LP sales overtake CDs

[denislawsbackheel]

This is true, engines and bodywork are virtually bullet proof these days, but the computerised stuff can be well dodgy, and very expensive. Better off with a mint low mileage, older car without all that gubbins. I hate all the touch screen crap for the radios too, and what's this 'Keyless' bollocks all about, what, exactly, is the hardship about remote unlocking, (good feature), then sticking the key in the ignition and starting the bloody thing?

Me too, especially when any warning light is an MOT failure, even if it’s something most cars don’t have.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

I haven’t bought a CD for 13 years. Admittedly I have no vinyl whatsoever either. My hifi broke 2 years ago which I bought in 1997 and it won’t be getting replaced. The 200 CDs I have are gathering dust on the top shelf.

So you don’t like music...

 

[flyer]

I bought a Micromega stage 1 off eBay a couple of years ago, in near mint condition so I paid around £250 - worth every penny.

Here's one:

Micromega Stage 1 Audiophile CD Player for sale online | eBay UK

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Micromega Stage 1 Audiophile CD Player at the best online prices at eBay UK! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Bloody hell, I've got one of those in mint condition in the cupboard. Might be on ebay this afternoon

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Is it expensive though? Allowing for inflation are they really more than they were in the 70's / 80's?

Ha ha, probably not, but in my mind LP's cost about a tenner like they did when I was in my teens! When my eldest lad brings home an album now and it's got a price sticker on it saying £24-99, I'm like "What is that, a treble or something?"

 

[baggy]

Unfortnately, vinyl and CD are now both irrelevent formats in terms of measuring chart success.

Quantities of vinyl being pressed are so limited the price of a new album is pushing £20+ which means it's a no from me.

Shame but that's the way it is...

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Technically speaking, CDs are better quality. Vinyl is like people who prefer real film in photography. More because it has a particular sound quality rather than because it has a better quality sound. That and the experience of the whole thing.

It's also worth mentioning that people spend a lot of money on things they believe is better, which doesn't mean it is. There's a million dollar prize up for grabs for anyone who can reliably tell the difference between decent quality speaker cables and gold ones in a double-blind test. Nobody has claimed it yet.

Technically, CD's should be better sound quality than vinyl, but they aren't always. If you do a search for 'loudness wars' there is some interesting info on dynamic range and compression. Some CD are pretty much unlistenable on a quality hifi/speaker or headphones set up; the CD release of Metallica's Death Magnetic, and Led Zeppelin's Mothership are notable examples.

Totally with you on speaker cable and I/C's though. The only cables that sound different are either broken, or not fit for purpose.

And don't get me started on cable burn in......

 

[malkie]

Actually, I'm looking for some kind of 'machine' that I can load all my dust-gathering CDs onto. Any ideas you fuckin freaky techy geeks out there? What about one of those Brennans. No Chinese stuff!

Brennan B2 is superb if you can afford one.. I have a much cheaper version utilising Creation 5 , still works very well though. I use 2TB HDD. I rip the CD's in FLAC, the drive holds tons worth of CD's.

 

[BlindEyeSeesAll]

Bloody hell, I've got one of those in mint condition in the cupboard. Might be on ebay this afternoon

Might as well if you're not using it mate.

 

[BlindEyeSeesAll]

I agree with Mr Albini on this ..

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Actually, I'm looking for some kind of 'machine' that I can load all my dust-gathering CDs onto. Any ideas you fuckin freaky techy geeks out there? What about one of those Brennans. No Chinese stuff!

I'm looking into building a Raspberry Pi media server for my living room, possibly with ceiling mounted speakers (USB sound card and wired through an amp), controlled over WiFi from a phone app or laptop. I've already got some suitable HDD's which I've nabbed from a TIVO box. Just need a NAS chassis and a Pi/sound card. I've already got a suitable amp and speakers, so I recon I could knock something up for around £200.

 

[Bill Walker]

 

[BimboBob]

Unfortnately, vinyl and CD are now both irrelevent formats in terms of measuring chart success.

Quantities of vinyl being pressed are so limited the price of a new album is pushing £20+ which means it's a no from me.

Shame but that's the way it is...

Who the fuck cares about chart success? Good for bands and exposure but not my first port of call for new music. In fact I can't remember the last time I did look at the chart. probably in the 80's.

All forms of music are good, I like it now. I can listen to something I've never heard of at the touch of a button and then either buy it from Amazon, Discogs, record shop wherever on vinyl. The Amazon route gives you the download code, though I've noticed a lot of bands are veering away from this now, so you can have digital and physical for the same price.

As @twosips has said, there's nothing finer than slapping on a record and actually listening to it in it's entirety. Most of the time with the radio/ streaming it's background music.

 

[malkie]

As @twosips has said, there's nothing finer than slapping on a record and actually listening to it in it's entirety. Most of the time with the radio/ streaming it's background music.


Agree with this 100%. Too many people hear music rather than listen to it.
For me, it's vinyl despite have some serious headphones and a high end DAC player.
I love the warmth of the sound from vinyl, sometimes digital music can be too clinical for me.

 

[twosips]

As @twosips has said, there's nothing finer than slapping on a record and actually listening to it in it's entirety. Most of the time with the radio/ streaming it's background music.


Agree with this 100%. Too many people hear music rather than listen to it.
For me, it's vinyl despite have some serious headphones and a high end DAC player.
I love the warmth of the sound from vinyl, sometimes digital music can be too clinical for me.

Great line. One of my favourite bands released a new album recently, and i've waited to listen until I could literally sit down in front of my record player. Could have played it over my laptop, or on my phone while walking, but I really, really wanted to wait. Glad I did. So much better absorbing it than putting it on in the background.

 

[baggy]

Who the fuck cares about chart success? Good for bands and exposure but not my first port of call for new music. In fact I can't remember the last time I did look at the chart. probably in the 80's.

All forms of music are good, I like it now. I can listen to something I've never heard of at the touch of a button and then either buy it from Amazon, Discogs, record shop wherever on vinyl. The Amazon route gives you the download code, though I've noticed a lot of bands are veering away from this now, so you can have digital and physical for the same price.

As @twosips has said, there's nothing finer than slapping on a record and actually listening to it in it's entirety. Most of the time with the radio/ streaming it's background music.

Bands/artists who want to be popular maybe?

I'm not dissagreeing with you btw it's just as a format, vinyl is now a very niche and overall unadopted concept. The majority of modern music has been produced and recorded in such a way that it wouldnt neccessarily sound better just because it's been pressed on vinyl... As to your reference of checking the charts, the 80's was indeed the pinnacle of the vinyl format.

For contrast, this is from someone who has in excess of well over 15k records in his collection...

 

[bennyboy]

Spotify will do for me.
Just think of the money saved and if the music is shite you haven't got a dud taking up space.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I'm looking into building a Raspberry Pi media server for my living room, possibly with ceiling mounted speakers (USB sound card and wired through an amp), controlled over WiFi from a phone app or laptop. I've already got some suitable HDD's which I've nabbed from a TIVO box. Just need a NAS chassis and a Pi/sound card. I've already got a suitable amp and speakers, so I recon I could knock something up for around £200.

Trevor, I need this translating into fifties-speak! I only want summat with the footprint of a matchday programme, a wire to plug in, a slot to shove the cd's, a button to rip 'em and then another button to play 'em!

 

[I'm With Stupid]

I agree with Mr Albini on this ..

Hmm, notice that they didn't actually say that CDs aren't better quality, just that that's not why they became popular. Which is true. Also playing him a no doubt badly ripped mp3 on an iPod with the standard Apple earphones and he's surprised it sounds shit? That's not the format's fault, it's the hardware. Plug those headphones into a £10k hifi playing vinyl and it'll still sound shite.

It would actually be a more valid criticism of the quality of modern streaming sites. People nowadays usually stream heavily compressed songs and quite often listen over Bluetooth, which isn't really designed for music. But most people value convenience over quality. It always makes me laugh when Youtubers make videos in 4K or even 8K for people to watch on their tiny phone screen.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

All new cars have to have tyre pressure dodahs by law.

I bet that's some fuckin' apparatchik in Brussels - or is it that Mercs, Porsches, BMWs, Audis and VWs have 'em so the rest of us have to have 'em!

 

[BimboBob]

Bands/artists who want to be popular maybe?

I'm not dissagreeing with you btw it's just as a format, vinyl is now a very niche and overall unadopted concept. The majority of modern music has been produced and recorded in such a way that it wouldnt neccessarily sound better just because it's been pressed on vinyl... As to your reference of checking the charts, the 80's was indeed the pinnacle of the vinyl format.

For contrast, this is from someone who has in excess of well over 15k records in his collection...

Want to sell any? :)