Comments on: why vinyl sucks compared to mp3s

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:14:56 +0000

It all depends on the original recording, I’ll explain further

For older music it was all recorded in analogue up untill around 1990 when digital finaly became the norm. This meant that all digital formats had to have the analogue recording converted in order to make them storable on CD’s or a computer as an mp3. Early attempts at this were weak and lead to a washed out sound compared to there vinyl counterparts and some digital conversions still contain these horrible erors. For me both vinyl and mp3′s contain rolled off highs and disapointing bass but I have an excellent sound sytem with a $900 DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) installed, however I find Vinyl contains a better core sound however I know that this sound distorts over time so I ALWAYS make a copy in a 24/96 flac version. I hope the industry will make a bigger effort to make flac or apple lossless the industy standard, replacing mp3s as I hate having to chose between the two inferior formats if a cd version isn’t available.

By: Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:35:43 +0000

MP3′s sucks DICK, they are compressed garbage.

By: my2cents

my2cents — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:08:43 +0000

While we’re at it, anyone want to debate some other equally pointless dualities such as free will vs. determinism, or maybe nature vs. nurture? lol, but seriously it’s seems pretty clear to me that the popularity of digital and analog formats aren’t mutually exclusive. Anyone who looks at this objectively can see that digital is here to stay. There is no doubt about that. However, vinyl has a different type of value to collectors. It’s tactile. It’s big. You can get creative with packaging, inserts, color/picture disc vinyl, etc., making it a collectible piece of multi-media artwork. As for sound quality, the difference between a brand new vinyl record and a digital audio file is negligible. Of course, the vinyl quality will gradually deteriorate over time and the digital file will not. This doesn’t detract from the aesthetic value of vinyl to a collector with a sense of nostalgia and an affinity for the visual/tactile experience of playing vinyl. Of course, most collectors have digital versions of their entire vinyl collection at this point as well, and rightly so. I know I do and I appreciate both formats for completely different reasons. I’m glad I don’t have to choose.

By: Jek

Jek — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:00:15 +0000

It’s hilarious how people still cling on to these outdated, inferior-sounding formats. I say this as a 40-year-old dude who lived in the harsh times of vinyl and cassettes (especially cassettes since they were all that we had at the time for portability and making copies for friends and family).

I’m glad CDs existed. I’m so darn happy that now I don’t have to deal with buying vinyl or any analog format and used CDs can now be found at thrift stores for cheap.

320kbps .mp3 is the ONLY bitrate I allow for such a format; otherwise, CDs/lossless (like .flac) all the way!

Fuck vinyl! You hipsters have no idea how annoying it was to accidentally have your cherished records warped because of sunlight or when a stylus broke a million times (and you had to pay a crapload of money to replace it).

The future is digital. And DON’T bring the “loudness wars” into this because when CDs were first introduced they were taken STRAIGHT out of their master tapes. Also, “pops” and “clicks” never were intended in the masters, so how about THAT?

By: 3amsleep

3amsleep — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:15:22 +0000

mp3/flac is more convinient. Vinyl is better sonically. You have absolutely no idea what youre talking about. I’m not an elitist/snob/self proclaimed “audiophile”, but i have a good Vinyl setup and you would be embarased to hear the vinyl vs mp3 and remember the things you’ve written here.

By: Man

Man — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:04:13 +0000

The difference between mp3 and vinyl?
You hear the mp3 and you listen to the vinyl.

By: dj laptop standd

dj laptop standd — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:38:41 +0000

There are also very specialized cases that let you take them while you fly. The boxes are quite light weight and they do not ask you to pay much as duty fees. They are extra protective when compared to the other cases. They have a protective coating of foam. When you buy cases, only go for customized ones that are specific to equipment because it has to remain safe and tight when they are traveling. Too much of shaking will lead to hitting on the sides of the case itself and thereby causing damage to the equipment.

By: n3wjack

n3wjack — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:32:51 +0000

I’d like to see (or hear?) a blind test with a vinyl & high quality mp3 version of the same track playing randomly over a very good sounds system to see if people could hear the difference.

I remember reading a WAV vs 320kbps mp3 test like this where people simply couldn’t spot the difference.
I wonder if it would be the same for vinyl & mp3.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:37:43 +0000

I have a large collection of vintage and modern stereo equipment. If I want warm sound I just hook up a cd or mp3 player to an old Sansui stereo or tube amp. I feel this gets me the depth and warmth without the problems that come with vinyl. I have some vinyl but if I were to switch my mp3 and flac collection to vinyl I would loose a room in my house to store it. I feel I am exposed to more music by not limiting myself to vinyl.

By: n3wjack

n3wjack — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 20:17:46 +0000

You're talking about getting decent hardware but the same goes for decent software if you're encoding those mp3's. Of course I'm not talking crappy encoders. I'm talking 320kbps high quality shizzle. And if you want to go non-lossy check out FLAC. It'll save you half of your HD space.