How do you decide which physical format to buy?
Discussion
Does anyone buy both Vinyl and CDs, and if so, how do you decide which format to buy music on?
For the purpose of discussion, assume I’m talking about ‘modern’ music which was produced digitally, at least in part.
For that matter, is there a better place than Discogs to find commentary on which masters / versions / releases work best?
I have a CD player and am using CDs for the first time after many years of streaming and using vinyl.
I ask because I was looking to finally buy Public Service Broadcasting’s album ‘Race for Space’. Something has been stopping me from buying it on vinyl. Within weeks of setting up my CD player I was shopping for the album on CD. This naturally seemed like a CD album to me. It needs the deepest darkest silence for maximum impact. However there are still people on Discogs saying that the vinyl is good, and there are also people on Discogs criticising the compression on the CD (which I assumed would be the same on the vinyl version?)
For the purpose of discussion, assume I’m talking about ‘modern’ music which was produced digitally, at least in part.
For that matter, is there a better place than Discogs to find commentary on which masters / versions / releases work best?
I have a CD player and am using CDs for the first time after many years of streaming and using vinyl.
I ask because I was looking to finally buy Public Service Broadcasting’s album ‘Race for Space’. Something has been stopping me from buying it on vinyl. Within weeks of setting up my CD player I was shopping for the album on CD. This naturally seemed like a CD album to me. It needs the deepest darkest silence for maximum impact. However there are still people on Discogs saying that the vinyl is good, and there are also people on Discogs criticising the compression on the CD (which I assumed would be the same on the vinyl version?)
CD despatched vinyl to Jurassic Park 40 years ago. I have absolutely no comprehension of why people are now buying vinyl, particularly since almost every recording will be digital right through the process until it's stamped onto vinyl. It just seems to have become fashionable in an era when people are accustomed to listening to music on rubbish phones and computers so are drawn in by the bigger sound of a decent stereo.
And the prices being charged for vinyl records look completely absurd.
CD all the way for me. And don't get sucked in by basic "streaming". If you want to match CD quality you'll need to buy downloads or subscribe for one of the more expensive uncompressed services.
And the prices being charged for vinyl records look completely absurd.
CD all the way for me. And don't get sucked in by basic "streaming". If you want to match CD quality you'll need to buy downloads or subscribe for one of the more expensive uncompressed services.
sociopath said:
If I'm buying physical media the order is
Vinyl if available
CD if not
But I mostly listen via streaming anyway now, as I have post covid deafness and its easier with headphones, I live in hope my hearing will improve and I can go back to my nice hifi and vinyl
Didn't even know post covid deafness was a thing. That's a sVinyl if available
CD if not
But I mostly listen via streaming anyway now, as I have post covid deafness and its easier with headphones, I live in hope my hearing will improve and I can go back to my nice hifi and vinyl
t. Hope your hearing improves.Panamax said:
CD despatched vinyl to Jurassic Park 40 years ago. I have absolutely no comprehension of why people are now buying vinyl
Completely understand this position. Its funny that you should aliken vinyl to the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park considering the theme of the films! I only buy CDs.
I then rip them to my NAS and stream from that. I keep all the CDs after streaming (it's a legal requirement anyway*) as I do on occasion like to break out one of my CD players for the experience.
If the album I want is not available on CD (rare) then I just buy it in digital form from an online service.
I refuse to get tied in to any of the streaming services, as so many of them advertise "HD" this and "HD" that when in reality the "HD" version of the album was never mastered (or available) in any format other than 16/44 in the first place...
I then rip them to my NAS and stream from that. I keep all the CDs after streaming (it's a legal requirement anyway*) as I do on occasion like to break out one of my CD players for the experience.
If the album I want is not available on CD (rare) then I just buy it in digital form from an online service.
I refuse to get tied in to any of the streaming services, as so many of them advertise "HD" this and "HD" that when in reality the "HD" version of the album was never mastered (or available) in any format other than 16/44 in the first place...
- I'm not even sure if it's legal to rip your own CDs again - it was for a while, and then the law changed.
HustleRussell said:
sociopath said:
If I'm buying physical media the order is
Vinyl if available
CD if not
But I mostly listen via streaming anyway now, as I have post covid deafness and its easier with headphones, I live in hope my hearing will improve and I can go back to my nice hifi and vinyl
Didn't even know post covid deafness was a thing. That's a sVinyl if available
CD if not
But I mostly listen via streaming anyway now, as I have post covid deafness and its easier with headphones, I live in hope my hearing will improve and I can go back to my nice hifi and vinyl
t. Hope your hearing improves.Panamax said:
CD despatched vinyl to Jurassic Park 40 years ago. I have absolutely no comprehension of why people are now buying vinyl
Completely understand this position. Its funny that you should aliken vinyl to the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park considering the theme of the films! TonyRPH said:
I only buy CDs.
I then rip them to my NAS and stream from that. I keep all the CDs after streaming (it's a legal requirement anyway*) as I do on occasion like to break out one of my CD players for the experience.
If the album I want is not available on CD (rare) then I just buy it in digital form from an online service.
I refuse to get tied in to any of the streaming services, as so many of them advertise "HD" this and "HD" that when in reality the "HD" version of the album was never mastered (or available) in any format other than 16/44 in the first place...
Surely 16/44 isHD, isn't it? It's what equates to CD quality sound as I understand it?I then rip them to my NAS and stream from that. I keep all the CDs after streaming (it's a legal requirement anyway*) as I do on occasion like to break out one of my CD players for the experience.
If the album I want is not available on CD (rare) then I just buy it in digital form from an online service.
I refuse to get tied in to any of the streaming services, as so many of them advertise "HD" this and "HD" that when in reality the "HD" version of the album was never mastered (or available) in any format other than 16/44 in the first place...
- I'm not even sure if it's legal to rip your own CDs again - it was for a while, and then the law changed.
I'm listening on Amazon Unlimited as I work (well... you know what I mean!
) at the moment, and I've just gone from a track displayed as "HD" which showed as 16/44 to one showing as "Ultra HD", which gives the track quality as 24/192, but also confirms that my device can only handle up to 24/48, so that's what it's playing as.Anything over HD is pretty irrelevant in my book, but I'd rather stick with the Amazon lossless FLAC codec than Spotify's lossy Ogg Vorbis codec, for example.
I only do CD.
I appreciate that some mixes/productions onto vinyl are done very well and people like them.
But personally I've never heard a track on vinyl and thought 'I must have that version, it's so much better than the CD I have'.
Some 60s/70s music which was carelessly lobbed onto CD was probably better on the LP, but personally, I'd rather buy more material from different artists than look for better mixes of the same tune.
I appreciate that some mixes/productions onto vinyl are done very well and people like them.
But personally I've never heard a track on vinyl and thought 'I must have that version, it's so much better than the CD I have'.
Some 60s/70s music which was carelessly lobbed onto CD was probably better on the LP, but personally, I'd rather buy more material from different artists than look for better mixes of the same tune.
Kermit power said:
Surely 16/44 isHD, isn't it? It's what equates to CD quality sound as I understand it?
I'm listening on Amazon Unlimited as I work (well... you know what I mean! ) at the moment, and I've just gone from a track displayed as "HD" which showed as 16/44 to one showing as "Ultra HD", which gives the track quality as 24/192, but also confirms that my device can only handle up to 24/48, so that's what it's playing as.
Anything over HD is pretty irrelevant in my book, but I'd rather stick with the Amazon lossless FLAC codec than Spotify's lossy Ogg Vorbis codec, for example.
Technically, 16/44 is CD quality, as that's what CDs are mastered at and is not regarded as HD. Anything above 24/96 would be regarded as HD.I'm listening on Amazon Unlimited as I work (well... you know what I mean!
) at the moment, and I've just gone from a track displayed as "HD" which showed as 16/44 to one showing as "Ultra HD", which gives the track quality as 24/192, but also confirms that my device can only handle up to 24/48, so that's what it's playing as.Anything over HD is pretty irrelevant in my book, but I'd rather stick with the Amazon lossless FLAC codec than Spotify's lossy Ogg Vorbis codec, for example.
Most studios master at 16/48* but it's downsampled to 16/44 for public consumption - this is largely for historic reasons (see CD resolution above).
- I think some studios master at higher rates than this now though.
I stopped buying vinyl after the record producers finally seemed to be able to release decent sound quality and mastering on CD in the late 80s (the mess that became the loudness wars notwithstanding).
I stopped buying CDs when HMV charged me £17.99 for The Cranberry’s No Need To Argue.
I started buying again when CDWOW were doing CDs at around £5 delivered from the other side of the world.
Got into hi-res with SACD and DVD-A (two channel rather than 5.1). Got fed up with those when the price of discs started at £20+.
I then started realising that the quality of production mattered just as much as the medium and resolution it was recorded on.
A vinyl album, well produced and recorded, and played on a sympathetic system can sound spell binding. A crap CD remastered to 0db can sound absolute st.
And then streaming happened.
For the price of that single Cranberry’s CD I get access to a months worth of Qobuz hi-res. Tried Tidal but didn’t want to get into all that unfolding digital water-marking mess. And the service was extremely flakey in the early days - their customer support blamed me, Marantz, my internet provider, Naim and everyone bar themselves. Naturally, the issues turned up to be at their end with server issues. I received a reply to my email asking what was going on some months later (after cancelling) - no reasons, no apologies just explaining why their charges were going up (and did I know Beyoncé and Jay Z had new albums out?)
I’ve still got all my old albums (on CD and vinyl). I spent many months ripping the CDs to FLAC and still access those from my NAS now and again (to re-listen to some of the playlists I created as much as anything else). Ripping around 3800 albums is never a process I want to repeat so I have a few copies backed up at various locations.
I’ve also got a Spotify account - for background listening on a Naim sound bar it’s perfectly acceptable. The UI and search function and suggestions are great but it doesn’t impress too much on the main system.
If they ever get around to CD and/or hi-res I’ll probably dump Qobuz.
I sold all my SACDs and DVD-A discs on eBay some time ago. Just as people really wanted them luckily enough meaning I made a few £. Most went to Japan, Australia and NZ at £35+ per disc!
Having said all that, I still keep an eye on the occasional Gyrodec used ads but it seems the price of them are on the rise again. Pointless paying £1000 + an arm + a cartridge to listen to my ‘collection’ probably ruined by decades of parties and crap midi-systems. But, they do look nice…
I stopped buying CDs when HMV charged me £17.99 for The Cranberry’s No Need To Argue.
I started buying again when CDWOW were doing CDs at around £5 delivered from the other side of the world.
Got into hi-res with SACD and DVD-A (two channel rather than 5.1). Got fed up with those when the price of discs started at £20+.
I then started realising that the quality of production mattered just as much as the medium and resolution it was recorded on.
A vinyl album, well produced and recorded, and played on a sympathetic system can sound spell binding. A crap CD remastered to 0db can sound absolute s
t.And then streaming happened.
For the price of that single Cranberry’s CD I get access to a months worth of Qobuz hi-res. Tried Tidal but didn’t want to get into all that unfolding digital water-marking mess. And the service was extremely flakey in the early days - their customer support blamed me, Marantz, my internet provider, Naim and everyone bar themselves. Naturally, the issues turned up to be at their end with server issues. I received a reply to my email asking what was going on some months later (after cancelling) - no reasons, no apologies just explaining why their charges were going up (and did I know Beyoncé and Jay Z had new albums out?)
I’ve still got all my old albums (on CD and vinyl). I spent many months ripping the CDs to FLAC and still access those from my NAS now and again (to re-listen to some of the playlists I created as much as anything else). Ripping around 3800 albums is never a process I want to repeat so I have a few copies backed up at various locations.
I’ve also got a Spotify account - for background listening on a Naim sound bar it’s perfectly acceptable. The UI and search function and suggestions are great but it doesn’t impress too much on the main system.
If they ever get around to CD and/or hi-res I’ll probably dump Qobuz.
I sold all my SACDs and DVD-A discs on eBay some time ago. Just as people really wanted them luckily enough meaning I made a few £. Most went to Japan, Australia and NZ at £35+ per disc!
Having said all that, I still keep an eye on the occasional Gyrodec used ads but it seems the price of them are on the rise again. Pointless paying £1000 + an arm + a cartridge to listen to my ‘collection’ probably ruined by decades of parties and crap midi-systems. But, they do look nice…
The only physical format I buy is vinyl unless there's something i particularly want that's only been released on CD
I have a large collection of CDs and love them dearly (I cannot see the point of ripping them and, to be honest, can't be bothered either!). The only thing I've added to the collection recently was a limited edition CD single from an artist i like.
Other than that, it's Spotify Premium for convenience.
I have a large collection of CDs and love them dearly (I cannot see the point of ripping them and, to be honest, can't be bothered either!). The only thing I've added to the collection recently was a limited edition CD single from an artist i like.
Other than that, it's Spotify Premium for convenience.
Depends on the artist and format availability.
That said, I tend to buy a mix of vinyl and CD (with the occasional Tape thrown in for good measure). I have vinyl that i've owned for 30+ years alongside records that i bought last week that i've not yet unwrapped.
If the vinyl comes with a download code then cool, but dont get too hung up over it.
I mainly work from home, in my own mancave. Having vinyl means that i am forced to get up from my desk every 15-25 minutes or so to change sides/lp etc, which means i dont spend 8 hours in one position during the working day.
I dont do any commercial streaming. I have my CD's ripped to my NAS and will use my Sonos system to stream if needs be (or i'm in the main part of the house where the only listening devices are the sonos kit).
I do a lot of running, so have music on my phone - again this is all pre-prepared playlists from my own collection.
I buy a lot of new music direct from artists via Bandcamp (or similar), and will often use their recommendations to try other 'similar' music to discover new bands etc.
This all works for me, which is the main thing. YMMV
That said, I tend to buy a mix of vinyl and CD (with the occasional Tape thrown in for good measure). I have vinyl that i've owned for 30+ years alongside records that i bought last week that i've not yet unwrapped.
If the vinyl comes with a download code then cool, but dont get too hung up over it.
I mainly work from home, in my own mancave. Having vinyl means that i am forced to get up from my desk every 15-25 minutes or so to change sides/lp etc, which means i dont spend 8 hours in one position during the working day.
I dont do any commercial streaming. I have my CD's ripped to my NAS and will use my Sonos system to stream if needs be (or i'm in the main part of the house where the only listening devices are the sonos kit).
I do a lot of running, so have music on my phone - again this is all pre-prepared playlists from my own collection.
I buy a lot of new music direct from artists via Bandcamp (or similar), and will often use their recommendations to try other 'similar' music to discover new bands etc.
This all works for me, which is the main thing. YMMV
Deranged Rover said:
I have a large collection of CDs and love them dearly (I cannot see the point of ripping them and, to be honest, can't be bothered either!).
Tend to agree with you there, although I've thrown away a lot of the bulky plastic cases to keep shelf space sensibly under control.Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff