this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2024

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Unpopular Opinion

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239

CDs are better than vinyl and most people listen to music on systems that sound dreadful (lemmy.fwgx.uk)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

178 comments fedilink hide all child comments

CDs are in every way better than vinyl records. They are smaller, much higher quality audio, lower noise floor and don't wear out by being played. The fact that CD sales are behind vinyl is a sign that the world has gone mad. The fact you can rip and stream your own CD media is fantastic because generally remasters are not good and streaming services typically only have remastered versions, not originals. You have no control on streaming services about what version of an album you're served or whether it'll still be there tomorrow. Not an issue with physical media.

The vast majority of people listen to music using equipment that produces audio of poor quality, especially those that stream using ear buds. It makes me very sad when people don't care that what they're listening to could sound so much better, especially if played through a hifi from a CD player, or using half decent (not beats) headphones.

There's plenty of good sounding and well produced music out there, but it's typically played back through the equivalent of two cans and some string. I'm not sure people remember how good good music can sound when played back through good kit.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Add to that:

Solid State Class AB and modern Class D amplifiers are far superior to any Tube amplifier. At this point, I would go as far that higher end Class D amplifiers are better than most Class AB at this point. Hypex and IcePower have made great strides in the sound quality of their amps, which are extremely efficient as well.

You want a lot of 2nd order harmonics in your sound! Great, get it through a DSP that will duplicate it through a modern amplifier and stop heating your room up using tubes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

MP3 is lossy, WAV is not. And that "warmth" you get with vinyl is just because analog sounds fuzzy.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Kind of late to the party here, but I'm going to offer my take anyway.

You're right, and you're wrong. CDs are better than vinyl records in terms of sound quality, but CDs are absolutely pointless. Instead of a CD, go to Bandcamp, send some money to your favorite artist, and download the audio files in FLAC format. You own the media (albeit digitally) and it can never be taken away from you as you make sure it's saved to a safe location. You may even be getting better quality audio than you would on a CD.

On the other hand, while I recognize that CDs are better quality, I am an avid collector of vinyl records, at least for a few specific genres. I've spent thousands of dollars on my HiFi setup, built my own tube amplifier, and I can say as a point of pride that there are absolutely no solid-state components in the signal path between the record and my speakers. While owning your own media makes sense in the era of streaming, owning physical media is in no way practical, but it's just fun. When I want to listen to a record, it's an event. I'll remove the record from its sleeve, maybe take it over to my record cleaner if it's a bit dusty or has some static charge. At the same time, I've just switched on my isolation transformer, and the tubes in my preamp and power amp are warming up. Then I'll place the record on the turntable, start the motor, drop the needle, and sit back in my recliner to enjoy the music.

If I'm sitting at my desk working, I'll put on some bluetooth headphones and play some music from my phone. But I'm not listening to music, I'm working and putting on music to pass the time, help get me motivated, whatever. If I want to listen to music solely for the joy of listening to music, I'm going to play a record.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You may even be getting better quality audio than you would on a CD.

Not disagreeing, but "may" is the operative word here. But it's always worthwhile to support your favorite artist when and where you can. :)

Here's the rub: It's possible to have way more lossless resolution than 44khz/16bit (CD audio) with FLAC, but that depends on what the artist is going to ship. And don't forget that your playback device also matters - not everything has a DAC that natively supports higher resolution audio, forcing some loss to perform playback.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Yep. That's exactly what I was referring to when I said "may." In my experience, most artists release 44k/16 files, but I have some 24-bit versions.

I would venture a guess, though, that given the same audio hardware, no human being can tell the difference. I can hear differences between lossy compression at "moderate" nitrates and lossless audio, but I feel like anything over 256k MP3 is getting into placebo territory.

That doesn't keep me from downloading 24-bit FLAC, though, because I'm s huge data hoarder.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I dont think most people like vinyl today because of sound quality. They just like the ritual of playing it and things like big cover art. If you want convenience then just listen to flac files.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Post your system or stfu.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Native headphone jack on laptop. The power supply noise is just awful for everything, except it's the native and approximate era-appropriate sound for late 1990's low bitrate MP3 files.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

My hifi is: Audiolab 6000A integrated amp Second hand NAD C541i CD player Wharfedale Pacific Evo 40 floor standers I've had 20 years

Connected to my PC I have a studio monitor setup, but that's mostly as I run my guitar though it. Prior to that I had a second hand NAD C320 amp and Wharfedale 9.1 bookshelf speakers. All bought for about £165 and sounded fantastic.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

that's a little under two grand to listen to cds in one room for anyone playing along at home.

what version of The Well Tuned Piano do you think is best?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Too rich for you?

The CD part is just one component. Swap in a Wiim instead of the CD player for an excellent streaming setup. It also functions as the amp and speakers for the TV.

For something 20 years in the making it's not bad and I bet better systems can be had for less. Certainly my first system cost almost nothing but still sounded fantastic. My recently departed second setup cost £165 all in and in many ways was just as good as my main system.

The point is not my exact setup, but that it is any kind of a hifi at all.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Nah, but it’s important that people understand the degree of brandy snifter shit we’re talking about. On some level price is a valid measurement.

So what’s your favorite well tuned piano?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I have optical out from my pc to my vanatoo speakers ❤️

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

I don't listen to vinyl, but I have a few of them because I like the larger album art and liner notes. My most prized one is a copy of The Kinks "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround" which includes records of when it was played on the radio.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Just wanna say Beats are the definition of half-decent. They're not awful (I got given some) but not amazing either, they just cost a lot more than something of that quality should

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I listen to 128.kb mp3's on my phone speaker.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago

I feel sorry for you.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Have you not heard of FLAC? You can get files at higher bit rates and sampling frequencies than CDs. That being said I much prefer vinyl collecting. No it doesn't always sound the best but I feel more in touch with the album. No ability to skip tracks, having to flip it over or change disks is more engaging than just pressing play.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

You can still choose your tracks on vinyl, it's just more manual.

Look at the grooves, and in-between them there'd be thin almost ungrooved flat lines going into the centre: those are the track separators. Hover the tonearm above those and drop it in to play the track you want.
I used to do this with some records I wouldn't have a big care about with preservation (compilations such as Now That's What I Call Music!), since it would mean those tracks would have more wear than the record as a whole.

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