Vinyl records are a sound investment
Posted by Radiocafé on 22 Nov 2009 at 10:52 am |
Category: 1. General Music
It always amazes me when I stumble across a pile of lovely old records in second hand shop. I’ve found loads of classic Capitol years Sinatra, loads of great 80s soul music, heaps of Nat King Cole and many a classic rarity lurking in an unsuspecting crate - all usually looking like they have never actually been played.
I do sometimes wonder why anyone would want to discard of such gems. Naturally many have long since got rid of their record player, replaced once by a midi system, then by a mini system, and now by an iPod connected up to a piece of white plastic masquerading as a “stereo”. For convenience sake, it perhaps makes sense to downsize.
But it doesn’t make much sense on any other level. Save for perhaps that records do get scratched and yes they do from time to time suffer a terminal warp rendering them useless (usually courtesy of leaving them too near to the radiator, as I discovered not so long ago with a Foxy LP).
But here are a few reasons why records are such a great way to enjoy music:
The covers
While the CD does a fair job in trying to rekindle that glorious record cover aura, the download at best provides a tiny thumbnail that might (if you have the latest gear) be shown on your two inch screen. In short: album covers provide some of the finest artwork ever created, and also allow for plenty of information on the reverse, plus more still on the inner sleeve. They therefore both entertain and educate!
The sound quality
People always say that sound quality of records is better than CDs. There is much truth in this: without going into the science, digital only ever serves up part of the analogue recording, so a good quality analogue output should always sound better. As for MP3s - many reviewers make claims about the “fantastic sound quality” of the latest iPod or equivalent. But if you are recording at a low bit rate you are actually listening to something that is the audio equivalent of a recording from your radio using a C90 cassette. Actually, I have such recordings on tape that sound far superior. Throw in some of those nasty plastic add-on speakers and the sound quality is never going to bring you that live concert sound in your bedroom. Whereas a £200 turntable, pair of good speakers and half decent amp just might.
The equipment
In addition to the records themselves, record players do take up space, and in many cases this will make the whole idea a non-starter. But if you consider the turntable as a piece of furniture, there is no reason why it cannot enhance any average sized living area. The kit being produced these days looks quite stylish too, with lots of different finishes and styles available. And you really do not have to fork out a fortune.
The price
Why pay 79p to download a track when you can have the whole album for 50p? I’ve picked up hundreds of albums at three for a quid or similar prices. Plus it is not that hard these days to record them onto an MP3 player, as I am slowly doing with my record collection.
Long term future
Rumour has it that the information on CDs tends to fade after about 20 years unless you keep them in the fridge. While I am sure this is an urban myth, what isn’t is the fact that digital downloads are extremely easy to lose, delete or discard. The reason being that you don’t actually have physical possession of anything. You can’t touch, feel or smell an MP3. Records, if stored properly (i.e. keep them upright in their sleeves and avoid flood zones) should last a lifetime and beyond. I have many records from dusty second hand stores that were pressed in the 1950s but play flawlessly to this day.
Availability
A lot of the good stuff still isn’t available on CD - let alone download - nor will much of it ever make it there. There are loads of great second hand record shops online (such as gemm.com. cdandlp.com and musicstack), and there aren’t many records that won’t appear on eBay at some point. If you want it, you can probably find it… on LP.
Owning a piece of music history
Finally - although I’m sure there are loads more reasons - owning an original record is something to cherish. For older music, surely nothing beats this format? As long as you don’t live in a studio flat, that is.
Therefore, while MP3 players certainly have their place (I have five so I’m not anti-iPod by any means), think before you take your pile of vinyl down to the local Oxfam. Why not hang on to the dozen or so LPs that you once loved, treat yourself to a nice new, proper hi-fi and impress all your friends next time they come around by getting out all your favourite records.
It’s bound to catch on.
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Nice roundup of reasons for why vinyl is great and highly compatible with digital. Just to add to the last thing you wrote about taking out your favorite records when your friends come over. The whole listening experience is totally different on vinyl. It’s more like a ritual - browse through the collection, pick the right record for the occasion, put it on and then get up to flip it half way. It creates a situation where it’s easier to listen more actively and enjoy the whole record rather than having something play in the background. And of course, it’s a lot more awesome with friends around
Great post about vinyl and digital comparisons. As for me, I hate digital-really hate it. Not only have I lost vinyl records and their great album covers, I really dont hear the quality that is supposed to be in an audio cd.
And now, we have lost analog television to digital television. Everyone says that digital tv is better then the old analog? All I see is the compressed, pulled images on the flat screens.
I wonder if old fashioned books and magazines may be next-think of reading a book on the new blackberry!
I would like to offer a different perspective on this subject.
I am not surprised at all that most people have chosen to dispose of their vinyl and replace it with digital formats. I did exactly that myself some years ago.
I do not offer any argument against the romantic or sentimental reasons why some people love their good old vinyl records and I also agree that as a tangible object it offers more than a CD or mp3 file. However, isn’t it about the music? My collection is now larger than it ever has been, except that it now fits on one shelf in the house and is far more accessible than before when I had to rent a second garage to store all the vinyl.
May I also offer an alternative viewpoint on some of the other issues you raise?
The Sound Quality
I don’t believe it is possible to present a reasoned case for sound quality differences without going into the science of it to some degree, but I will try not to get too technical, if only not to get myself confused!
First of all, there is no such thing as digital audio. All sound is analogue and our ears are nothing more than biological, analogue microphones. So when people talk of comparing analogue and “digital” sound it is nonsense. What we are actually comparing is the accuracy of different modes of recording, storing and reproducing analogue audio.
On the surface it seems completely logical to conclude that an analogue recording must be better than a digital one that has been converted into minute bits of binary code then re-assembled into an analogue signal. However, this seemingly indefensible statement completely overlooks the most important and influential factor of all which is the carrier. The “carrier” is the mechanical and electrical means by which the information is stored and reproduced. For example if our carrier is a cheap ferric oxide cassette tape played on a budget priced tape deck, the resulting analogue audio would be far inferior to even the cheapest of CD players or an mp3 file at a bit rate as low as 128kbps, despite the cassette being analogue and the latter two having gone through A/D and D/A conversion. Equally, to say that vinyl records sound better than CDs is rather like saying a motorcycle accelerates faster than a car. It is too broad a statement to make because it depends entirely on the type and design of each vehicle.
Yes it is true that digital only serves up part of the original analogue sound, but it is equally true that not every turntable is capable of delivering it accurately either. That is why audiophiles spend thousands of pounds on a turntable, arm and cartridge combination in conjunction with stand-alone RIAA phono pre-amplifiers in search of the holy grail of analogue reproduction. I have been highly amused over the years by DJs who claim that vinyl sounds better than CD while spinning their records on a Technics SL1210 with a Stanton 500AL cartridge! Without being too unkind about the good old Stanton workhorse, it is to sound reproduction what Osama Bin Laden is to world peace! Even the best DJ type cartridges have little more ability to extract the finer detail from the grooves of a well pressed analogue record than a rusty nail, and the standard arm fitted to the Technics deck in hi-fi terms is frankly rubbish.
Mp3
It is correct to say that an mp3 recorded at a low bit rate will yield poor reproduction, but who says you have to use a low bit rate? All mp3 encoders give you the option to use a low bit rate to make the file size smaller at the expense of sound quality or at a higher rate to get good reproduction with larger files. With the availability of such huge hard drives for very little money, who is worried about file size nowadays? In any event you have the choice, just as in the old days you had the option to by a cheap ferric oxide C90 cassette from boots or opt for a better quality more expensive TDK SA or chrome tape.
The original master recordings
Another aspect that is often overlooked in these debates is that since the latter end of the 1980’s most professional recording studios implemented digital multi-track recorders. The two track stereo mix down is also recorded onto a digital format such as DAT or a hard drive, usually at 44.1k, the same rate as a commercial CD. So when you play a modern vinyl record, you are more than likely listening to a digital recording that has been converted to analogue in the cutting room. When the record is played at home, if you are wealthy enough to own a state of the art turntable system you might just hear the fantastic detail and sound quality of the original digital recording! Along with that of course there might be the occasional click and pop of surface noise and you will have to get out of your armchair and turn the record over to hear the second side. Alternatively you could just buy the CD which will be a perfect clone of the original 44.1k digital master with no clicks or pops and you will only need to get up from your armchair to get yourself another beer from the fridge.
The equipment
Just as turntables vary in quality, so do CD players, but it is fair to say that a cheap CD player will always out perform a cheap record deck. It is only when you get to the very high end equipment that the margin of difference narrows and the analogue vs digital argument comes into play.
The price of music
Why pay 50p for a second hand record that may crackle, tick and pop and contain unwanted tracks when you can get high quality mp3s of the tracks you want. The number of LPs I have bough over the years where every track was a winner can be counted on the fingers of both hands. The trouble was I had to suffer the tracks I didn’t like as there was no remote control on the turntable to skip to the next song and I was too lazy to get up and move the arm!
I must say smiled when you said you were recording your record collection onto your mp3 player - I think maybe that statement was a bit of an own goal in your argument because If you are doing that then why keep the vinyl once it is transferred? Seems to me the best thing to do with it would be to take it back to the second hand record shop, recoup some of what you paid and let somebody else buy it, record it onto mp3 and recycle it all over again. It’s all good for the environment (maybe someone should suggest there should be a government grant available to people who do this?).
Convenience and accessibility to music, new and old.
I think that the ability to sit at home and buy exactly the songs I want for 79p a go without having to spend £’s on a compilation album or CD that has tracks I either don’t want or already have has opened up a world of millions of songs that I may never have discovered by visiting one of the few remaining record stores. I also think that far from being the curse of the music industry as they were trying to tell us a few years back, the music download sites are their saviour.
Conclusion
Unless you are prepared to invest vast amounts of money on a really top quality turntable, arm, cartridge, preamp and all the hardware to go with it such as floor standing loudspeakers and a top of the range amplifier, the benefits of pure analogue reproduction cannot be appreciated. Even then, an equally esoteric CD system will give it a damn good run for its money and give you the added convenience of the digital medium.
It is not mandatory to use cheap speakers or budget systems when playing mp3 recordings. Use a bit rate of 256 / 320kbps or above and truly remarkable results can be obtained with good equipment. It is all about what our ears hear and what they hear is always analogue. At realistic affordable price levels, pound for pound a digital carrier will give you a better analogue sound in the end.
I hope you do not think I have been dismissive or argumentative about what you say, that was not my intention. I merely wanted to present an alternative view and offer an explanation as to why I believe digital has taken over and from what I can see that it is no bad thing.
Having read my last post I realize I omitted to make two important points.
CD
A CD has a sampling rate of 44.1k. That is to say that a digital “snapshot” of the audio signal is taken 44,100 times per second, then replayed at the same rate. To imply that the human ear can notice the bits lost in between these 44,100 samples is rather like saying your eyes are capable of seeing the missing bits in between the frames of a modern movie or film.
MP3
Mp3 is a very clever system that understands what the human ear can and can not perceive. For example, if a mouse runs across a wooden floor in a concert hall when an orchestra is playing, both will create sound waves that take up space in the audio spectrum, but the mouse will not be heard by the human ear because it is masked by the orchestra. Mp3 looks for parts of the audio spectrum that are masked by other sounds and removes them, thereby reducing the content and size of the waveform and only leaving sounds that our ears can hear. The sound waves created by the mouse would therefore be removed, but as we wouldn’t have known it was there we won’t miss it. If the orchestra stopped playing and the only sound in the room was the mouse, Mp3 would not remove the sound of it scampering because it is now audible against the silent backgoround.
Simply put, a well encoded mp3 recording at a high bit rate will only remove things that we wouldn’t have heard anyway, so it will have almost no audible effect on the original sound. The bad press mp3 gets is largely from people use low bit rates where a difference can be detected. But that is rather like driving a car with the handbrake on then complaining about the acceleration!
I have far too many LPs and CDs (though don’t let my wife hear me say that!) but I love Spotify - more great music than I have time to listen to! Nat King Cole? Over 100 albums. Frank Sinatra? Nearly 200 albums!
It would take a lifetime digging through charity shops to find these albums. Plus many of the Capitol CDs sound far better than the original UK releases of Capitol LPs. This is especially true of some of the albums by Nat and Frank - some of the CD re-issues are just gorgeous - some of the vinyl is lousy (never mind the low quality later pressings on thin vinyl!).
When it comes to earlier music (e.g. 1930s), you’re at the mercy of whoever restored the audio on a given re-issue as to whether it sounds fantastic, or like it’s playing through an old sock! At least with Spotify, you can click through countless compilations (e.g. Paul Whiteman: 380 tracks) for free, without having to buy several dud LP or CD re-issues before you find a decent one.
I still find playing records to be great fun - I have 78s and gramophones, which is a whole different experience. But for actually enjoying the _music_ (rather than the experience of listening to recorded music the way people did years ago), we’ve never had it so good!
Cheers,
David.