Audio Video Revolution Forum - View Single Post

paoloop · 06-23-2009

Best thing to do is use your ears: you need a (very) good CD player and a (very) good turntable+cartridge {I have both} and listen to the same piece-in parallel; since I didn't believe it, I repeated the experiment with different recordings (Keith Jarret, Koln concert/Bach, Cembalo concerts-Leonhardt//Jony Mitchell, Blue): the net result is: they are on different planets; the LP contains so much more information that really there is no match; this happened with every CD player: less with the Chord64 (which is really astounding for a DAC) than with the Linn, but no match either. It has to be said that you need a good phono pre, since modern pres have a much higher acceptance so you don't hear any more most of the scratches and hisses that were the horrible contour of most LPs. And yes, I also did some comparisons with DVD audios: Lp's were always better (sometimes more, sometimes less). But of course there are the advantages of CDs : the remote, changing tracks while sitting in your armchair, the dead silence of the background...; and one last problem, that many pointed to: it all depends on the recording; with a good turntable you get what's there is: and good recordings are less than 10% ot total recordings (if you have a heavily mixed recording, all messed up and artificial, you don't need an audiophile apparatus to listen to the noise of the mixer!).
So I'd like to make a point: get LPs for audiophile recordings, where you may appreciate all the subtleties (and the real dynamics), and get CD's (or DVDs or BRs) for all other recordings.

06-23-2009	#46
paoloop Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: bruxelles/belgium Posts: 10	Re: CD vs Vinyl Best thing to do is use your ears: you need a (very) good CD player and a (very) good turntable+cartridge {I have both} and listen to the same piece-in parallel; since I didn't believe it, I repeated the experiment with different recordings (Keith Jarret, Koln concert/Bach, Cembalo concerts-Leonhardt//Jony Mitchell, Blue): the net result is: they are on different planets; the LP contains so much more information that really there is no match; this happened with every CD player: less with the Chord64 (which is really astounding for a DAC) than with the Linn, but no match either. It has to be said that you need a good phono pre, since modern pres have a much higher acceptance so you don't hear any more most of the scratches and hisses that were the horrible contour of most LPs. And yes, I also did some comparisons with DVD audios: Lp's were always better (sometimes more, sometimes less). But of course there are the advantages of CDs : the remote, changing tracks while sitting in your armchair, the dead silence of the background...; and one last problem, that many pointed to: it all depends on the recording; with a good turntable you get what's there is: and good recordings are less than 10% ot total recordings (if you have a heavily mixed recording, all messed up and artificial, you don't need an audiophile apparatus to listen to the noise of the mixer!). So I'd like to make a point: get LPs for audiophile recordings, where you may appreciate all the subtleties (and the real dynamics), and get CD's (or DVDs or BRs) for all other recordings.