The Vinyl nail in CD's coffin?

Oh yes. 7" singles have been going through a major revival in the past 3 or 4 years. Big, big with teenagers and the labels that are pushing them are making them very attractive in terms of packaging, a lot of small indie labels, downloads and vinyl singles are all they do. Nice gatefold sleeves, limited editions, multiple editions with different b sides, coloured vinyl, reasonable prices. Its a vibrant chunk of the market and very definitely aimed at the "so you've got the download, now buy the real thing" vibe.

 

Haven't had time to read all posts but this is a good thread.

I am totally pee'd off spending good money on CD's that sound rubbish! I know they can sound better / good as I have many of the that do - most of the recent CD's are poor.
I have a high end CD and do not feel like going back to vinyl - CD's are more convenient and don't pop and crackle or fluff the needle (sorry Styli ).

As for MP3 quality - give me a break! Why pay as much or nearly as much for compressed stuff?!

The Times ran an article on why CD's are sounding rubbish - What is the failing music industry doing about it?... The last bit is most interesting, about a chap not buying any CD before he's looked at a downloaded sample to see if it's compressed - good idea.
And yes, the better your equipment is the more rubbish the compressed music sounds.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1878724.ece

Then I found this...
http://www.cutestudio.net/data/products/audio/declip/index.php?sid=0

Worth a try

 

Let me side with the CD group.

I have really only one argument. The organ is perhaps the most difficult instrument to reproduce. Now, ALL the organists I know are very clear about preferring CD to LP.

Any CD player is a capable reproducer. You may find it hard, but it is true to pitch, it does not wow, does not pop and click, and you can listen to the bass, the tenor, the alto and the soprano.

Last week I used a Nad CD player with my system, and while it is not in the same league as my Meridian, it is listenable. This I cannot say about most turntables. I did listen to some extremely good ones, but then they cost a fortune.

 

I prefer the vinyl format without even getting to the source, then it's a complete no contest. Turntables are precision mechanical devices that are very varied in design. CD players are almost always boxes with a transport/DAC, a few PCB's and a small LCD display on the front. Dullsville.

 

Double Hear, Hear.

 

JCL, your post would seem to fall into a point Tones made early on. A musician or music lover would see the medium simply as the tool to transport them to the music. All else being ritual.

 

I was listening to a lady musician being interviewed on R3 a week or two ago whose main criterion for listening at home was that the performances were recorded live. This wasn't a sound quality issue for her but more a spontaneity,technique & expression thing.

 

Hi guys (generic) - I been away for 3 years enjoying my music but thought I'd check back in. Unsurprisingly there are a new set of issues to vex us, and a range of equipment recommendations most of which I never heard of.

I was interested to hear Vinyl is the new CD, timely cos I was about to chuck my old deck. Perhaps I still should! It's a (says he, peering at the top shelf) a Thorens TD160B Mark II with an SME arm and what was an expensive A-T cartridge. Damn! My eyesight was far better when I last played that thing. What you reckon, worth keeping or put it in da skip?

I'm really looking for a CD player, second hand from good home will do (but no e-Bay bargains). Budget is GBP 500 and no more. I will read through the past year's posts for recommendations - shud narrow it down to a short list of maybe 20 players Anyone have a "if you getting a CD it has to be this" ideas?

Will go with Audophysic (Tempo says on the back, mark 2 or 3 I think, 2003 anyway) speakers, Sugden A21a power (courtesy Alanbeeb), Quad 34 DIN pre , and Kimber Kable. Music generally rocks, and loud: Muse to Nirvana via Stone Roses and Stereos. No classical. Room is 5 yards square, carpeted and plain plaster walls.

I saw the above comments on musicians' opinions - I have a few friends that are professional musicians/singers and they have exclusively rubbish systems - like GBP 30 portable ghetto blasters from Argos. They love playing in the band but totally uninterested in finer points of hearing music from the front. Curious?

Thanks for any CD Player suggestions, Tony