For CD and LP lovers, when do you choose which format?

LOL, OK?...CD/Digital for me...there I've said it again.

 

Which reinforces the reason I prefer vinyl, I guess.....but I enjoy both.

 

Hi Guys,

I have 50/50 Vinyl and CDs. Im not into streaming.

As I do only listen to music from the 70s until mid 90s, my steps are:

- Are both formats still availible?
- Which one sounds better?
- If they are nearly the same (mastering and DR) I buy the one which is cheaper - which is in 90% of case the CD

Beside this, also the new CD is cheaper than the (minimum VG+) used vinyl.

Bye Andrea

 

CDs during weekdays, LPs when I have more time (weekend)

 

Depends on which format sounds better. I have some cds that the vinyl cannot touch (DCC, MoFi, AF discs, mostly,) and some albums that just sound better than the available cd issue.
I know what my "go to" copies of various albums are, so those are what I play.

 

If I want to listen to music from the mid 90s thru the oughts I listen to CDs, if I wanna hear music from before or after that period, I listen to vinyl.

This is not a hard and fast rule. But pretty close. I do have a few thousand songs downloaded from the period which vinyl was in short supply.

I tend to binge vinyl. I will listen to a side of many many records at a sitting. CDs not so much.

 

At home, I generally listen to at least one record, CD, or cassette per night through my stereo system. For the most part, I listen to my music via digital lossy and lossless files through my PC at home and through my LG V20 whenever I'm going out and about.

 

I love the CD and "hate" the vinyl.
Nowadays in the era of digital, vinyl has no advantages over CD, because for today music vinyl is mastered from a digital source.
I can only pass vinyl remasters of "analogue era" recordings BUT ONLY if it's used analog equipment for remastering and cutting.
Recording digital signal to analogue medium is just useless...
Some people still prefer the big artwork (even me, I love vinyl big covers), but apart from that, the audio is the same of a CD.
If you are a crazy audiophile you can buy the Hi-Res 24/96 or 24/192 digital files instead of having a clicking and humming vinyl.
But everyone can do what they want, I'm happy with CDs because for me the're practical and cheaper, and the sound quality is great.
For liquid music, I don't use streaming services, I buy FLACs from web stores if I don't want to own a CD.

P.S. ah, and for the Loundess War, shame to all music producers and mastering engineers for avoiding extreme compression on vinyl only for selling more, damn marketing!

P.P.S. I also love audio cassettes! I had them since I was a little child and grew up messing with tape

 

only have one...CD.
HD when ripped.

 

If I am feeling energetic and well rested I will usually opt for cleaning some LPs and listening to them. If I'm tired it's a toss up between already cleaned vinyl or CD. If I'm exhausted and likely will fall asleep mid recording then CD.

 

Probably 75% CD rips, 20% cassettes, 4% actual CDs/SACDs and 1% vinyl.

 

What I own on CD, I don't own on LP, except for a Police title I bought, forgetting I had it on vinyl (the CD was a first edition, incredibly well-remastered; a keeper) so it depends more on what music I'm inclined to at the moment than the format. Now I can play FLAC and any kind of files as well, including hi-rez, so discovering that at the mo.

 

If I have what I want to listen to on lp, I'll choose lp rather than CD > much of my collection is either one or the other with little overlap in duplication between the 2 formats. I also tend to favor analog on the turntable.

 

Depends on where I am and what I want to listen to. I don’t have a ton of stuff on both CD and LP, though there is some overlap in my collection. If I’m downstairs listening to my main system, I’m more than likely listening to records, especially if I’m just browsing the collection and pulling stuff, because the CDs are upstairs. If I want to hear something that I don’t have on LP, then I’ll either plug in my portable player if it’s loaded there or go up and get the CD.

On the living room system, it’s CD, SACD, DVD-A, or I plug in a portable player or streaming device because there’s no turntable.

Upstairs, in the room with my CDs in, the computer has ripped versions of all of the CDs, so I play those.

At work, I bring my portable player and listen to FLACs, or MP3s, if that’s what I have (LP download cards, mostly).

 

If I want to be happy, have fun, & really enjoy the music - LPs.

If I want 'ease of operation', safety (partying), & just hear some sounds - CDs.

 

Here is a different idea for the analog guy who is lazy (no shame at many of our ages), who does not like digital sound. Find a good reel to reel recorder and find a reel to reel deck capable of using the very big reels. Record some of your favorites that you play often on the slower speed. You can listen to multiple recordings on one side, before having to get up from your inertia. If you can stand an occasional buzzing sound going through your music, you can use VHS HI-FI as your recording medium. You can get 7 albums or so on one tape without having to leave your sofa, and they even have a remote. When they first came out decades ago, not that long a time after the regular VHS machines became economical to buy, Audio magazine reviewed a bunch of them and said the recordings sounded of the same quality as recordings made on a good reel to reel machine. Besides recording music, they even made a jingling keys recording and tried to see if they could tell the difference between VHS HI-FI and their reel deck. But there is that buzzing and a few other odd noises that interject itself through the music, but not that often if you use really high grade tape. Not recommended for archival purposes though. Not the greatest storage medium, but a handful of tapes with your favorites for the times you're feeling a bit lazy, is a godsend. Or you could get a CD changer and try to like digital.

 

I work from home most days and then I listen to CD (if I listen at all) because it's impractical to play LPs while working, and my work computer isn't integrated into my sound system so digital files are out. In the evening it's pretty random - usually LPs because that's what I'm usually buying, but there's a lot of stuff that I only have on CD, and I've also got a few surround discs that I like to indulge in.

 

Cd is so cheap these days, just like lp was 10 or 15 years ago.
I have a good cd player so the sound is very " anolog" and i'm happy with both formats.
My first love is LP.

 

It depends on the music I want to listen to, and which format I have it on.
But when I'm tired I will tend to play a CD as it take much less effort than playing records.

 

When I make my Goodwill run for the .87 cent CDs, I enjoy finding some of the older classical offerings. On my last trip, I found The Planets. Classical music offers passages that are almost dead silent, and some have dead silence. For me a well mastered CD is a real thing of beauty, because of the dead silence, tremendous dynamic range, length of play, convenience, and crystal clear clarity. I enjoy my records when I'm willing to get up and down off the couch, willing to clean the record and I'm not sleepy, where I won't let the stylus track off the record and click for two hours. If I am going to use the headphones, I absolutely prefer the dead silence and dynamics of the CD and SACD, no contest for me. I think if I had a Sugar Cube by Sweetvinyl, a nice Parasound JC-3+ phono stage, VPI Prime Signature table, and how about a nice Lyra Kleos MC cartridge, I would probably give my vinyl more attention, and get off the couch to turn my records to side B, but for now it's crystal clear digital. If I had some ham, I could have ham and eggs, if I had the eggs!



Another great (2) disc set for .87 cents, how sweet it is!

 

60% ripped CDs for more passive listening
10% actual CDs before I get around to ripping them
30% vinyl for more focused listening

 

I don't have any hard and fast rule, but I do tend to use the CD's when I'm doing something else at the same time or have had a few drinks.

 

At home it is 95% vinyl, 5% sacd/CD. At the beach house it is 100% streaming from a music server.

 

I'm vinyl 'heavy'- when CD was introduced, I didn't like the sound and doubled down on buying LPs. I only recently installed a digital front end- fairly modest, compared to the vinyl front-end. The digital sounds great! Despite my love for vinyl, it is a PITA, from record condition (I buy older pressings most of the time) to set up and maintenance.
My motive for adding digital was access to more music- stuff never released on vinyl or a stepping stone where the pressing was unobtanium (if I like it enough, I will often buy it on LP). I have also become much more sanguine about LPs mastered from digital sources- I'm no longer in this for sonic 'shock and awe' but I'm still pretty attentive to 'best pressing' or 'best mastering' and wind up with multiple copies of the same recording-- multiple LPs as well as digital renditions.
I don't do casual listening-- not that i'm against it, I'm just not set up to do that b/c the systems are in dedicated rooms. So, it's not so much a matter of convenience for me, though the digital is in some ways less work (once it is set up).

 

The Either/Or crowd will never let it go.