Why do LPs from the eighties still sound better than CDs from the 80s?

Not quite. He said that Atlantic wanted the CDs to sound like the records because that what was what the customer was familiar with. And, I kind of like that philosophy.

 

All the RIAA curve does is provide a complimentary EQ inverse of what the cartridge picks up to restore the original frequency response of the recording. There may be tiny variations in the RIAA curve from gear to gear, but it should not be significant enough to make a meaningful difference.

 

That's not very well stated.

 

More consistent product quality; more capacity per disc; portability; ease of use.

 

The SO ON......

Convenience, portability, no surface noise, no interaction with footsteps, loud music feedback, inner groove distorition, scratches whether intentional or accidental, lack of warps.....geez the list is almost endless.

All the physical issues that cause many to spend multi thousands of dollars to try to eliminate, sometimes sucessfully.....

 

Glad to find this thread for I have been asking this question recently as well. I too have been listening to vinyl rips, burning them to 16/44.1, and comparing them to there Cd counterparts. So far, the vinyl rips have been better in every case.

Now, as to the reasons.....many have been stated already:

1) Fast production
2) Using eq'd masters meant for vinyl
3) Not having a firm grasp of digital in the early years

One I will add is that A/D technology was in its infancy. Much better A/D's came along later.

If the loudness wars hadnt come along, CD's made now should equal or surpass vinyl in more cases than we are presently experiencing due to better digital technology, compared to the 80's.

Im still not sure if the best vinyl is better than the best cd when in both cases, an audiophile recording is the goal, and the best master, the best mastering engineer, and the best process complimentary for each is used.

Id still like to hear a shootout between 45rpm vinyl and a 24/96 digital version of the same album where their are no shortcuts or comprises in sound for either.

 

Yeah, I know. Maybe you would be willing to fix it?

 

maybe late 80s LP sounds better- I had given up on them by then and had been pushed to buying cds--too much lousy noisy vinyl in the early 80s for me

 

No vinyl lover that I know likes "snap, crackle, and pop." That is definitely NOT the source of the "warmth" we talk about. Most vinyl enthusiasts work hard to make sure their collections contain only quiet vinyl. This can sometimes be a challenge with used LPs, but clean vinyl is hardly out of reach for the vast majority of titles. (Think about it--if surface noise were really what vinyl enthusiasts liked, their lives would be so much simpler--no more searching for NM copies of coveted titles).

 

I agree with you mostly.

Just one thing.....I think there is a definite difference between noise related to scratches and mistracking and dirt as compared to the actual "Surface sound" that vinyl has.

Even on extremely quiet pressings, Ive always found a pseudo ambiance, that to me seems derived from the physical contact of a stylus onto a vinyl record. Its not a noise per se, but almost a "Room sound".

To demonstrate it, I played a quiet groove once, turned it up till I could hear actual noise, then lowered it till I didnt notice it.

Then I hit the mute button, and it got somehow "even more quiet and dead in my listening room". Turns out just the sound of a record playing, has an almost not there sound, that is there once you remove it. A lot may have to do with phase information relating to how a cart reads a record out of phase, to help eliminate surface noise.

 

Kevin - this ambient noise you speak of hearing has been studied and determined to be a neural residue resulting from personal use of any one of several 'elicit substances.' The only true inky black quiet LPs are being heard by the chemically pure. (incidentally, I'm not one of them...the chemically pure that is...)

 

This is true although one should also take into account the aging of the master tape between the time of the first CD pressing and the subsequent remaster. There was an interview in ICE magazine with Doug Sax and James Guthrie in 1992 or 1993 about the then-new Floyd remasters. This was one of the issues they were dealing with... the compromise between better converters and older tapes.

 

that doesn't surprise me. i always thought that some record companies did the opposite right around the time CDs first came out...purposely making the vinyl sound bad so that the CD versions would sell.

 

It's not a quesiton of LP vs CD, it's that a lot of the time the LP has the superior mastering to the CD, which is a shame.

LP masters were usually EQ'd and sometimes even compressed so that theyd sound right and play right once they're pressed. Also you're confusing the format itself with the engineers who are not doing their jobs right by compressing/clipping the CD master.

 

That involves using the master tape instead of some compressed or EQ limited copy that was supposed to be used to cut to vinyl.

 

This is not quite correct....the cartridge is supposed to have flat frequency and phase responses. The RIAA inverter circuit is built into the phono pre-amp, not the cartridge.

 

Are you certain that you heard actual noise? This wasn't an illusion caused by the expectations of playing a vinyl record, was it?

And how could you be certain that when you lowered the volume you couldn't hear the noise (even if it was there to begin with)? It could have been your mind *playing tricks.








* like when people report they hear a difference in their system when they change power cords, outlets, speaker cables, etc.

 

I know some vinyl lovers who like "snap crackle and pop", but they are not audiophiles

 

vinyl lovers are not necessarily audiophiles....some like perfect covers from people like Jim Flora or Alex Steinweiss or Sir Peter Blake or Andy Warhol

 

It could be David. IIRC Steve has said in the past that only 1 album he's worked on required nothing to be done but a straight transfer so I'm not sure I agree with you 100%. I definitely agree some masterings require a lot more work than others.

 

I have better sounding CD-R's from a companies Vinyl than their own CD pressing and no company is excluded here. It's not rocket science.

 

Well, I can definitely believe it with PF's Wish You Were Here. It would not surprise me that a flat transfer of that album would sound outstanding.

 

Bust my chops will ya.......

I mean I turned it down till I heard no sound, but I think we alll have a lower subconscious level we can hear at is all...no hocus pocus.....

 

For consumer play back yes, but for the recording industry I'm not convinced.

 

We definitely are in agreement here.