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Downloads are taking off and it has been 25 years since CD was launched, yet audiophile demand for turntables and vinyl continues unabated. When did you last spin a record?
It is notable that no one listened to 78s 18 years after the advent of the LP. The continued interest in LPs among music lovers adds credence to the nagging suspicion that there's something fundamentally wrong with the digital process.
I have to admit it's been a few years. As a classical listener I've often thought that neither cd's or records did a very convincing job of creating the illusion of live music in my living room (on my system(s). Two years ago, I got rid of my records and haven't really looked back!
I still enjoy certain recordings which I own on vinyl and don't see a need to replace them with CD editions. As far as the sound quality goes, there is a difference in some aspects of the sound but its mostly about the music. Get it?
It's still my favorite format. I am finding that CDs can sound quite excellent nowadays. For example, the Clark Terry "One on One" on Chesky is quite superb in all aspects. However, if I'm listening to anything put out on both LP and CD, the LP is almost always better, particularly if it originally came out on LP. Sometimes, they'll put a 60 minute CD on 1 LP. Well, that'll never work well -- 30 minutes per side. On the other hand, something like Tom Petty's recent "Echo," which was put out on 2 LPs sounds superb. Peter Gabriel's "Us," also out on 2 LPs, is superb sounding as well.
I fell for the "perfect sound forever" advertising and sold most of my records in the mid '80s. I have since purchased a VPI turntable and a much nicer cartridge (Benz .09), and have added more vinyl to my collection. I love the sound of vinyl but admit that with SACD and Mark Levinson separates for CD playback I tend to listen more to digital. I do feel SACD beats vinyl in many ways, at least in my system.
Michael Fremer is my favorite columnist in Stereophile and now Listener, too. Jus bought a $10 vinyl rig to go with my 2 channel setup and my five year old 27" TV. No home theater here. I am a paid up subscriber with 10 years of S'phile back issues.
Eventually vinyl will be replaced by a superior format. New technological developments have been rapidly approaching the levels of dynamic lushness associated with vinyl, minus all those quirky little factors that degredate performance. I honestly feel that vinyl will become some thing of a novelty in the next 10 years.
Every so often I play some of the old vinyl. I'm really happy with the sound of analog and don't think much of my record collection will ever make it to digital. It's also been fun looking for records at thrift stores and garage sales! I've found some stuff that's just fantastic! I've also bid and won some out of print records on Ebay! It's great to be able to enjoy the smooth analog sound ever since I fixed up a Marantz 6170 with new audio cables and an Ortofon OM-20!
Original American HENDRIX - Axis MONO (really, I'm not kidding), quite an LP, but it's only a loan. Well, i played it and another twenty or thirty for the evening. May the LP be as popular 18 years into the newest adopted format!
A follow up question might be... When was the last time you bought an LP? I just dusted off a few LPs looking through the stuff I bought in the early 80s that did not make it to CD. I buy more laser disks that LPs at this point. (again, things that are not out on DVD if ever)