How better is a Turntable compared to a CD?

[rg12]

Most LP's i can get are very old, can they have better quality then a cd?
What about new LP's? I have seen this one of Norah Jones in a LP version,
how better can it sound?

[Andy5112405]

This is a VERY subjective topic.

If you have a MASTER COPY of a vinyl LP and a BROADCAST QUALITY turntable, with an exceptional PHONO PRE-AMP, then it is possible that you might prefer the VINYL sound to that of a CD player.

OLD VINYL will usually be damaged and will not be at its best. Damaged stylii may well have damaged the original vinyl surface leading to crackles and scratches.

CDs on the other hand are more predictable and even a modest CD player can reproduce reasonable audio from one.

YES, there are HIGH-END CD Players that will cost you £000's of pounds, my ARCAM CD36 is an entry level HIGH-END player at some £3000,

On a budget then look at a Marantz CD63 and have it upgraded.

This will be a surer bet than a LINN LP12 with HIGH-END PSU and TONE-ARM.

However, if money is of no problem, then top quality audio may well come from a HIGH-END turntable.

[Tarasque]

Originally Posted by Andy5112405

This is a VERY subjective topic.

If you have a MASTER COPY of a vinyl LP and a BROADCAST QUALITY turntable, with an exceptional PHONO PRE-AMP, then it is possible that you might prefer the VINYL sound to that of a CD player.

OLD VINYL will usually be damaged and will not be at its best. Damaged stylii may well have damaged the original vinyl surface leading to crackles and scratches.

CDs on the other hand are more predictable and even a modest CD player can reproduce reasonable audio from one.

YES, there are HIGH-END CD Players that will cost you £000's of pounds, my ARCAM CD36 is an entry level HIGH-END player at some £3000,

On a budget then look at a Marantz CD63 and have it upgraded.

This will be a surer bet than a LINN LP12 with HIGH-END PSU and TONE-ARM.

However, if money is of no problem, then top quality audio may well come from a HIGH-END turntable.

This is very true.....however I've chosen for an SME30 turntable with SME-V arm and a VdH colibri pickup.
This setup with Peter Daniel's pre is simply pulverising all CD players I've auditioned so far and I've listened to some pretty exotic stuff.
'
On the other hand The SME is pretty exotic too and does come with a price tag. Basically buy new mid-size car or a vinyl player.........

[Andy5112405]

I'm not sure if it is common knowledge. MOST manufacturers sell products under a number of different product names.

Philips produce one of the best CD transport systems going, used by some serious HIGH-END manufacturers.

Every manufacturer has to make money by selling, most achieve this with low-end products.

IMHO BMW have ruined their reputatation with the 100 Series, it just does not compare with their executive ranges.

Philips amongst others have separated their low-end ranges from their HIGH-END ranges by giving them a different brand name.

MARANTZ is, or used to be, the HIGH-END of PHILIPS.

Above this is MARANTZ SE (Special Equipment). This is why Marantz equipment is readily upgraded to a VERY HIGH standard at a very reasonable cost.

Samsung produce Fisher. Mitsubishi produce Panasonic.

[Andy5112405]

In the VINYL world you will always be at the mercy of the VINYL. Vinyl is easily damaged by rubbish equipment.

CD's, despite their hype, are not indestructible, nor are they beyond casual damge. But, treated reasonably, they will remain playable at SUPER-Fi level.

In the CD World, it is not the choice of the medium, but the choice of equipment.

In the VYNYL World it is the choice of the medium AND the choice of equipment.

[Andy5112405]

I don't want to be sued for libel.

It might be Technics and Panasonic that are related.

[rg12]

I guess i won't go into this world of vinyl at the moment...
Thanks guys.

[sq225917]

Quite a lot of vinyl releases are recorded with less level compression than their cd counterparts, so they retain greater dynamics and can sound much better as a result. If I want something, i'll by it on cd, if i love it, I'll buy it on vinyl.

[Globulator]

Originally Posted by Andy5112405

In the VINYL world you will always be at the mercy of the VINYL. Vinyl is easily damaged by rubbish equipment.

In the CD world you will always be at the mercy of the Mastering Engineer and the CD loudness wars. You can do things with CD waveforms that you can't with Vinyl.

Like this:



A typical CD contains peaks like this:


Because of that you are at the mercy of your DAC's overload characteristic and you listen to compressed clipped music free of dynamics. Listen carefully: everything's at the same volume. Even if you turn it up, EVERYTHING'S STILL AT THE SAME VOLUME.

A decent Vinyl LP will make you jump, I never jump with CDs - the dynamics simply aren't there after the music gets out of the compressor on the mastering desk. Some music simply sounds stupid on CD - Kaiser Chiefs etc - the guys get to the crescendo and you can hear the volume deflating as the compressor makes it the same volume as everything else.

Digital should be so good, it should be error corrected 24bit 96kHz. Instead it's an error prone and coarse 16bit 44.1kHz designed for electronics of decades ago. In fact IMO CDs are so bad now people tend to stick with MP3s because they can't notice the difference: With a decent format that may have been different.

[rg12]

Globulator: You brought up my motivation again for the vinyl world!

I started thinking about that when i saw a good deal on a Thornes TD-160 for about $130 (everything in Israel is so expensive, so that i think it's
a pretty good deal, doesn't it?).