buying lp's and cassettes - true analog listening ?

I still stand by my assertion that VERY few people have the means to retrieve the best out of vinyl.

Dave.

Maybe so, but...............

I have a fair number of clients that are involved in the music department of a mega church (this has nothing to do with religion)
Mostly younger people who've grown up in the digital age. I bring that point up because they have no 'romantic memories' or bias towards records.

This mega church has people from the world over coming to it. It has its own TV station, world class state of the art recording facilities, and is totally entrenched in embracing the best, most expensive digital audio and video technology. They do a lot of live broadcasts of music.
It is also the tip of the spear in the modern christian music scene.

Religion aside, these people are true proffesionals. All skilled in modern recording.

However, when I put on a record for them, jaws drop in amazement with the usual comments of "wow! That sounds amazing! "

I dont have any high end equipment for vinyl.
A 70s hitachi turntable with a shure cartridge. A receiver I purchased in 79, a Kenwood kr 9600 and a set of Yamaha Ns 344 speakers.

Yet the result is wow. To people with very trained ears, well versed in 'pristine' audio sound quality.

There is something very pleasing, and dare I say magical, about well maintained vinyl.
.
:D :thumbs up:
 
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Meh. People, even young ones, respond to old sounding recordings because old sounding recordings are the context that's been around for a long time. It's not a conscious choice, it's conditioning.
 
Meh. People, even young ones, respond to old sounding recordings because old sounding recordings are the context that's been around for a long time. It's not a conscious choice, it's conditioning.

I think this is so. I have a DVD of MJQ on "Jazz 625" one of the first BBC 2 music broadcasts. It sounds really good but "technically" must be a long way behind CD.

I loved my music on black disc in its day but the "process" of playing such was always a PITA and clicks and pops seemed to arrive no matter how careful you were, then pressing quality began to slip. DGG seemed to maintain standards but not many others.

My first experience of CD was Quad 405 system into B&W speakers and the music? Bat out of Hell! THAT sound coming out of buggerall noise was fantastic and I was hooked!

My vinyl playback system was as good as I could afford at the time (two we'uns and a mortgage!) Sony integrated TTable, Shure 75ed and a Toshiba receiver. Still have the gear but no longer in use.

Son-in-law has a pretty decent playback system. I intend to bother daughter for a day and digitize some of my vinyl collection soon.

Dave.
 
Throw away your tape gear and just use a good Stereo VCR lol

Ah! Now! "We" had a Ferguson (JVC) hi fi VCR, an early one without the blasted AVC and it had (very advanced in the day!) an LED stereo level indicator strip. Also a very effective switchable limiter.

Son used it for a time, he dumped a stereo mix from a Teac A3440 4trk onto it, stopped the build up of noise.

Bit of a faff tho' and as soon as a decent computer came through the door the setup was abandoned!

I shall go shopping now and stop this heresy!

Dave.
 
All you vinyl haters will not poison the lovers of vinyl.:D
Toss out all the technical specifications you want. Toss out all the psychological reasons you want.
When ever some profess to like something that y'all don't approve of with your oh so technical superior veiws, you pull these things out. :D

Well guess what. Music is an emotional experience, both in the making of it and the experience of it as a listener.
If people enjoy vinyl, leave them alone to enjoy it. No need to try to prove technical superiority or audio elitism.
Just let us enjoy our fekking records.

Besides, this is the analog forum. Get it?
Analog, baby, analog.

:D
 
All you vinyl haters will not poison the lovers of vinyl.:D
Toss out all the technical specifications you want. Toss out all the psychological reasons you want.
When ever some profess to like something that y'all don't approve of with your oh so technical superior veiws, you pull these things out. :D

Well guess what. Music is an emotional experience, both in the making of it and the experience of it as a listener.
If people enjoy vinyl, leave them alone to enjoy it. No need to try to prove technical superiority or audio elitism.
Just let us enjoy our fekking records.

Besides, this is the analog forum. Get it?
Analog, baby, analog.

:D
Quite agree, would not dream of doing so!
BTW, over here it is analogue baby analogue.

Dave.
 
hi you guys

let's take for example rhcp's BSSM album.
I guess it was recorded on a STUDER reel to reel of some sort (or did the digital equipment already took over the studios in 91'?)

I don't want to spoil the mood but there's a pretty good chance that RHCP's 1991 album was recorded in digital. Digital recorders were starting to be used by the second half of the 1970s (I know that both Ry Cooder's "Bop til you Drop" and Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" were done on digital and I think that, by 1991, analogue recording in pro studios had already become a boutique way of working rather than the norm. That said, Dave Rat (who mixes RHCP live) still uses an analogue console so maybe the band likes the boutique analogue sound.

However, by the late 80s or early 90s, chances are very strong that the original tracks were recorded and mixed in digital. That said, it's not necessarily all bad news. The two albums I mentioned earlier (Bop til You Drop and War of the Worlds) had some of the nicest sounds I know when played on vinyl...maybe the detail of digital tempered with the pleasing distortions of vinyl are a nice combination.
 
I don't want to spoil the mood but there's a pretty good chance that RHCP's 1991 album was recorded in digital. Digital recorders were starting to be used by the second half of the 1970s (I know that both Ry Cooder's "Bop til you Drop" and Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" were done on digital
Decca had a digital system using IVC video recorders, but AFAIK it was mostly used for classical music. I'm not sure about Ry Cooder, but I'm 99% sure War of the Worlds was all-analogue. Supposedly it was one of the first albums to use a pair of 24-track machines and a synchronizer. I thought they were MCIs, wikipedia says Studer A80s. I remember the remaster liner notes saying that it was a MagLink synchronizer, and that the stereo master was played back on a Studer A80 with upgraded replay electronics.

Thinking about it, I suspect that the remixed version has caused confusion...
 
Yeah I think plenty of big stuff was still done analog in the early 90s for sure. Wasn't the Nirvana and Pearl Jam stuff (their first albums at least) on tape?
 
Music is often tied to memories. When comparing things it is nearly impossible to beat a memory and how you felt about something.
The mind places layers of fondness over memories over the years. Have you ever heard something like a song, or a particular stereo played after not hearing it for many years, and think man it sounded a lot better back then.
My example is Sir Paul McCartney's song Arrow through me. My Wife and I had just met and that was the popular tune we liked.
I heard that song again for the first time again in 2010, 30 years later, I couldn't help but think...what a klunker of a song Paul, lol
 
Cassette has nothing to offer me over even ordinary .mp3. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Vinyl has a rare spot of intrigue. Good vinyl is like riding in a classic car. 69 Camaro. 57 Chevy. 48 Packard. 36 Ford. You name it. These are all amazing experiences that instantly dissolve troubles and restore faith in mankind. The sky is bluer, the breeze is gentler, and it's always sunny.

Well... right up until you compare them with a modern car. Then, by each and every metric you can name, stage, or define, these machines are abysmal performers. Luxury? A 59 Caddy is not even remotely close to a new one. Speed? Cornering? Handling? Economy? Acceleration? You name it, the new technology wins every time, often by embarrassing margins.

Still, I sometimes pull out my 77 Pacer and take it for a tour. I get hoots and hollers, thumbs-up and the occasional top-drop (yes, from girls) that no Vette driver ever gets. Something about it sets people into a party mood.

And i think that's what these old formats are. That's all they have to offer. They're not "good" by any other definition. They just get people worked up because of something besides good quality.

Personally, i'll stick to my collections of .mp3 and flac.

Ponder5
 
Inexpert as we all are. Opinionated as we all are. Prepared to experiment and find out as many of us aren't
 
I still have a DCC! I have not fired it up in two years but it did work perfectly. 18 and half bits IIRC? So potentially over 100dB dynamic range.

I have 20 or so cassettes, most still sealed in plastic wrapper. I suppose I could hook it into my home system but what to record? I don't have vinyl PB capability at the moment but in any case DCC is far too good! Off air Radio 3? The Beeb are a bit mean on quality these days. Interesting isn't it that these old recording systems are far better than modern sources?

Then of course I could only playback on the DCC, until it eventually broke of course! Might punt it out and see if anyone needs one for dubbing?

Dave.
 
Inexpert as we all are. Opinionated as we all are. Prepared to experiment and find out as many of us aren't


I don't have to experiment, I lived through the cassette era. Note that he says "cassettes can sound good". That's true. With good gear and good habits you could get good sound. The problem isn't how good they could get but how easily it all went bad.
 
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