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For me it's a lot less about the "warmer" sound. It's about the availability of prep loudness aware mastering and the fact that I actually own the copies. Every

For me it's a lot less about the "warmer" sound. It's about the availability of prep loudness aware mastering and the fact that I actually own the copies. Everything available digitally has a weak dynamic range. Everything available digitally is restricted by an end user license agreement - and can be taken away from me without my consent. I still spotify, by I vinyl too :)

mironathetin 12y ago
You have a good point. The quality of the sound pressed to vinyl is very high and less compressed currently, because of the target audience. But I guess, most of 24/192 downloads and SACDs are also mastered well for the same reason.
marrs 12y ago
Everything available digitally has a weak dynamic range. Really? I can't find the figures right now, but as I recall the max dynamic range available to vinyl is about 40db whereas for a standard CD it's about 96db, so in the hands of a good mastering engineer, even standard CDs should be superior. Having said that, most pop music is compressed for radio or jukebox these days where all dynamic range is killed in the pursuit of loudness. Everything available digitally is restricted by an end user license agreement Yeah, I still buy hard copies for the same reason.
- darkr 12y ago
  AFAIK, theoretical dynamic range these days is something like 50-70db depending on the vinyl. ..But, as you said the actual dynamic range is down to the original source and the whims of the mastering engineer.
- mironathetin 12y ago
  "Really? I can't find the figures right now, (…)" A good dynamic range for a rock music recording is 15 db. Some of the really badly compressed recordings have only 5 db or less. The best classical recordings come close to 20 db, but that usually involves speech. None of the available formats has a problem with any of this. Here is a link with dynamic range measurements for countless albums, if anyone wants to check: http://dr.loudness-war.info http://dr.loudness-war.info
- warfangle 12y ago
  Keep in mind I was talking about the media available, not the medium. As you point out, while CDs have a higher theoretical dynamic range, nearly everything available after the late 1980s is compressed to within 10 - and sometimes just 5 - decibels.
ams6110 12y ago
Vinyl can be taken away too, not by revoking a license agreement but simply by technological changes (nobody makes turntables, cartridges, stylus, etc. anymore). We're not really there yet with vinyl but there are certainly a lot fewer choices than there used to be, and what remains seems to be trending to choices only in the low end or audiophile-grade high end.
- warfangle 12y ago
  Well sure. 5 1/4" floppies have been taken away by technological changes. There are almost certainly file formats that are unreadable without some serious archeology. The technology required to listen to a record is stone-age simple compared to even a magnetic cassette, though, let alone a digitally compressed .mp3. The point being that if you own a hard copy of media, that media can always be read (if the hard copy is still viable), given the right technology. If you own a license to stream a piece of media, as soon as that industry actor goes belly up so does your license. Given vinyl records last longer (when properly cared for in an archival setting) than a hard drive or magnetic tape does, I'm pretty certain neither you, nor I, nor our great-grand-children will live in a world where you can't gain access to a turntable. There may be fewer manufacturer choices than there were four decades ago - but there are also more (and more labels pressing for) than there were only a decade ago.

mironathetin 12y ago

You have a good point. The quality of the sound pressed to vinyl is very high and less compressed currently, because of the target audience. But I guess, most of 24/192 downloads and SACDs are also mastered well for the same reason.

marrs 12y ago

Everything available digitally has a weak dynamic range. Really? I can't find the figures right now, but as I recall the max dynamic range available to vinyl is about 40db whereas for a standard CD it's about 96db, so in the hands of a good mastering engineer, even standard CDs should be superior. Having said that, most pop music is compressed for radio or jukebox these days where all dynamic range is killed in the pursuit of loudness. Everything available digitally is restricted by an end user license agreement Yeah, I still buy hard copies for the same reason.

darkr 12y ago
AFAIK, theoretical dynamic range these days is something like 50-70db depending on the vinyl. ..But, as you said the actual dynamic range is down to the original source and the whims of the mastering engineer.
mironathetin 12y ago
"Really? I can't find the figures right now, (…)" A good dynamic range for a rock music recording is 15 db. Some of the really badly compressed recordings have only 5 db or less. The best classical recordings come close to 20 db, but that usually involves speech. None of the available formats has a problem with any of this. Here is a link with dynamic range measurements for countless albums, if anyone wants to check: http://dr.loudness-war.info http://dr.loudness-war.info
warfangle 12y ago
Keep in mind I was talking about the media available, not the medium. As you point out, while CDs have a higher theoretical dynamic range, nearly everything available after the late 1980s is compressed to within 10 - and sometimes just 5 - decibels.

ams6110 12y ago

Vinyl can be taken away too, not by revoking a license agreement but simply by technological changes (nobody makes turntables, cartridges, stylus, etc. anymore). We're not really there yet with vinyl but there are certainly a lot fewer choices than there used to be, and what remains seems to be trending to choices only in the low end or audiophile-grade high end.

warfangle 12y ago
Well sure. 5 1/4" floppies have been taken away by technological changes. There are almost certainly file formats that are unreadable without some serious archeology. The technology required to listen to a record is stone-age simple compared to even a magnetic cassette, though, let alone a digitally compressed .mp3. The point being that if you own a hard copy of media, that media can always be read (if the hard copy is still viable), given the right technology. If you own a license to stream a piece of media, as soon as that industry actor goes belly up so does your license. Given vinyl records last longer (when properly cared for in an archival setting) than a hard drive or magnetic tape does, I'm pretty certain neither you, nor I, nor our great-grand-children will live in a world where you can't gain access to a turntable. There may be fewer manufacturer choices than there were four decades ago - but there are also more (and more labels pressing for) than there were only a decade ago.