I think what most people are "preferring" is the compressed dynamic range. In many cases it sounds better to me as well, but turn the volume up to reference and

I think what most people are "preferring" is the compressed dynamic range. In many cases it sounds better to me as well, but turn the volume up to reference and the illusion falls apart. The genres I enjoy on vinyl don't typically exercise the full 90+dB of range available in CD audio. Electronic, pop, metal, rock, etc seem to sound approximately the same to me between the two. Classical & jazz are where the magic of vinyl breaks down for me. When I am listening to a recording of a concert hall, I want to experience more than 50-60dB of dynamic range. I prefer the contrast between the solo flute and the percussionist w/ the gigantic mallet to be as pronounced as possible.