

[Bruce53]

Basically, yes.

 

[3db]

Basically, yes.

The feeling of engagement. Well produced vinyl sounds really good just like a well produced CD. Unlike the CD, there is more work to do with the format before being able to play it. Some call that extra work a P.I.T.A. but to me, I feel more engaged. Liner notes are much easier to read as well. I stream, have a large collection of both vinyl and CD, even cassettes but I find vinyl the most fun to work with.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Tape Never sounded as good as Vinyl. Don't care how good your DBX was. When CD came out in the Early 80s the first thing I stopped buying was Cassette Tapes. Junkie a$$ cassette tapes! Oh and #2 Pencils

L. M. A. O.
Pencils... keep it tight!!!