In praise of (old) vinyl ..

[Tom60]

To begin with - I was raised on those old albums in 60s/70s, at the time there was nothing else.
Then CDs came along, etc.. DVD Audio anybody ?

Some 15 yrs ago, I bought a turntable again.. then a better one.. preamps, cables, power amps.. 5 sets of speakers before I got it right, without much bottleneck anywhere - and still not costing more than a house.

Then it took me some time again to find that the new "vinyl" records are just big black CDs ... poor digital transfer of the analog goodness
I have dozens if not hundreds of these, just playing them for their significance.. not the sound. The cutoff year was about 1982/3 or so.. later on there was always some A/D conversion anywhere in the chain, from recording to cutting - and so it is till these days.

I need no lecture how you cant hear anything above 16kHz.. or somesuch
There is more to it.. a good equipment transfers everything up to 50k or more, and while you cant "hear" it - the energy and information doesnt get lost... maybe it gives the space or dynamics of the sound you hear - or whatever..

Now the real reason I write this is this: few months ago I got the old pressing of Wes Montgomery´s So Much Guitar! ...
I know the album note by note.. from CD.
It never was my favorite one of his. I play some tunes from it, love them - but it always sounded so-so to me.. almost boring.

But on that old vinyl - it was a true revelation. The flow, the space.. it just breathes and wants you to listen to it again and again.

And then there is a mono "Beano" LP the 1st US pressing.. the guitar stands out soo right.. the way it was recorded and mixed, meant to be heard
and there are many more albums..

TLDR, I know, sorry

[Kerbie]

I love old, great albums. I still have several and a nice turntable to play them on. I've never heard, "So Much Guitar," described as almost boring, but to each his own. I'm sure the old vinyl made it sound great. Terrific guitarist.

[Tom60]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

I love old, great albums. I still have several and a nice turntable to play them on. I've never heard, "So Much Guitar," described as almost boring, but to each his own. I'm sure the old vinyl made it sound great. Terrific guitarist.

Don´t get me wrong I love everything he recorded.. but until I heard it the way it was recorded, I was not giving it the deserved attention.. at least to some numbers on it ..

When I play a CD, I can feed my dogs in the meantime in the kitchen..

with an album, they sit with me glued to the speakers..

almost like this ( I´ve got Dalmatians, so it fits great )

[Borderdon]

Another vinyl aficionado here, there’s a “something” that makes music a more complete experience, YMMV, of course.
I have a reasonable collection and a decent playback chain, and while it’s a format that requires more involvement, listening can be so satisfying.
FWIW, some of my favourite labels for fidelity include ECM, RCA “Shaded Dogs”
and Windham Hill.
Happy listening !

[Rudy4]

Old vinyl?

My Thorens TD146 table refused to produce anything resembling good sound from the three consecutive pressings of Ry Cooder's "Bop Til You Drop" album after they were played a couple dozen times.

I posed the lifespan question to the neighbor of my wife's grandfather who worked at the pressing plant, who simply laughed and told me management was saving money by preventing the employees from changing the pre-filters on re-processed material that was getting used for new pressings.

"You're getting all the old labels and such added to your pressings, so it will be good when somebody figures out how to put them out of business."

CDs, low compression mp3s, Edison cylinders, anything other than vinyl is OK in my book. (I hold a grudge for a VERY long time!)

[rick-slo]

https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index...e=Myths_(Vinyl)

[ssstewart]

I LOVE old vinyl. some of my favs in my collection are:
"the Best of Cugat" by Mercury records in perfect presence sound series
" Johnny Cashs Greatest Hits Vol 1"
" Judy at Carnegie Hall-in person-live and complete april 23rd 1961"
"Lightfoot!" 1966
"here's Brenda Lee" Long play Vocalion Stereo
"midnight Cowboy" original Motion Picture Score United Artists Microgroove
"The Ventures Walk Don't Run" Dolton Records visual Stereo Sound
"Christmas at Home" the Ray Charles Singers Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index...e=Myths_(Vinyl)

I guess no myths?

[H165]

I LOVE old vinyl.

Me too. What I love most is comparing them to the matching CDs to hear all the music recorded on the master tapes that's missing on the vinyls.

[davidbeinct]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index...e=Myths_(Vinyl)

Are those the folks who “proved” there was no difference between lossy and lossless digital with a recording of video game “music?”

[jseth]

Well, there's old vinyl... and there's OLD vinyl! I have some lps from my Dad and Mom's collection that weigh nearly twice what a record from the '80's weighs! The quality of vinyl used for records dropped way down after the '70's, maybe even earlier?

I have an original "Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook" two disc set; the jacket is pretty well trashed and held together with masking tape (!) but those records still sound SO GOOD!

My vinyl collection is fairly limited - only ~200 records. I have nearly 1200 CD's... and the truth of it is, I rarely listen to recorded music much at all...

I've generally preferred the music that's playing in my head!

[Tom60]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Old vinyl?

My Thorens TD146 table refused to produce anything resembling good sound from the three consecutive pressings of Ry Cooder's "Bop Til You Drop" album after they were played a couple dozen times.

LOL - just FYI... Bop Till You Drop was proudly touted as his first digital recording... I think it is even mentioned on the sleeve.. I have the LP too, and I agree it sounds .. well, mediocre to be nice

So your bad experience doesnt surprise me at all aka " garbage in, garbage out "

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by jseth

I have an original "Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook" two disc set; the jacket is pretty well trashed and held together with masking tape (!) but those records still sound SO GOOD!

Awesome... that was certainly one of her best songbooks!

[Tom60]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Old vinyl?

told me management was saving money by preventing the employees from changing the pre-filters on re-processed material that was getting used for new pressings.

"You're getting all the old labels and such added to your pressings, so it will be good when somebody figures out how to put them out of business."

Uhh.. kinda hard to decipher what you really meant (what is pre filters ?? .... but it is a well known fact that US record companies reused old vinyl when cutting new records..
For that reason, I always prefer old Japanese vinyl, they never did that.. theirs are quiet as mouse but there are great American pressings before they went the cheap way, and the best sound recorded (on just 3 tracks no kidding ) is e.g. Sonny Rollins Way Out West.... check it out on an original

[Tom60]

Originally Posted by H165

Me too. What I love most is comparing them to the matching CDs to hear all the music recorded on the master tapes that's missing on the vinyls.

Better equipment or new set of ears sorely needed before being smart