CDs over LP/records assessment - a must watch for experts and beginners

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by raimiz1991inc, Apr 16, 2018.

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  1. raimiz1991inc

    raimiz1991inc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    La Paz, Bolivia
    Actually she bought them in a record shop in Miami when visiting her sister last year. There are no record shops here in Bolivia, only a couple of very small CD stores in the country and they are very expensive imports from Argentina and Chile, around 20 dollars por album and almost 30 bucks for a newer release.
     
  2. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I'd be put off returning to vinyl because of all the problems. The recent Carpenters boxset being a prime example. There are videos of it on YouTube and that thing was a mess. Even the replacements weren't a lot better by all accounts. It's not like it was a budget release either..
     
  3. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Certainly in the 70s and 80s, records were never sealed in the UK. You'd purchase them by taking the empty sleeve to the counter and the assistant would fetch the record out of the back. Nowadays that practice is finished and all the new LPs I've seen are sealed.
     
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  4. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Yes, I thought they looked like US issues. I think she overpaid as these records are fairly common in Europe and North America.
     
  5. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I never see old LPs of Phil's here... Odd, considering how many copies they sold in the UK... Don't often see his early CDs either... I've been on the lookout for the Hello! Target for years...
     
  6. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    The LPs turn up ocassionally. Phil was released on Virgin in the UK, so it's rare to find Hello on WEA or Atlantic. No Jacket Required will ocassionally show up on WEA, but most copies are on Virgin. Having said that, I've got three Hello targets.:)
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  7. Radio

    Radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    No record stores? Was it always that way or did they die off over the years as vinyl faded away?
     
  8. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    To misquote you:
    "I spent a lot of money...there's magic in there..."
     
  9. raimiz1991inc

    raimiz1991inc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    La Paz, Bolivia
    I remember as a kid, around 6 or 7 years old, there were four medium sized CD shops, they carried the latest releases mainly and most of them were US imports, but I don't have any recollections that records were for sale, just CDs and VHS. Perhaps they stopped importing them in the early 90s and from 1995 onwards they only carried CDs. These CD stores started to disappear around 2002-2004. A few survived but they started to sell only at request. You would ask for a specific title and they charged you around 40 bucks per title, no wonder CD collecting started to die down. Nowadays you'd be lucky to find a CD store that sell them for under 18 bucks and are not from Argentina, Chile or Mexico. For some reason, people are reluctant to buy these. I tried selling a couple from my own collection (LZ IV was printed in Argentina and Houses of the Holy in USA) and many people didn't want to pay the same price for an Argentinian and US print. They complained about the lower quality of the printing of the booklet and the paper and the printing on the discs themselves. Everytime I try to sell a used CD I am asked if it's a US or European import, and if it's not then I'd be lucky they'd pay over 6 bucks for them (ridiculously low price where I live depending on the CD of course). On the online marketplace and on FB people pay even 40 bucks for a used - good to very good copy of a record, that's how scarce these are.
     
  10. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    I guess you have to pay tax on imports. Because you could make a lot of money by taking a trip to the US, buying lots of records and CDs, then shipping them back to Bolivia. Especially the CDs. Thrifts are full of them.

    ps People here complain about those Argentinian imports too.
     
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  11. Radio

    Radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Sounds like collecting is a challenge for you. Are you able to buy off eBay or Discogs or is shipping too expensive?
     
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  12. raimiz1991inc

    raimiz1991inc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    La Paz, Bolivia
    I guess the main complaint is the paper used, the printing and the ocassional typo, but I get it. Soundwise, I noticed no diference though, is that the main complaint also? Customs agents are really picky on what you bring back from your trips. For example you can't bring more too many electronic devices or sealed products because they will ask for receipts and you risk paying 35% of the total cost. If you don't have a receipt the product will be looked up online and you'll get charged based on retail price. The same thing with clothing articles, I have a couple of friends happen this to them. CDs are much easier to carry, but selling CDs over here is not what it used to be and are not worth the hassle and the risk in my opinion. People are looking more for records, but there are a couple of collectors.

    It's extremely expensive depending on the seller. I bought 4 CDs from four different sellers from Discogs at my own risk had them shipped to Bolivia, neither one arrived (one of them was a Spock's Beard release signed by the band and another Japanese import extremely rare, I kick myself for not having them shipped elsewhere to this day). Mostly I buy online and have them shipped to my brothers in the US, they live there. Once or twice a year they come back home and bring me what I've accumulated buying throughout the year or if a friend or other family member is coming to Bolivia from the US sometimes they bring over a couple of CDs too. It's challenging, right, but there's no other choice. That's why I'm still reluctant to start a record collection. I did find though that order from UK based shops is better because they have better shipping service, arrive a little bit faster, but taxes for these items are really expensive, currently having at 30% of the total order and if it's an article of clothing it's 50%... besides the post office is a nightmare and a whole day's hassle to pick up one single order, I rather just buy from amazon and send it to my brothers.
     
  13. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Hello! was the second CD I bought in 1985. I wanted No Jacket Required but they didn’t have it in stock. I’m fairly sure my copy of HIMBG was the Target edition, but I got rid of it a couple of years later and can’t remember 100% now.
     
  14. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    Um, what...? I don't think we were talking about Velvet Underground at all...:nyah:

    Yes, it is the same old thread. "My medium beats your medium (insert one of several talking points copied from other vinyl Kool-Aid tasters)..."

    My usual response: (something akin to) "for what you pay for a Crosley, you can get a CD player that will actually wipe the floor with your entry-level phonograph system, and give you your change back from your Mr. Clean..."

    Audiophile's typical response: "I don't know about that, but I was talking about a REAL system to play some REAL vinyls...my vinyls sound so much gooder..."

    My retort: "....than those EL-PEES I used to play for the first two decades of my life? Umm, I may have a little experience with those. The CD ergonomics and inexpensive option suits me because I've found it's better fidelity for less money...and more change on the table to pay for Steven Wilson's kids to go to college."

    Audiophile: "You talk nonsense - my vinyls sound SOOO much better, and all it took was marrying the daughter of my hedge fund manager (who I don't have time to mess with because I'm still fiddling with my plinth-azimuth de-magnetizer to re-set the chakra on my stylus sharpener...two more months and I oughta have it perfectly de-gaussed...")

    Me: "You DO know your overworked and overcharged system-fapping doesn't really compare the two mediums fairly, because we aren't listening to the same recordings, right? I mean, how do you even know the CD's you compared, were even the right masterings...right....?

    They: (eyes glaze over)
     
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  15. Radio

    Radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Sounds like streaming and downloads are the way to go.
     
  16. raimiz1991inc

    raimiz1991inc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    La Paz, Bolivia
    :biglaugh:I see this is an all too familiar topic of conversation that may irritate many members, actually I thought after viewing the video the conclusion is that records have an unxplainable quality that's nearly magical that touches the heart of the listener in a way that a sterile digital CD can't and that the listener is advised to try both until he's satisfied with the result and is pleased with the experience. I get why many would skip the video though, and the thread title doesn't help now that I read it again out loud.
     
  17. raimiz1991inc

    raimiz1991inc Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    La Paz, Bolivia
    They definitely help when deciding to buy an album or not, but it's not an option personally. They're convenient, but I do find them to have inferior quality, at least the streams. And I hate to say this, but I don't want to pay for digital files because I know I'll want the CD eventually as well, so I just listen to what I have and wait until I have them in my hands. I am still waiting for the Jethro Tull's Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses box sets among many others I've bought, but this is OK because I am getting reacquainted with Stand Up and Too Old to Rock N Roll as I wait!
     
  18. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    Yes, there are some of those targets around, probably because people bought them back in the day (it was either a blue face Virgin or target WEA/Atlantic), but these days, most copies that you will see are Virgins. My local entertainment store has a stack of them.
     
  19. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I have a couple of playlists on Spotify, but I use it primarily to see if an album is worth buying on CD or not. It’s both saved and cost me lots of money.:)
     
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  20. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Vs thread,same old.
     
    Slick Willie and Grant like this.
  21. thematinggame

    thematinggame Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    4
    Not really true - I would say from the mid 70's to mid 80's most records in record shops in Germany were sealed
     
  22. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    It's no joke. Have you tried it? I have. It will not damage anything.
     
  23. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    To the point of the thread (or, at least I think it's the point):

    CD is not an accurate description to describe digital. Downloads aren't either. I am pro-digital sound, meaning hi-rez. I don't sneeze at redbook if it's well-done. I grew up in the age of vinyl and analog tape. I have nothing against vinyl, and I have boxes of it to prove it. But, I would prefer all-digital if it weren't for the fact that there are things that you cannot obtain in official digital, and never will be (i'm looking at YOU Lindsey Buckingham!). So, I have a nice turntable and cart, and can do my own needledrops. The other reason is because of the thing TJL explained: excessive compression/limiting on most modern digital. Vinyl can sound great, but there are so many things you can do with digital. It's so versatile! And, vinyl has its advantages too. For that matter, so does analog tape! And, of course, vinyl and tape can sound just as bad as digital in their own ways. There is no winner, only preference.
     
  24. Slick Willie

    Slick Willie Decisively Indecisive

    Location:
    sweet VA.

    Ahhh....did not realize it, I do very little 'tube.
     
    alexpop likes this.
  25. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Listening booths.
     
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