CD vs Vinyl...but not quality-wise

First-off, this is not about which is better quality-wise.

This is about going forward, as an audiophile, with a physical format.

I have a system comprised of speakers (Triangle Signature Delta), integrated amp (Yamaha 2100) and Network Receiver/DAC (Cambridge CXN v2).

I'm also thinking about adding a physical format player, and the option is obviously between a CD player (or, rather, transport) and a Turntable.

My 2 options are a Cambridge CXC CD transport (playing through the CXN) or something like a Sony PS-HX500 (with an aftermarket 100-150 USD cartridge) - both at a similar budget and both rated pretty good-to-excellent for their respective price category.

Suffice to say, 90-95% of my music will still be through streaming (Tidal).

But as far as CD vs Vinyl, which one is more worth it in terms of what's available on the market?

I see Vinyl sales are closing in on CD (while CD is seemingly, at least for the moment, declining), but which format is more widely supported by artists? Which one has a wider selection right now? Are there more artists launching on CD vs Vinyl (or vice-versa) ?

As far as quality goes, I've listened to streaming vs cd vs vinyl on a much more competent system than mine, and I could easily tell that the 16 bit files (Tidal, CD) outshine the Vinyl (and maybe the CD is a tiny tiny fraction better than streaming), so sound quality isn't really an issue here, it's rather the wish to have some sort of physical media player to complete my system.

 

Don't let the sales $ volume fool you. In the USA CD sales by units are still outpacing LP records by a very wide margin: 18.6 million units vs 8.6.

 

Right now I’m listening to the Sacd of Elton John’s self titled in surround. Both formats have their merits but I’ve gotta say it sounds spectacular. The downside of recent cd releases is the ridiculous DR numbers, making the music unlistenable. Gotta do your homework if you want the best version anymore.

 

My pb with SACD is that it's a dead format...right? Or almost dead.

More exaclty, I know there are a few artist coming up with SACDs, unfortunately they are not on my taste.

I know I can maybe get some SACDs of some old-school artists I listen to, like maybe some country, Sinatra, Queen, Led Zeppelin, etc (i think), but 90% of the modern music i'm listening to is Techno and things in the electronic ballpark (but definitely no EDM).

 

Doesn’t necessarily need to be SACD for great sound, cds are cheap, plentiful and a great medium for music imo. My vinyl purchases have slowed down because I can’t justify the expense anymore. I find myself going back to cd more with the occasional vinyl purchase which must include a download code or I’ll pass most times. Your in a good place here to find the goods but it takes some work if your picky about sound quality. Worth the effort...

 

Personally I would not be without either vinyl or CD if I could help it.

In terms of what makes sense right now from a practical standpoint, I would say CD does. Reason being is that many people are selling off their CD collections and you can buy all kinds of CDs that aren't on any streaming service for much less than what they used to cost.

Vinyl prices, especially used and popular titles are going up while the condition and grading is going down. Before the vinyl trend hit, a lot of the bog standard classic rock stuff in VG or worse condition was dollar bin fodder. I now see stores marking these records for $10, $20, or even more depending on the title. Only fools or newbs buy this stuff generally, but there are a enough vinyl wagon jumpers out there that don't know any better so stores can sell it at those prices.

Story time:

I have a Tidal subscription and the other day I bought three CDs off Discogs that were all OOP and not on Tidal or other streaming platforms to my knowledge. I paid around $30 total shipped for these three discs. Back in the late 90s when one of them was released, it was an expensive Japanese import that cost over $30 alone to buy.

Besides albums that aren't on streaming services, there are many unique masterings of classic albums that aren't on any streaming service. And contrary to what the CD-phobes will tell you, there are many, many well-mastered CDs out there if you can bother to look for them.

Of course not all CD prices are plummeting. There are still plenty of OOP CDs that command a fair amount of money, particularly in niche genres where collectors are willing to pay those high prices for a rare or HTF disc. That said I see a lot of these types of discs listed for high prices for months on end and they don't sell, so prices will eventually fall on those too.

RE: your CD transport rather than the TT, I'd rather have the CD transport than a TT like that. That said I would not buy that particular CD transport. Reason being is there were issues with the drives going bad on that model and I wouldn't want to take the risk on that problem for a $500 transport that could crap out. I also wouldn't buy a CD player that couldn't decode pre-emphasis CDs, as you will run into these if you start collecting older CDs. A transport usually cannot pass properly decoded PE data to the DAC or streamer box. A regular CD player can, and if you get a good regular CD player, you have the option of using the internal DAC or using it as a transport. With a transport, you are stuck only using it as a transport.

I'd rather have both options, and a good regular CD player will be the same price or even less than the transport only box. Look for a CD player that's decently reliable and has coax and optical outputs. Around here the Yamaha S300 is a popular choice. The Onkyo I would normally recommend is discontinued. Marantz also makes CD players that are popular around here.

 

If you are doing mostly streaming I think only one physical media makes sense, and I would recommend you go with CD. And this is coming from a vinyl fanatic. You can get better SQ for the buck (IMHO) with CDs these days, records and turntables require maintenance and you can get used CDs really cheap.

Yes, there are a lot of LPs being released, but they are not cheap. Used records have gotten much more expensive since the vinyl craze started and can be a crap-shoot when it comes to the condition of the records. And there are still albums that you just cannot get on vinyl, though that's becoming less of an issue every year and it depends on what type of music you listen to.

 

As vinyl-centric as my system and my collection are, I would still have to recommend cds. The cd is the fastest, least fussy, least expensive way to build and listen to a collection of physical media. Moving forward with vinyl is something of a commitment, and ought not to be taken on unless you know, without question, that you like the sound and enjoy (or at least can tolerate) the various rituals of listening and maintenance.

 

I would leave your options open. At this point, it makes sense to get a turntable and something to rip new CD. Most computers don't come with an optical drive, but you can add one for not a lot of money. There is so much value in buying CDs, there's not point not buying them. With the gear you already have, you just need to convert the data from a physical container to a electronic. I suggest the turntable because there are a lot of albums where the vinyl is going offer the better mastering.

 

Personally, I see better value in CD's. Even with the decline in dynamic range, quality control on LP's is still a total crap shoot. Most LP's don't really sound that good. With CD, countless artists have had a number of remasters to choose from, and the playback results will usually be more predictable. You also don't necessarily have to spend as much on the equipment to get great sound. CD also has the capacity to capture plenty of analog warmth, provided it's present on the original master. It just doesn't add anything. That said, I'd encourage you to get into both formats. When I stumble upon a great sounding record, it's heaven!

 

Vinyl is a headache I suggest you do not take on unless you find the sound quality superior. As you have said you prefer digital, I can’t imagine why you’d bother with records.

 

CD's as a starting point. Decades of titles available, combined with a buyer's market right now.

I leverage both CD's and vinyl, as many others do here but CD's are going to be the best bang/buck for someone starting out.

 

If you’re into the kind of electronic/techno type of music I am, I would tell you cds. The vinyl versions will literally destroy your funds. I’m lucky in that I was buying records in the 90’s when a lot of my favorite electronic albums came out (aphex twin, autechre, arovane, proem, etc) so I got them for retail. But now, compare the price of a mediocre condition of the Autechre Garbage EP with the CD.
And releases that weren’t released on cd can be downloaded in hi res file formats from places like bleep, Bandcamp, beatport, and the respective record labels.

And yeah, like @curbach said, records can be a major headache.

 

Can't believe I'm saying this, but get a turntable. If you must have a physical media, it might as well be the option that will give you something different. Go analog for the experience, and these's always this:

 

I think it really depends on what you listen to. Some recordings its a waste of time to even think about quality or format because it doesn't get you anywhere. I listen to records cd's and files. There's some stuff you can't beat on vinyl and there's some albums an old cd mastering will win for me. It might be flac of that cd also... Some hi res downloads (most are pointless) are really good. Where the cd is brickwalled to hell and back, the 2lp is $43 but the hi res 24/96 is not compressed and sounds best. I could never win with one format so I have and use all 3 of those.

 

I think if your budget were more in the $1000 range, I'd suggest going with vinyl. Long term, I think artists will continue to release vinyl but CD will fade away eventually in favor of streaming.

But at your budget, I'd say go with the CD transport. You'll get better playback quality, and used CDs are cheap and plentiful. Plus, vinyl is a money pit, so your initial budget is never endgame. With CD, you can get the transport and be done.

 

As others have mentioned, it's a buyers market for CDs right now. The equipment is easier to set up, and they take up less space than records. When I made the jump back into "audiophile" equipment, I went with vinyl, because it has deep emotional and nostalgic connections for me. I grew up with records, for as long as I can remember. The fact that it works at all, and that it works as well as it does, still seems miraculous to me. And you get to play with gauges and protractors and stuff. I suspect this is true for many other middle aged dudes. If you want ease of use, CD is the way to go. If you want 12" square works of art that contain shiny black discs of magic, vinyl is where it's at.

 

I don't care what my budget is, I'd split it and get both. There are too many recordings only available (or affordable) exclusively on each format, especially when talking about electronic music.

 

This seems like the easies of all such questions I've heard. The 2100 has a (supposedly) decent phono stage and you have a more than decent digital streamer. What is expected from a CD player that the streamer does not deliver? For the record, I don't even consider CD a format. It's just a storage medium for music in a format (in CD's case 44.1/16 LPCM). I own hundreds of the little silver discs, but I can't remember the last time one was inserted into anything except a computer to be ripped. The only CD player I would consider would be a USB model to be used for ripping.

I don't consider vinyl to be superior, but at least it's different.

 

I'm sure you already know that Electronic is often not too worried about DR, as low numbers aren't a problem.

Personally I'm not bothered by physical media but one thing I do miss, is the thrill of buying a new 12" during the early Rave days 90-93, so if I was that excited now I may go vinyl.

 

I find the sound quality of vinyl to be vastly superior to CDs. I understand this is a general statement and that many CDs and/or SACDs can also sound incredible. Just one mans opinion but to me it’s not even close. It also does not take more than around $1000-$1500 to build an audiophile quality listening set up.

 

Good points!

 

SACD is where it's at, multi-channel. Sorry, you can not find titles/artists/songs on SACD that interest you.

 

The best multichannel SACD in my collection are truly mind blowing! These would include Herbie Hancock Headhunters, Pink Floyd-around 5-6 different titles that I love, Jeff Beck Blow By Blow, Miles Davis Bitches Brew, and some that are escaping my mind right now. It’s a fun format for sure!

 

Back in the 90s I bought a bunch of 12''s from labels like Kompakt (very early releases), Basic Channel, Force Tracks, etc. I still have some of these records and would tell anyone that the vinyl quality on them is very hit or miss. These are old editions, not new represses, just to be clear. Fact is, these records were made for club use and DJs using fat conical styli, backcueing, being rough with them, etc. They are not audiophile quality records at all. I have since purchased some of the digital FLAC versions from the retailers you mentioned and they sound every bit as good or in many cases much better. Basic Channel stuff especially had rough quality vinyl and the FLACs destroy the old vinyl any day of the week.

All the Warp type stuff sounds great on CD IMHO and a lot of those albums can be picked up quite cheaply now. The OOP ones that command a little more - I would probably just get them on FLAC unless you NEED a physical copy.