Yep. We had a copy. Probably still got it somewhere.
yobarr said
11:59 PM May 20, 2021
Bought mine late 1973,I think it was,and I still have it,along with a lot of other "good stuff".Uriah Heep,Black Sabbath,Slade,Led Zeppelin,Pink Floyd and many many others.Many an ale has been consumed while listening to it,but it is well over 10 years since I played it.Cheers
Dougwe said
06:52 AM May 21, 2021
I had cassette not record. I did have records off Pink Floyd, Uriah Heap, Queen and my favourite and still are, The Eagles. A few others I forget. I also enjoyed Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass (but don't tell anyone).
Plain Truth said
08:41 AM May 21, 2021
Love the Tubular Bells 111 Concert in London 1998
peter67 said
09:16 AM May 21, 2021
yobarr wrote:
Bought mine late 1973,I think it was,and I still have it,along with a lot of other "good stuff".Uriah Heep,Black Sabbath,Slade,Led Zeppelin,Pink Floyd and many many others.Many an ale has been consumed while listening to it,but it is well over 10 years since I played it.Cheers
The instant I first heard that played on radio I had just started my car outside a well known watering hole in the hills late at night. With the headlights on and leaning on the drivers door spell bound, the door was suddenly opened and I fell back out onto the gravel carpark surface. It was the local copper checking to see if I was ok. He took my keys and gave me a lift home bless him, I was going out with his daughter at the time which may have helped.
Plain Truth said
11:08 AM May 21, 2021
The record kicked off Richard Branson when he signed Mike Oldfield and sold over 5 million copies of Tubular Bells
Kebbin said
01:11 PM May 21, 2021
You would need more than vino to listen to the whole album, so that shows some of you were partaking in the green stuff, although I recall bits and pieces were Okay.
DMaxer said
02:24 PM May 21, 2021
What was fascinating as well about this album is that Mike Oldfield played every one of the instruments. Just recorded one over the other. Also had some great music when Maggie Reilly did the vocals in Moonlight Shadow. My vinyl consisted of Status Quo, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and The Eagles. Also loved The Cars.
-- Edited by DMaxer on Friday 21st of May 2021 02:25:53 PM
TheHeaths said
04:23 PM May 21, 2021
Aaaahhh! Nostalgia.
I had a nice Marantz stereo system in the late 1970s, and got rid of it in the mid 90s as my wife didnt like the size of the speakers or the look of the system in our lounge.
Move forward 25 years and I have just spent 6 months trying to find the same stereo to replace it, which I finally did, and can now play all the vinyl again. Very similar records to those already mentioned, including Tubular Bells. By the way, the stereo cost the same in dollars as I paid then!
Plain Truth said
04:58 PM May 21, 2021
Still have our Marantz AV SR-60 Amp.---and a Marantz CC-65 SE Compact Disc Player
Buzz Lightbulb said
05:05 PM May 21, 2021
I've probably got a copy. I've got a couple of hundred records but I don't play them often. I bought CDs of the best bands, Pink Floyd (the best band in the world, in my opinion), Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, etcetera. I listen to them all the time.
peter67 said
05:40 PM May 21, 2021
Kebbin wrote:
You would need more than vino to listen to the whole album, so that shows some of you were partaking in the green stuff, although I recall bits and pieces were Okay.
Kebbin you may be starting a good conspiracy theory here...notice, no one here has an album list that includes Jim Stafford, and the Wildwood Weed song??
Santa said
12:12 PM May 22, 2021
Craig1 wrote:
So, who bought this and when?
How many vinos did you have to listen to both sides?
Do you still have it?
Have you played it in the last Ten years?
Yep, bought a copy in the early 70's, haven't played it in yonks.
Still have an extensive collection of vinyl and a Rotel direct drive turntable to play them.
Jethro Tull were a band I was right into, have most of their albums, Ian Anderson was brilliant.
Here's the Wildwod Weed Peter67 mentioned.
-- Edited by Santa on Saturday 22nd of May 2021 12:13:11 PM
-- Edited by Santa on Saturday 22nd of May 2021 12:14:49 PM
The Belmont Bear said
08:54 AM May 23, 2021
Like many others back in the early 70s I bought a copy of Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells I wouldn't have rated it as being one of my better albums - probably its main claim to fame was that it was used as the sound track for the Exorcist. Technology has moved on and nowadays I use Spotify which has made all my old record/CD collections defunct, the quality of the sound is far better than anything that I remember from those days and in relative terms you are probably getting it at a fraction of the cost. For the car I put most of our old CD collection onto thumb drives which I plug into the Jeeps 2 x USB ports and play them through its 10 speaker sound system. We can play individual tracks, albums or on long road trips just set it on random and with over 3000 tracks on each stick it is unlikely that we will hear the same thing twice..I don't see anyone mentioning the Ozark Mountain Daredevils either - nothing like some hillbilly music ?
BB
peter67 said
09:38 AM May 23, 2021
BB I think "squeal like a pig" memories of the movie Deliverance may still have an effect on members our age.
The Belmont Bear said
01:49 PM May 23, 2021
peter67 wrote:
BB I think "squeal like a pig" memories of the movie Deliverance may still have an effect on members our age.
Peter they say that Jaws kept a lot of people out of the ocean I reckon that scene probably kept a lot of them out of the mountains
BB
Craig1 said
01:52 PM May 23, 2021
BB, I have worked my way through about 80 Vinyl LP's, got to Tubular Bells, I reckon vinyl sounds much better than Spotify or CD
Whenarewethere said
03:05 PM May 23, 2021
Have Tubular Bells. The Best Of The Alan Parsons Project, anther good one.
On my second Marantz amplifier, KL Pearl Lite, but have my original Wharfedale E50 speakers, glued a cone back on the aluminium spider recently. They actually get better with age as they stiffen up.
I wanted a pair of E70 speakers at the time but didn't have any more money. The best speakers I have heard were electrostatic speakers which effectively cover your lounge room wall. I wouldn't mind a pair of E90 speakers that came out a few years after the E50 speakers.
Wharfdale Xarus 1000 as a second set, just sit on top of 49 year old Pye ones. Nothing very scientific, just a nice little sound to us.
The Belmont Bear said
07:45 PM May 23, 2021
Craig1 wrote:
BB, I have worked my way through about 80 Vinyl LP's, got to Tubular Bells, I reckon vinyl sounds much better than Spotify or CD
Craig its a matter of taste if you are into the sound of vinyl then I guess its because it brings back memories of younger years - my personel preference is to replace all of those old albums with digitally recorded versions.
BB
Whenarewethere said
10:14 AM May 24, 2021
Craig1 wrote:
BB, I have worked my way through about 80 Vinyl LP's, got to Tubular Bells, I reckon vinyl sounds much better than Spotify or CD
In the early 80s a friend bought the first CD player, I bought the second make available which was a Sony. He had seriously expensive hi-fi equipment. The turntable alone was $5k & another $1.5k for arm & needle, let alone the rest of the system.
He had some master cut LPs, & had the same CDs. We spent many hours comparing LPs & CDs. The LPs did sound better, but there was not a lot in it. But the convenience of the CD outweighed the little bit of extra quality of the LP.
The key thing in quality sound is reasonably good quality hi-fi, let's say today about $10k. Then the room it is going to be listened in, make sure it is set up acoustically to some degree.
orid said
10:37 AM May 24, 2021
I have most of Mike Oldfields Lps along with Queen, The Beetles, Quo, Ozzy Osborne,Slade, just to name a few and still play. Them often, on my Rotel turntable of 45 Yrs old plus he he!
Actually went to see Slade Live in Wolverhampton their home town, I had cotton wool in my ears , they were so loud , my ears are still ringing he! He! Great times
Orid
Whenarewethere said
10:48 AM May 24, 2021
We basically don't go to movies etc as the sound is far too loud. Decibels & quality are two different things!
The Belmont Bear said
09:20 PM May 24, 2021
Whenarewethere wrote:
Craig1 wrote:
BB, I have worked my way through about 80 Vinyl LP's, got to Tubular Bells, I reckon vinyl sounds much better than Spotify or CD
In the early 80s a friend bought the first CD player, I bought the second make available which was a Sony. He had seriously expensive hi-fi equipment. The turntable alone was $5k & another $1.5k for arm & needle, let alone the rest of the system.
He had some master cut LPs, & had the same CDs. We spent many hours comparing LPs & CDs. The LPs did sound better, but there was not a lot in it. But the convenience of the CD outweighed the little bit of extra quality of the LP.
The key thing in quality sound is reasonably good quality hi-fi, let's say today about $10k. Then the room it is going to be listened in, make sure it is set up acoustically to some degree.
I found this article about the sound quality of CDs compared to vinyl recordings. It said earlier in the article that vinyl LPS had a better sound quality than either MP3 and AAC files with bit rates of less than 300k which is typically what music sites like Spotify use. So the claims that Lps have a better sound quality than Spotify may well be justified but compared to a CD they seem to be a little behind -
But what about compact discs, which some claim compromise the listening experience as well? Certainly the act of putting a record on a turntable and having to change it every 20 minutes makes the listener feel more involved with the music. Its different from sitting back and letting your CD changer do its thing. However, by any measurable criterion, CDs are superior to LPs. And so are MP3 and AAC files with bit rates above 300k, which in most cases are indistinguishable from CDs. Here are the reasons why:
Dynamic range. The difference between the loudest and softest sounds an LP can play is about 70 decibels (dB). CDs can handle over 90 dB. In practical terms, this means that CDs have more than 10 times the dynamic range of LPs.
Surface noise. Dust particles in the grooves of an LP cause crackles and ticks that are present and audible no matter how well you clean the record. CDs are not affected by surface noise, because they use light beams to read the musical data, which ignore any foreign substance on the disc. Besides that, vinyl records have an underlying hiss generated by the needle moving over the surface.
Mechanical noise. Every turntable, even the most expensive, generates a low-frequency rumble that is transmitted by the stylus into the amplifier and speakers. The system has to work much harder to handle all that low-frequency energy, and that can cause distortion in other parts of the audio spectrum. Many audio systems include a rumble filter that can reduce this, but that filter also removes the lower-frequency sounds on the record, like the bottom octave of a piano, or the low tones that give a bass drum so much of its power.
Speed variation. Listen to a recording of a solo piano on an LP, and then on a CD. Ill bet you can hear the difference immediately. Vinyl depends on a mechanically driven system, and any such system will introduce minute changes in the speed and pitch of playback. A vinyl record that is even slightly warped, or has a hole that is not perfectly centered, will have wowslow variations in pitch. Tiny imperfections in the belts or wheels of the turntable will cause more rapid pitch changes, known as flutter. CD players, because they use super-accurate digital buffers, are immune to this.
Channel separation. On a CD, the separation between the left and right channels used in recording is over 90 dB. On LPs, its 30 dB at best. That means engineers have a much narrower range to work with when theyre mixing and mastering the audio, and the result, for the listener, is that the stereo image is highly constricted. Its worse at lower frequencies; a loud bass signal in one channel of a record can push the needle out of the groove, so engineers have to make sure bass frequencies are always in the center.
Continuous vs. chopped up. Some people believe that because digital audio chops up the signal into discrete numbers, it cannot carry all of the information that an analog signal does. But before the digital signal reaches our ears, it is reconstituted into a continuous analog wave. The process does filter out sounds above 20 kHz, which is the highest frequency the most acute human ears can hear. However, no phono cartridge, amplifier or speakers can reproduce those frequencies anyway. So really, nothing is taken out that affects the sound.
Longevity. Friction causes heat, which softens plastic and makes it easy to deform. This means that every time you play a record, the smallest peaks and dipsthe high frequenciessoften and can literally get shaved off. The more you play it, the worse it gets. Also, whenever the needle encounters a dust particle, it gouges a hole in the soft surface, so that pop or crackle becomes permanent. By contrast, CDs will sound the same essentially forever, unless you leave them on your car dashboard on a sunny day. And you can always make as many perfect copies of them as you like.
CDs reflect exactly what the artists recorded in the studio. Vinyl distorts it. Some listeners honestly feel that the defects vinyl introduces somehow make it more attractive or warmer.
BB
Whenarewethere said
10:49 PM May 24, 2021
Some of these points are ridiculous.
Dynamic range. CDs can handle over 90 dB.
There is no practical need to have 90 dB difference. You won't hear the quiet bits & you will wreck your hearing on the loud bits.
Surface noise. Dust particles in the grooves of an LP cause crackles and ticks
Ever heard of cleaning.
Mechanical noise. Every turntable, even the most expensive, generates a low-frequency rumble that is transmitted by the stylus
The very good systems don't need a filter as they are too good.
Speed variation. Listen to a recording of a solo piano on an LP, and then on a CD. Ill bet you can hear the difference immediately.
BS. The mass of these platers & turntable base is over the top. The turntable we used all those years ago was filled with lead. The whole thing had suspension. Another test we tried was jumping up & down next to it on a timber floor. It laughed at us, could never get it to jump or have even the slightest hint of a squeak of any description.
Channel separation. On a CD, the separation between the left and right channels used in recording is over 90 dB. On LPs, its 30 dB at best. That means engineers have a much narrower range to work with when theyre mixing and mastering the audio, and the result, for the listener, is that the stereo image is highly constricted. Its worse at lower frequencies; a loud bass signal in one channel of a record can push the needle out of the groove, so engineers have to make sure bass frequencies are always in the center.
Bass is in the centre, it is using the whole room, or better still an infinite space.
Continuous vs. chopped up. Some people believe that because digital audio chops up the signal into discrete numbers, it cannot carry all of the information that an analog signal does. But before the digital signal reaches our ears, it is reconstituted into a continuous analog wave. The process does filter out sounds above 20 kHz, which is the highest frequency the most acute human ears can hear. However, no phono cartridge, amplifier or speakers can reproduce those frequencies anyway. So really, nothing is taken out that affects the sound.
If one can't hear it then don't bring it up.
Longevity. By contrast, CDs will sound the same essentially forever, unless you leave them on your car dashboard on a sunny day.
I have had some CDs that have died, they seem to have corroded inside, even though they were stored in a good location.
CDs reflect exactly what the artists recorded in the studio. Vinyl distorts it. Some listeners honestly feel that the defects vinyl introduces somehow make it more attractive or warmer.
Depends on the quality of equipment. All recording equipment has some "colour".
Having added my views. I do prefer CDs simply because of the convenience. My system is not good enough to tell the difference anyway so it's all a bit of a mute point.
dorian said
06:21 AM May 25, 2021
IMO, the idea that a needle riding a plastic groove sounds better than digital audio is absurd. Engineers did great things to extract listenable music from this ancient technology, but turntables now belong in the museum, not in our living rooms. The only time we should hear snap, crackle and pop is during breakfast, osteoporosis notwithstanding.
As for distortion, an LP is recorded with RIAA equalisation, which is an inherent "distortion" which needs to be corrected during playback.
Santa said
09:24 AM May 25, 2021
Obviously a lot of audiophiles disagree, there is still a huge range of turntables available, some at eye watering prices.
SME series 2 improved tonearm with a Shure V-15 type 3 cartridge.
Cambridge Audio amp and preamp.
NAD CD player.
VAF DC-X speakers.
Oh and a couple of hundred or so LPs most in excellent or better condition.
Yes, I have CD and vinyl copies of the some of the albums and have made direct comparisons over the years, to the average listener there is virtually no discernible difference.
valiant81 said
10:40 AM May 25, 2021
Hi all; Yes i also had Tubella Bells in my collection and used a sansui AU 101 amplifier into a couple of Klipsch corner horns speakers. 15 watts per side in those days and the efficiency of Klipsch speakers made for great sound in the day. They were a 21st birthday present. I don't have records anymore ( shame on me ) but a good collection of cd and a lot have been remastered from the original. Playing a cd and then the mp3 or wave copy from a cd and i can hear the difference, cd sound more fuller and MP3/ and even wave at time sound a little flat. I have over 120G of wave/mp3 music in my computers and sound great when played in the car or as using as fill music when it is used as background music. I used to have cassette tape, then cd's,and even a Kenwood minidisc play and with a 5 disc cd changer in the car and then transferred into our Pajero 4x4. This was replaced some years ago by a kenwood usb radio ( no cd deck ). One usb stick can hold hours and hours of uninterruptible music.
As for my own sound system.
Nad surround sound tuner preamplifier 917
Yamaha 2031A Graphic Equalizer
Yamaha P3500 Power Amplifier 350 Watts per side/both channels driven into 8 Ohms. I like to have a bit of power in reserve !!
Sony Je330 Minidisc recorder.
Sony 5 disc shuttle cd/dvd player ( only used as a cd player )
Dell laptop computer ( so old it runs Vista ) Running Aim3 as a mp3/wave player. Also i use Audio grabber as a cd ripper ( for my own private use !! ).
The speaker are of my own design and consist of a 15" RFC speaker 6.5 " mid and 1" tweeter. The cabinet has been made out od 20mm mdf and with a volume of around 120 Ltrs and have handled at the time a perreaux amplifier ( 9000 ) to test out at the time of the build. Handling the power of the Yamaha amp is a bit of a sodar and after 10 years of use sill sound great.
Then there is the sound system in my man cave/ workshop and mainly sony gear and around 15 years old now. But the workshop also has another sound system and has a little technics tuner amplifier and feeds a couple of bose "studiocraft" speakers. I use yet another old laptop computer for playing my music for this system and it gets the most use today.
-- Edited by valiant81 on Tuesday 25th of May 2021 10:59:04 AM
-- Edited by valiant81 on Tuesday 25th of May 2021 11:41:03 AM
dorian said
10:44 AM May 25, 2021
To me, vinyl is Flintstone-esque audiophoolery, just like valve amps, oxygen free cables, Monster cable, and the like. I reckon that an "audiophile" wouldn't be able to discern any difference between an OFC and a wet string.
So, who bought this and when?
How many vinos did you have to listen to both sides?
Do you still have it?
Have you played it in the last Ten years?
Bought mine late 1973,I think it was,and I still have it,along with a lot of other "good stuff".Uriah Heep,Black Sabbath,Slade,Led Zeppelin,Pink Floyd and many many others.Many an ale has been consumed while listening to it,but it is well over 10 years since I played it.Cheers
Love the Tubular Bells 111 Concert in London 1998
The instant I first heard that played on radio I had just started my car outside a well known watering hole in the hills late at night. With the headlights on and leaning on the drivers door spell bound, the door was suddenly opened and I fell back out onto the gravel carpark surface. It was the local copper checking to see if I was ok. He took my keys and gave me a lift home bless him, I was going out with his daughter at the time which may have helped.
The record kicked off Richard Branson when he signed Mike Oldfield and sold over 5 million copies of Tubular Bells
What was fascinating as well about this album is that Mike Oldfield played every one of the instruments. Just recorded one over the other. Also had some great music when Maggie Reilly did the vocals in Moonlight Shadow. My vinyl consisted of Status Quo, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and The Eagles. Also loved The Cars.
-- Edited by DMaxer on Friday 21st of May 2021 02:25:53 PM
I had a nice Marantz stereo system in the late 1970s, and got rid of it in the mid 90s as my wife didnt like the size of the speakers or the look of the system in our lounge.
Move forward 25 years and I have just spent 6 months trying to find the same stereo to replace it, which I finally did, and can now play all the vinyl again. Very similar records to those already mentioned, including Tubular Bells. By the way, the stereo cost the same in dollars as I paid then!
Still have our Marantz AV SR-60 Amp.---and a Marantz CC-65 SE Compact Disc Player
I've probably got a copy. I've got a couple of hundred records but I don't play them often. I bought CDs of the best bands, Pink Floyd (the best band in the world, in my opinion), Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, etcetera. I listen to them all the time.
Kebbin you may be starting a good conspiracy theory here...notice, no one here has an album list that includes Jim Stafford, and the Wildwood Weed song??
Yep, bought a copy in the early 70's, haven't played it in yonks.
Still have an extensive collection of vinyl and a Rotel direct drive turntable to play them.
Jethro Tull were a band I was right into, have most of their albums, Ian Anderson was brilliant.
Here's the Wildwod Weed Peter67 mentioned.
-- Edited by Santa on Saturday 22nd of May 2021 12:13:11 PM
-- Edited by Santa on Saturday 22nd of May 2021 12:14:49 PM
Like many others back in the early 70s I bought a copy of Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells I wouldn't have rated it as being one of my better albums - probably its main claim to fame was that it was used as the sound track for the Exorcist. Technology has moved on and nowadays I use Spotify which has made all my old record/CD collections defunct, the quality of the sound is far better than anything that I remember from those days and in relative terms you are probably getting it at a fraction of the cost. For the car I put most of our old CD collection onto thumb drives which I plug into the Jeeps 2 x USB ports and play them through its 10 speaker sound system. We can play individual tracks, albums or on long road trips just set it on random and with over 3000 tracks on each stick it is unlikely that we will hear the same thing twice..I don't see anyone mentioning the Ozark Mountain Daredevils either - nothing like some hillbilly music ?
BB
Peter they say that Jaws kept a lot of people out of the ocean I reckon that scene probably kept a lot of them out of the mountains
BB
Have Tubular Bells. The Best Of The Alan Parsons Project, anther good one.
On my second Marantz amplifier, KL Pearl Lite, but have my original Wharfedale E50 speakers, glued a cone back on the aluminium spider recently. They actually get better with age as they stiffen up.
I wanted a pair of E70 speakers at the time but didn't have any more money. The best speakers I have heard were electrostatic speakers which effectively cover your lounge room wall. I wouldn't mind a pair of E90 speakers that came out a few years after the E50 speakers.
Craig its a matter of taste if you are into the sound of vinyl then I guess its because it brings back memories of younger years - my personel preference is to replace all of those old albums with digitally recorded versions.
BB
In the early 80s a friend bought the first CD player, I bought the second make available which was a Sony. He had seriously expensive hi-fi equipment. The turntable alone was $5k & another $1.5k for arm & needle, let alone the rest of the system.
He had some master cut LPs, & had the same CDs. We spent many hours comparing LPs & CDs. The LPs did sound better, but there was not a lot in it. But the convenience of the CD outweighed the little bit of extra quality of the LP.
The key thing in quality sound is reasonably good quality hi-fi, let's say today about $10k. Then the room it is going to be listened in, make sure it is set up acoustically to some degree.
We basically don't go to movies etc as the sound is far too loud. Decibels & quality are two different things!
I found this article about the sound quality of CDs compared to vinyl recordings. It said earlier in the article that vinyl LPS had a better sound quality than either MP3 and AAC files with bit rates of less than 300k which is typically what music sites like Spotify use. So the claims that Lps have a better sound quality than Spotify may well be justified but compared to a CD they seem to be a little behind -
But what about compact discs, which some claim compromise the listening experience as well? Certainly the act of putting a record on a turntable and having to change it every 20 minutes makes the listener feel more involved with the music. Its different from sitting back and letting your CD changer do its thing. However, by any measurable criterion, CDs are superior to LPs. And so are MP3 and AAC files with bit rates above 300k, which in most cases are indistinguishable from CDs. Here are the reasons why:
Dynamic range. The difference between the loudest and softest sounds an LP can play is about 70 decibels (dB). CDs can handle over 90 dB. In practical terms, this means that CDs have more than 10 times the dynamic range of LPs.
Surface noise. Dust particles in the grooves of an LP cause crackles and ticks that are present and audible no matter how well you clean the record. CDs are not affected by surface noise, because they use light beams to read the musical data, which ignore any foreign substance on the disc. Besides that, vinyl records have an underlying hiss generated by the needle moving over the surface.
Mechanical noise. Every turntable, even the most expensive, generates a low-frequency rumble that is transmitted by the stylus into the amplifier and speakers. The system has to work much harder to handle all that low-frequency energy, and that can cause distortion in other parts of the audio spectrum. Many audio systems include a rumble filter that can reduce this, but that filter also removes the lower-frequency sounds on the record, like the bottom octave of a piano, or the low tones that give a bass drum so much of its power.
Speed variation. Listen to a recording of a solo piano on an LP, and then on a CD. Ill bet you can hear the difference immediately. Vinyl depends on a mechanically driven system, and any such system will introduce minute changes in the speed and pitch of playback. A vinyl record that is even slightly warped, or has a hole that is not perfectly centered, will have wowslow variations in pitch. Tiny imperfections in the belts or wheels of the turntable will cause more rapid pitch changes, known as flutter. CD players, because they use super-accurate digital buffers, are immune to this.
Channel separation. On a CD, the separation between the left and right channels used in recording is over 90 dB. On LPs, its 30 dB at best. That means engineers have a much narrower range to work with when theyre mixing and mastering the audio, and the result, for the listener, is that the stereo image is highly constricted. Its worse at lower frequencies; a loud bass signal in one channel of a record can push the needle out of the groove, so engineers have to make sure bass frequencies are always in the center.
Continuous vs. chopped up. Some people believe that because digital audio chops up the signal into discrete numbers, it cannot carry all of the information that an analog signal does. But before the digital signal reaches our ears, it is reconstituted into a continuous analog wave. The process does filter out sounds above 20 kHz, which is the highest frequency the most acute human ears can hear. However, no phono cartridge, amplifier or speakers can reproduce those frequencies anyway. So really, nothing is taken out that affects the sound.
Longevity. Friction causes heat, which softens plastic and makes it easy to deform. This means that every time you play a record, the smallest peaks and dipsthe high frequenciessoften and can literally get shaved off. The more you play it, the worse it gets. Also, whenever the needle encounters a dust particle, it gouges a hole in the soft surface, so that pop or crackle becomes permanent. By contrast, CDs will sound the same essentially forever, unless you leave them on your car dashboard on a sunny day. And you can always make as many perfect copies of them as you like.
CDs reflect exactly what the artists recorded in the studio. Vinyl distorts it. Some listeners honestly feel that the defects vinyl introduces somehow make it more attractive or warmer.
BB
Some of these points are ridiculous.
Dynamic range. CDs can handle over 90 dB.
There is no practical need to have 90 dB difference. You won't hear the quiet bits & you will wreck your hearing on the loud bits.
Surface noise. Dust particles in the grooves of an LP cause crackles and ticks
Ever heard of cleaning.
Mechanical noise. Every turntable, even the most expensive, generates a low-frequency rumble that is transmitted by the stylus
The very good systems don't need a filter as they are too good.
Speed variation. Listen to a recording of a solo piano on an LP, and then on a CD. Ill bet you can hear the difference immediately.
BS. The mass of these platers & turntable base is over the top. The turntable we used all those years ago was filled with lead. The whole thing had suspension. Another test we tried was jumping up & down next to it on a timber floor. It laughed at us, could never get it to jump or have even the slightest hint of a squeak of any description.
Channel separation. On a CD, the separation between the left and right channels used in recording is over 90 dB. On LPs, its 30 dB at best. That means engineers have a much narrower range to work with when theyre mixing and mastering the audio, and the result, for the listener, is that the stereo image is highly constricted. Its worse at lower frequencies; a loud bass signal in one channel of a record can push the needle out of the groove, so engineers have to make sure bass frequencies are always in the center.
Bass is in the centre, it is using the whole room, or better still an infinite space.
Continuous vs. chopped up. Some people believe that because digital audio chops up the signal into discrete numbers, it cannot carry all of the information that an analog signal does. But before the digital signal reaches our ears, it is reconstituted into a continuous analog wave. The process does filter out sounds above 20 kHz, which is the highest frequency the most acute human ears can hear. However, no phono cartridge, amplifier or speakers can reproduce those frequencies anyway. So really, nothing is taken out that affects the sound.
If one can't hear it then don't bring it up.
Longevity. By contrast, CDs will sound the same essentially forever, unless you leave them on your car dashboard on a sunny day.
I have had some CDs that have died, they seem to have corroded inside, even though they were stored in a good location.
CDs reflect exactly what the artists recorded in the studio. Vinyl distorts it. Some listeners honestly feel that the defects vinyl introduces somehow make it more attractive or warmer.
Depends on the quality of equipment. All recording equipment has some "colour".
Having added my views. I do prefer CDs simply because of the convenience. My system is not good enough to tell the difference anyway so it's all a bit of a mute point.
As for distortion, an LP is recorded with RIAA equalisation, which is an inherent "distortion" which needs to be corrected during playback.
Obviously a lot of audiophiles disagree, there is still a huge range of turntables available, some at eye watering prices.
https://www.whathifi.com/au/best-buys/hi-fi/best-turntables
I have quite a good system,
Rotel RP-3000 direct drive turntable.
SME series 2 improved tonearm with a Shure V-15 type 3 cartridge.
Cambridge Audio amp and preamp.
NAD CD player.
VAF DC-X speakers.
Oh and a couple of hundred or so LPs most in excellent or better condition.
Yes, I have CD and vinyl copies of the some of the albums and have made direct comparisons over the years, to the average listener there is virtually no discernible difference.
Hi all; Yes i also had Tubella Bells in my collection and used a sansui AU 101 amplifier into a couple of Klipsch corner horns speakers. 15 watts per side in those days and the efficiency of Klipsch speakers made for great sound in the day. They were a 21st birthday present.
I don't have records anymore ( shame on me ) but a good collection of cd and a lot have been remastered from the original. Playing a cd and then the mp3 or wave copy from a cd and i can hear the difference, cd sound more fuller and MP3/ and even wave at time sound a little flat. I have over 120G of wave/mp3 music in my computers and sound great when played in the car or as using as fill music when it is used as background music. I used to have cassette tape, then cd's,and even a Kenwood minidisc play and with a 5 disc cd changer in the car and then transferred into our Pajero 4x4. This was replaced some years ago by a kenwood usb radio ( no cd deck ). One usb stick can hold hours and hours of uninterruptible music.
As for my own sound system.
Nad surround sound tuner preamplifier 917
Yamaha 2031A Graphic Equalizer
Yamaha P3500 Power Amplifier 350 Watts per side/both channels driven into 8 Ohms. I like to have a bit of power in reserve !!
Sony Je330 Minidisc recorder.
Sony 5 disc shuttle cd/dvd player ( only used as a cd player )
Dell laptop computer ( so old it runs Vista ) Running Aim3 as a mp3/wave player. Also i use Audio grabber as a cd ripper ( for my own private use !! ).
The speaker are of my own design and consist of a 15" RFC speaker 6.5 " mid and 1" tweeter. The cabinet has been made out od 20mm mdf and with a volume of around 120 Ltrs and have handled at the time a perreaux amplifier ( 9000 ) to test out at the time of the build. Handling the power of the Yamaha amp is a bit of a sodar and after 10 years of use sill sound great.
Then there is the sound system in my man cave/ workshop and mainly sony gear and around 15 years old now. But the workshop also has another sound system and has a little technics tuner amplifier and feeds a couple of bose "studiocraft" speakers. I use yet another old laptop computer for playing my music for this system and it gets the most use today.
-- Edited by valiant81 on Tuesday 25th of May 2021 10:59:04 AM
-- Edited by valiant81 on Tuesday 25th of May 2021 11:41:03 AM