Why Vinyl Is Better Than Digital for Music Lovers?

kburra

kburra

Senior Member
Location
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Digital music may be more convenient, but there are still plenty of reasons to listen to vinyl records.
There's a reason music streaming services are so popular. Apps like Spotify and Apple Music allow you to access more music than you could ever listen to, all in a single app. They're clearly the most convenient way to listen to music. However, that doesn't make them the best option.

In most cases, vinyl is the best way to listen to music. The experience of putting a physical record on your vinyl record player, dropping the needle down, and enjoying listening to the music is unparalleled. Agree or disagree?
 

Absolutely agree. I was an amateur DJ in the 80's and 90's. I used to "spin" vinyl records on dual turntables. There was nothing like slowing down or speeding up the record with my finger. Then I graduated to dual CDs where one just adjusts the speed with a button. DJs now just do it by computer. Not nearly as tactile.

Also, Millennials seem to LOVE vinyl, as they do everything else that is nostalgic.
 

dseag2 said:
Also, Millennials seem to LOVE vinyl, as they do everything else that is nostalgic.
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For how long? DH gave his 3 grandkids their choices of this classic record collection. They listen to their iPhone music connections.

He still has a couple of hundred that he hasn’t transferred to digital.
 
Sometimes I do miss my record player and records, the hubby and I had a huge collection of classic country but I got tired of the space needed to store all those records and keep them looking presentable in our living room.
I also hated when singers would repeat songs from album to album.

This past Thanksgiving we had such fun at my daughters home asking that box she keeps hidden on her mantle, to play certain songs we requested. The thing even dimmed the lights if we asked. lol
 
Nathan said:
Because on vinyl records you get the whole original musical sound, whereas the digital process chops out sections of the music, to make room on the compact discs of the 90s.
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The original recordings or masters of an album are of a very high quality. These are used for the mixing process so that as much detail can be found as needed. This is comparable to photography, where it's better to shoot in higher resolution than you really need, as then you have the most freedom when it comes to editing.


However, the files generated are far larger than you could feasibly store on your computer, phone, or portable music player. So the audio has to be compressed. During this process, some of the detail is lost. However, this is seen as a reasonable trade-off between quality and practicality.

Vinyl is a lossless format. The pressings are made straight from the masters and contain all of the detail the artist intended. It's for this reason that vinyl sounds better than digital. For comparison, listening to vinyl as opposed to digital is like viewing the Mona Lisa with your own eyes rather than looking at a picture of it on a smartphone.

You'll also hear vinyl enthusiasts discussing the warm sound they get from their record players. It's certainly true that many people prefer the sound from a physical record. But not all?
 
There was a time when digital music was going to be more highly sampled and released on DVDs instead of CDs so not as much information would get lost during the sampling process. I don't buy music any more (or listen very often) so I don't know if that ever happened. Actually, with today's streaming capabilities, music could be recorded digitally at a quality comparable to or even better than vinyl since you wouldn't have the crackles and pops. Maybe there's just not a demand for it.
 
Yes, I have a collection of DVD-Audios that have amazing sound. I believe they are 5.1 Surround Sound. There was a fairly limited amount of music available, but thanks for reminding me that I need to play them again.

Irwin, you should seriously listen to music more often. I am not even human in the morning, then I listen to music while driving in the afternoon and feel so much better.
 
dseag2 said:
Yes, I have a collection of DVD-Audios that have amazing sound. I believe they are 5.1 Surround Sound. There was a fairly limited amount of music available, but thanks for reminding me that I need to play them again.

Irwin, you should seriously listen to music more often. I am not even human in the morning, then I listen to music while driving in the afternoon and feel so much better.
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Naaa... I don't like today's music. To relax these days, I just sit quietly and listen to the ringing in my ears.
 
My collection, although digital, is all music from decades earlier. The fact that I don't care for today's music doesn't mean I've stopped listening altogether. That would mean a much less rich life to me. ❤️
 
kburra said:
In most cases, vinyl is the best way to listen to music. The experience of putting a physical record on your vinyl record player, dropping the needle down, and enjoying listening to the music is unparalleled. Agree or disagree?
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Agree

kburra said:
You'll also hear vinyl enthusiasts discussing the warm sound they get from their record players.
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Oh yeah

As it's been said......'Groovy'

and the speakers.......could blow you away

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Irwin said:
Even better than vinyl since you wouldn't have the crackles and pops. Maybe there's just not a demand for it.
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I probably have over 200 vinyl records,some way back to the 60`s,and can say with out contradiction that NONE of them when played have any crackles or pops,always use anti static brush before playing and of course stored upright in their appropriate covers after use,incidentally only yesterday played a Dire Straights record (Mark Knopfler) the sound still as clear and vibrant as the day I first played it, The sound just so good you would think he was in the room!🎸
 
kburra said:
Digital music may be more convenient, but there are still plenty of reasons to listen to vinyl records.
There's a reason music streaming services are so popular. Apps like Spotify and Apple Music allow you to access more music than you could ever listen to, all in a single app. They're clearly the most convenient way to listen to music. However, that doesn't make them the best option.

In most cases, vinyl is the best way to listen to music. The experience of putting a physical record on your vinyl record player, dropping the needle down, and enjoying listening to the music is unparalleled. Agree or disagree?
Click to expand...
Could be, but many of us listen to most music in our cars, and in that environment digital is certainly helpful. BTW -- I'm one of those music bigots that believes that almost nothing worth listening to was recorded after 1975. (-8
 
In the 60's I was about 17 when I fell madly in love with this ( representative )

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I would lay down on my back on the floor with my head right in the center. Close my eyes and listen for hours. the fading from one speaker to the next was awesome and the sound would transport me into music land. I had about 100 LP's. I went back home when I was 24 and my Dad had thrown them away when they moved!!! Arggggg. :)
Now it is just digital, and I have gotten use to it.
 
Agree, vinyl is more enjoyable.

I play my treasured LP's on a Technics SL-1610MK2 that I bought in 1979. The main speakers are BIC Formula 4's bought in 1974. The system still rocks clearly.

Like you, I clean each album before playing with Discwasher D4 system, and use a stylus cleaner as well.

HD radio and CD's sound much better than Sirius but nothing beats the vinyl, IMO.
 
oldpeculier said:
Agree, vinyl is more enjoyable.

I play my treasured LP's on a Technics SL-1610MK2 that I bought in 1979. The main speakers are BIC Formula 4's bought in 1974. The system still rocks clearly.

Like you, I clean each album before playing with Discwasher D4 system, and use a stylus cleaner as well.

HD radio and CD's sound much better than Sirius but nothing beats the vinyl, IMO.
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I have an old Technics turntable in a box somewhere. One of these days, I guess it will turn up. It might be worth some money.

My speakers from the '70s self-destructed. Because it's so dry here in Colorado, the foam rings disintegrated. I held onto them until a few months ago when I finally decided to get rid of some clutter. I was going to throw them out, but just for the hell of it, I decided to see if they were worth anything, and they were. Not much, but a collector bought them for $100. They were Genesis 320s from around 1979.
 
My son has been deejaying professionally on and off since he was 15 years old. He swears vinyl is best. A few years ago, he and his DJ buddies got together and hosted an all vinyl dance party at a local steak house. All kinds of music was played. The place was packed and we had a ball. He still goes to record shows and record stores (becoming more and more scarce) when he can. Unfortunately he lost a lot of his albums which were in storage due to the affects of the flooding we had a couple of months ago.
 
Irwin said:
I have an old Technics turntable in a box somewhere. One of these days, I guess it will turn up. It might be worth some money.

My speakers from the '70s self-destructed. Because it's so dry here in Colorado, the foam rings disintegrated. I held onto them until a few months ago when I finally decided to get rid of some clutter. I was going to throw them out, but just for the hell of it, I decided to see if they were worth anything, and they were. Not much, but a collector bought them for $100. They were Genesis 320s from around 1979.
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Yeah, the foam speaker covers on my Formula 4's disintegrated long ago. All of them you see on E-Bay are without the covers but the woofers, mid, and tweeters are still intact.

Some albums are worth a little money if in good condition, including the cover. Was just listening to my Steely Dan Can't Buy A Thrill LP. It's going for $100.00 and up last I checked.
 
Vinyl records are on a comeback. We have two stores with lots of 33 1/3 records of the 50s & 60s just opened up two months ago. Seeing their ad in our local paper. Wish I had all of mine back. I had every song Elvis made on 45 rpm. I left home in Ohio to work here in Indiana. When Mom gave them all away to a collector.
 
Yes, we have lots of vinyl records popping up here in Dallas as well. And Urban Outfitters has carried them for some time.
 

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