HD Streaming vs Turntable And Vinyl

bluegrassphile said:
I have very narrow tastes in music...bluegrass, swing, and bop jazz. I have a superb sounding high end audio system (see my signature). I'd like to have the very best sound I can.

Would I be better off putting my money in something else?
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ever thought about mastertapes?
 
CPP said:
I never got rid of my vinyl or CD's. This is just my personal opinion, the experiences for me with vinyl over streaming is that I can set down and relax with vinyl while holding the cover in my hands reading the details of the music and the artist that made the music. This just gets me further into the music. I always felt that streaming which I do like with my lumin is just that, you set it and forget it which to me causes me to lose some interest, while jumping ahead past songs you don't like. Is one better than the other, I say it all depends on the material the music is own and how it is presented (system, room and taste) and the mastering of the music.
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While certainly not universal for all digital content, some downloaded albums come with a "booklet" file bundled with the music. Also, I've noticed on Qobuz that many of the albums have the "booklet" available. The LDS app I use on my iPad with my Auralic Aries G1 allows me to read/scroll through the booklet if it is available. Maybe not as good as holding the original album cover in my hand, but then again, I don't have to have the lights on in order to read it either.

:)
 
Oly said:
Many of the turntable advocates play records for the nostalgic experience. The tactile feel of holding the record, placing it on the table, reading the LP cover, watching it spin, etc., etc. For them, it’s not just the sound but the pleasure they get from physically playing records. I know because I used to be one of those guys, but now I’m all digital. To each their own.
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That's a declarative statement. How do you know this to be true other than you state you "know" it's true because you used to be "one of those guys?" I would flip this statement and say "Many of the turntable advocates play records because even though it involves more work, they feel LPs still have superior sound compared to digital files regardless of bit depth and sampling rate."

At the end of the day, people's opinions on the sound of digital and analog are just that-opinions. I'm glad I have both formats-digital for convenience and discovering new music, and analog for the sound quality that I most enjoy.
 
mep, no more 'declarative' than yours, in reality who cares, your (individual) enjoyment is what matters as I agree with your second paragraph.
 
Mikado463 said:
mep, no more 'declarative' than yours, in reality who cares, your (individual) enjoyment is what matters as I agree with your second paragraph.
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My statement wasn’t declarative. I clearly stated it’s all opinions and feelings.
 
bluegrassphile said:
Does a TT actually sound "better" than HD streaming? ...What are your thoughts on this? Would I be better off putting my money in something else or would a TT be worth the additional investment?
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My first question is how much money you got to spend on vinyl replay (hardware & software)? You cannot separate the cost of the software from the equation. Vinyl reissues that will give you the SQ you expect after living with HD streaming are between $30-50 or an average or $40 per LP. Multiply that by 100 records and that's $4,000, by 1,000 records which is more realistic and you now have $40,000 invested in vinyl and still nothing to play it on. By comparison, $4k will buy you 16 years of HD subscription services from a Qobuz or the like.
 
puroagave said:
My first question is how much money you got to spend on vinyl replay (hardware & software)? You cannot separate the cost of the software from the equation. Vinyl reissues that will give you the SQ you expect after living with HD streaming are between $30-50 or an average or $40 per LP. Multiply that by 100 records and that's $4,000, by 1,000 records which is more realistic and you now have $40,000 invested in vinyl and still nothing to play it on. By comparison, $4k will buy you 16 years of HD subscription services from a Qobuz or the like.
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Vinyl is definitely more expensive. Also, keep in mind that the 16 years of music service subscription that you mentioned come with immediate access to millions of albums (not just a mere 1,000).
Personal opinions aside, technically speaking vinyl has many drawbacks as compared to digital but of course that does not prevent any individual for liking/preferring the sound of vinyl regardless of its imperfections.
I have both digital and vinyl set up. In my experience, dollar for dollar, digital is definitely much more cost effective.
 
To me vinyl is fun and relaxing. That‘s enough. Better? Is beer better than wine? It‘s just a different exprience. My 2 ct.


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bluegrassphile said:
Does a TT actually sound "better" than HD streaming? I would think seriously about getting a TT and phono amp but I'd have to start completely from scratch. I have no vinyl and haven't had for 15+ years. I have very narrow tastes in music...bluegrass, swing, and bop jazz. I have a lifetime subscription with Roon and a superb sounding high end audio system (see my signature). So I'm not sure I'd be gaining much investing in a TT and phono amp.

I'm also not sure I could find enough vinyl that I like to make the investment worth it. Especially vinyl that's in good condition and still sounds good without the snap, crackle, pop, found on aged vinyl. Maybe I'd be better off just sticking with HD streaming? I'd like to have the very best sound I can. And if a TT would give me a significant increase in sound quality over HD streaming I'd probably be interested. But, as mentioned above, there are practicalities to consider.

What are your thoughts on this? Would I be better off putting my money in something else or would a TT be worth the additional investment?
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Different yes, better? If you haven’t been into vinyl at some point or left it for good reason in the past then picking it up again is a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. I love playing my records but if I hadn’t been doing it for half a century already I’d concentrate on perfecting my digital rig. Your system is good enough already you’d have to really do some research and listening to vinyl setups to find the right one for you.
 
i own 4 turnturtables and 5 tonearms and 3 tape decks, love them all, but listen to digital 70% of the time, most of that streaming.

there is not any question that vinyl goes places musically digital cannot reach. period. we can argue either at state of the art levels where my digital is, or steps up to that level. vinyl is supreme.

yet; if i was starting over in your shoes knowing what i know now, i would likely stick with digital and streaming. it's better than 'good enough', it's exceptional.....just not quite to vinyl. the exception would be access to golden age jazz on Lp, even reissues. if i was a serious jazz fan then i would go to the trouble to be able to fully enjoy those classic recordings right. a nice turntable that can get that jazz magic is not that spendy either. there are even modestly priced vintage tt/arm/cartridge choices that synergize well with jazz.

if you are not a serious golden age jazz fan, just invest in following the MSB dac upgrade path and also upgrade your server as you go along. no hurry as you are at a high level now. but there is a clear upgrade path.

that is my 2 cents.
 
Being a 61 year old gentleman who adopted computers very early in life, I jumped into the digital music world early. We used to hotrod Creative Labs cards for best digital SPDIF output, before USB audio. I would smirk at the ‘Napster’ generation for listening to lossy music files.

I love my current digital rigs, and enjoy both streaming and stored files equally.

However, being 61 also means I grew up with vinyl through childhood, high school, college, and medical school. My small vinyl collection was ruined in hurricane Elisha in ‘83. My lovely wife got me a new fangled Sony CD player soon after. And it was digital for decades.

I got back into vinyl with my Dads vinyl collection and ancient turntable, from his attic. I have upgraded my vinyl rig, and added significantly to the collection. There is “something” in the vinyl sound that works for me in a way that digital does not offer. Euphony? Old ears? Nostalgia? Expectations, after all the work involved? No clue, but it is there, for me. At least enough to get a decent vinyl rig, and clean records.
 
Bones13 said:
Being a 61 year old gentleman who adopted computers very early in life, I jumped into the digital music world early. We used to hotrod Creative Labs cards for best digital SPDIF output, before USB audio. I would smirk at the ‘Napster’ generation for listening to lossy music files.

I love my current digital rigs, and enjoy both streaming and stored files equally.

However, being 61 also means I grew up with vinyl through childhood, high school, college, and medical school. My small vinyl collection was ruined in hurricane Elisha in ‘83. My lovely wife got me a new fangled Sony CD player soon after. And it was digital for decades.

I got back into vinyl with my Dads vinyl collection and ancient turntable, from his attic. I have upgraded my vinyl rig, and added significantly to the collection. There is “something” in the vinyl sound that works for me in a way that digital does not offer. Euphony? Old ears? Nostalgia? Expectations, after all the work involved? No clue, but it is there, for me. At least enough to get a decent vinyl rig, and clean records.
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Great story!


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I like that vinyl ends after 20 minutes. Sometimes my digital drones on. Evan with HQ Player, its the whole album. 40 minutes. Call it short attention span, but I like the forced intermission. It gives me a moment to reset and get back into the groove. Wow, I dropped a pun.
 
Well from my perspective as of others here, if you are starting from scratch just stay with streaming and upgrade to the best DAC/ Streamer you can afford.

Vinyl better than streaming/digital, yes and no. I have albums that just plain sound better on my system than the cd or what I can stream. Maybe my system is a better setup for vinyl but there are things I stream that sound better than the cd or vinyl I have. Is it that I don’t have a good copy on vinyl ? Maybe. My prejudice? I’m sure my affinity towards vinyl influences my preferences.

I have been into vinyl since the 60s and have an big collection of albums, cds and stream on Tidal. Love them all for different reasons.

Growing up with vinyl I have a love for the format and listening to albums was a very social and tactile event for me and my friends. I can still remember when and where I bought many of my albums, couldn’t say the same for the CDs. As mentioned before there is just something about the sound and ritual of playing an album. The pause between sides to talk about what you just heard and the anticipation of side 2.

Even with those positives, I think with a good streaming rig and your vast selection of available music you’ll be satisfied.

Good luck on your music exploration.


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