Will Vinyl Kill The CD?

[J. Robb]

This is something I've noticed lately, so I was happy to run across an article about it: Vinyl May Be Final Nail in CD's Coffin (http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/10/listeningpost_1029). More and more, vinyl is becoming the preferred physical format for music, for those who want a "hard copy" as well as the digital songs on their hard drive.

For me, this is the best of both worlds. I mostly listen to mp3s, but I've been interested in getting back into record collecting. Now with increased production, I think I will.

[howyadoin]

The article seems a little contradictory to me. If you're unsatisfied with the sound on CDs, there's no way you'd be happy with the sound on MP3s.

[cactusmaac]

Crap article. Very unconvincing number-wise and far too much conjecture.

You can't rip mp3s from vinyl.

[Jonathan Bogart]

Sure you can. You just need a an output on your turntable, the right hookup, and any one of a number of programs that will record from the input.

[Brad Barton]

That article is rife with wishful thinking. An indie journalist interviewing a bunch of "indie" fans who, shockingly, all think vinyl is poised for a huge comeback.

Well, Scientologists still believe L. Ron Hubbard is poised for a comeback from the dead, but logic tells you the chances are, uh, pretty darn slim.

BTW: Who else was thinking of "High Fidelity" while reading that article?

[estee]

Crap article. Very unconvincing number-wise and far too much conjecture.

You can't rip mp3s from vinyl.

Sure you can

Check this out. (http://www.brookstone.com/store/product.asp?product_code=568279&search_type=search&search_words=ion%20turntable&prodtemp=t2&cm_re=Result&cm_ven=Search&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Bidword&cm_ite=vinyl%20records%20to%20mp3&gclid=CNvcnZfFmZACFQspFQod5SHn6g)

I'm sure there are other products, but this is the first one I've seen.

[J. Robb]

The article seems a little contradictory to me. If you're unsatisfied with the sound on CDs, there's no way you'd be happy with the sound on MP3s.
I think the point of mp3s is portability- you can bring all your music with you anywhere. If you're sitting at home and want a nice quality sound, you can put on an LP.

That article is rife with wishful thinking. An indie journalist interviewing a bunch of "indie" fans who, shockingly, all think vinyl is poised for a huge comeback.
Well, like I said, this is something I've noticed before reading this article. I've been seeing a lot more vinyl for sale lately, especially new stuff. It's brought back my record collecting itch.

[mattx110]

You can

A)throw an ipod at the zombie attacker
or
B)throw a CD at the zombie attacker
or
C)throw a vinyl album

Ipod would do almost nothing, CD might take off an ear or slice the neck, but only vinyl can do some real damage.

[Brad Barton]

Ipod would do almost nothing, CD might take off an ear or slice the neck, but only vinyl can......shatter on impact.

Really matt, by now I'd think it's common knowledge that zombies are so slow you can just walk around them. :rolleyes: Unless they're Dawn of the Dead remake zombies, in which case you're fooked.

[Jonathan Bogart]

...shatter on impact.
Maybe 78s, but you really have to try to break an LP made after 1955.

It was the best scene in Shaun of the Dead, anyway.

[rick]

I have a sick and twisted love for vinyl, but even I know that its time has passed.

[mattx110]

Maybe 78s, but you really have to try to break an LP made after 1955.

It was the best scene in Shaun of the Dead, anyway.
Once I got over the initial shock, the dart in the head is pretty funny.

And Jet Li's Black Mask had CDs being used as weapons against people quite effectively. I just need a format that can be used on a wider variety of fictional enemies.

And did you ever do the "scratch a CD and squeeze" thing that makes it explode!!!!! in a sea of shards? It clearly shows how much more dangerous a shattering record can be than a CD despite initial instincts being towards the contrary.

[DaeJi]

I like vinyl, and prefer it to CDs, but I doubt it's due for a huge comeback.

[Jonathan Bogart]

Oh yeah, on topic: I'd guess that any increasing popularity of the vinyl format is an optical illusion based on the fact that the overall music market is shrinking while the vinyl market is staying relatively the same size as it has for the past fifteen years.

[J. Robb]

Oh yeah, on topic: I'd guess that any increasing popularity of the vinyl format is an optical illusion based on the fact that the overall music market is shrinking while the vinyl market is staying relatively the same size as it has for the past fifteen years.
I think that's part of it. More and more people are abandoning the physical product completely and just going digital. The ones who like having the "hard copy" will probably prefer vinyl not just for sound but aesthetic reasons. A nice big LP is just cooler to look at than a CD.

[Sanagi]

Well, at least the vinyl people and the MP3 people can agree that MP3 rips of vinyl sound like crap.

[Patient Boy]

Well, at least the vinyl people and the MP3 people can agree that MP3 rips of vinyl sound like crap.

Is this actually true though? I don't really think it would sound any worse than a mp3 ripped at 128kbps.

[Spike-X]

Well, at least the vinyl people and the MP3 people can agree that MP3 rips of vinyl sound like crap.
I guess it depends.

A good quality vinyl pressing played on a good quality turntable through a decent pre-amp into a high quality sound card and converted to a high quality Variable BitRate MP3 would probably sound pretty decent.

[Jonathan Bogart]

I guess it depends.

A good quality vinyl pressing played on a good quality turntable through a decent pre-amp into a high quality sound card and converted to a high quality Variable BitRate MP3 would probably sound pretty decent.
Yeah, I've downloaded several ripped-from-vinyl albums, and it all depends on the setup the original ripper uses. Some of them sound better than CD rips. (My turntable is shit, so I don't rip my records.)