6 ms·

> I get the ceremony of vinyl, but it's not going to improve over perfect digital reproduction. As a millennial, I'm always slightly amused (and maybe a little

by Exmoor 3y ago

> I get the ceremony of vinyl, but it's not going to improve over perfect digital reproduction. As a millennial, I'm always slightly amused (and maybe a little horrified) to see my peers spend endless time and more than a little money hunting down vinyl releases of the music of our generation. I also listen to a lot of music from earlier generations and have noted that older collectors were and are thrilled to see that music get well-transferred and mastered releases on a digitally perfect and durable medium and generally consider those to be the definitive release.

primax 3y ago
I'm quite fond of suggesting to them they just play a track of pops and hiss quietly over the digital recording to get the same effect.
Syonyk 3y ago
What if they're right? https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=Taylor+Swift&album=Red https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=Taylor+Swift&album=Red - one fairly recent album I found in which the vinyl version seems to have quite a bit more dynamic range than the digital or CD versions. There's also the benefit of vinyl in that a single sale will typically send quite a bit of money actually to the band - vs streaming sending fractions of a penny, if that, per play. One of the best ways to actually support a band you like is to buy the LP, even if you don't have a turntable.
- TimTheTinker 3y ago
  > in which the vinyl version seems to have quite a bit more dynamic range than the digital or CD versions Perhaps the mastering engineer did that intentionally? Surely the vinyl dynamic range doesn't exceed 96db.
- Pet_Ant 3y ago
  As I said 58 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34597194 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34597194 > Ugh, this frustrates me. You are just saying that the _mix_ put on vinyl is better than the mix put on CD. That same mix put on CD would be even better due to higher fidelity of the format. Vinyl is a strictly worse format... unfortunately it's also an easier source of better mixes. Demand better mixes, not vinyl.
  - Syonyk 3y ago
    I 100% agree. I just have no idea how to go about doing that, short of demonstrating that people are willing to pay good money for good mixes on vinyl, and perhaps a few people getting the idea that a good mix on CD might sell too. But this, historically, has been the "SACD" and related versions of an album, which seem to mostly not exist anymore.

by Exmoor 3y ago

primax 3y ago

I'm quite fond of suggesting to them they just play a track of pops and hiss quietly over the digital recording to get the same effect.

Syonyk 3y ago

What if they're right? https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=Taylor+Swift&album=Red https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=Taylor+Swift&album=Red - one fairly recent album I found in which the vinyl version seems to have quite a bit more dynamic range than the digital or CD versions. There's also the benefit of vinyl in that a single sale will typically send quite a bit of money actually to the band - vs streaming sending fractions of a penny, if that, per play. One of the best ways to actually support a band you like is to buy the LP, even if you don't have a turntable.

TimTheTinker 3y ago
> in which the vinyl version seems to have quite a bit more dynamic range than the digital or CD versions Perhaps the mastering engineer did that intentionally? Surely the vinyl dynamic range doesn't exceed 96db.
Pet_Ant 3y ago
As I said 58 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34597194 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34597194 > Ugh, this frustrates me. You are just saying that the _mix_ put on vinyl is better than the mix put on CD. That same mix put on CD would be even better due to higher fidelity of the format. Vinyl is a strictly worse format... unfortunately it's also an easier source of better mixes. Demand better mixes, not vinyl.
- Syonyk 3y ago
  I 100% agree. I just have no idea how to go about doing that, short of demonstrating that people are willing to pay good money for good mixes on vinyl, and perhaps a few people getting the idea that a good mix on CD might sell too. But this, historically, has been the "SACD" and related versions of an album, which seem to mostly not exist anymore.