[SET Man]

Hey!

   Found this on YouTube. A tech and science show from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) introducing the new and wonderful Compact Disc in 1982!

https://youtu.be/_Tx6TYnPat8

   I'm sure it was a great deal and exciting to see this new way of playback music back than. A fun to watch for me sitting here in 2020 with vinyl still alive and well, and audiophile still coming with new DACs to make the CD sound good

   Oh! At the end she predicted the future of solid state music playback back in 1982!

Buddy

[FullRangeMan]

Thanks for sharing, on the vinyl market I dont consider vinyl are well, most current recordings are made in digital format not in a analog tape, what prevent they to sound warm and natural in vinyl, even worse is that most vinyl reissues are made not from a digital master but from a regular silver disc CD itself, the same sold to the public for less cost, but vinyl lovers dont know it.

[SET Man]

Thanks for sharing, on the vinyl market I dont consider vinyl are well, most current recordings are made in digital format not in a analog tape, what prevent they to sound warm and natural in vynil, even worse is that most vynil reissues editions are made not from a digital master but from a regular silver disc CD itself, the same sold to the public for less cost, but vinyl lovers dont know it.

Hey!

  Yes, I'm well aware of that especially with some vinyl reissues. Of course I agreed that most younger vinyl buyers are not. But that's not the point, the point is that with the demand of vinyl today, it might outsold CD this year.

Buddy

[FullRangeMan]

Maybe in US where vinyl price seems low to custumers, in my country vinyl prices are very expensive.

[Saturn94]

I remember when CDs came out.  I started buying them and a player when they first came out. 

I still have those first CDs I bought and they are still in perfect condition.

I still prefer buying CDs when possible, though I rip them to play on my music streamer now days and keep the CD as a backup.

[SteveFord]

Who doesn't recall when CDs came out?
Greatest thing ever, no more clicks, pops, skips, tape hiss...

Then I got a real vinyl set up and back to spinning records for me.

[Freo-1]

Who doesn't recall when CDs came out?
Greatest thing ever, no more clicks, pops, skips, tape hiss...

Then I got a real vinyl set up and back to spinning records for me.

Up until the mid to late 90's, I would agree vinyl was more pleasant sounding. However, once engineers worked out how to master recordings in the digital domain, digital has surpassed vinyl in both specifications and overall sound (IMHO).

[SteveFord]

I would think that DACs would have to have come a long way since I stopped paying attention.
The best thing I've heard to date was an Audio Research CD8 a few years back, that was really good.

[S Clark]

..., digital has surpassed vinyl in both specifications and overall sound (IMHO).

Not my experience. 

[dB Cooper]

Up until the mid to late 90's, I would agree vinyl was more pleasant sounding. However, once engineers worked out how to master recordings in the digital domain, digital has surpassed vinyl in both specifications and overall sound (IMHO).

Well, in specifications, digital outdid analog from day one. Most people would probably agree that specs don't tell the entire story though, and some early digital recordings didn't sound so great (Chick Corea Akoustic Band being one example of nearly unlistenable early digital), but to me, the best modern digitally mastered recordings far surpass the best that can be pulled out of a storage medium invented by Thomas Edison. (I am aware that this might put me in the audiophile minority, but it's my experience.) The clarity and transparency of good digital makes all but the very best vinyl playback sound downright murky to me. I will admit that I'm just not willing to put up with all the setup, maintenance, tweaking, etc etc though, and, whatever floats your boat. As long as you are enjoying your music, all is well.

[wushuliu]

Like vinyl, CDs will make a serious comeback not long from now so stock up on lesser known releases while they're dirt cheap, especially used.

[Elizabeth]

Since CD became a great success and vinyl nearly died.. I would not make all sorts of great claims on how I personally 'saved' vinyl. I THREW OUT all my LPs and turntables JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DID...
I got luckier than most in I was enticed into takinga large Classical LP collection in late 1990's/
SO that got me buying used LPs and particularly Jazz LPs.. when they were dirt cheap.
At this point I would not get into vinyls.. No way.
LOL
And I listen to COMPACT DISCS every day all day...via a bought from eBay $40 changer to my $7000 Marantz SACD/DAC/ Goes to show not all of it cost a lot of money. just most of it.

[JLM]

Had been building a "digital ready" system since the late 70s anticipating the increased dynamic range of CDs.  Vinyl surface noise, pops, and clicks were always like finger nails on chalk board to me, so after literally dropping my nice turntable in the mid 80's I jumped fully into digital having already owned a CDP and never looked back.  Tossed the broken turntable away, replaced what vinyl I could with CDs and donated the vinyl albums to the local public radio station.  Now I listen to ripped CDs and stream Tidal.  Tried hi-res but wasn't impressed, the quality of the recording process is much more important.  Have heard good vinyl, but it's hit or miss on that nasty vinyl surface noise and prices are high. 

With CD streaming available there's no point in wasting time scrounging pawn shops, garage sales, etc. for old CDs that around here are in poor condition and of unwanted music.  But have held on to a couple of those early un-audiophile "guilty pleasure" CDs to use for auditioning gear as I don't want to be punished for listening to favorites. 

Yes Steve, DAC's technology has and is advancing very quickly.  Ten year old DACs are like 70 years old in dog years, making it nearly pointless to buy used DACs.

BTW solid state was king even in the 70's. 

[whell]

Well, in specifications, digital outdid analog from day one. Most people would probably agree that specs don't tell the entire story though, and some early digital recordings didn't sound so great (Chick Corea Akoustic Band being one example of nearly unlistenable early digital), but to me, the best modern digitally mastered recordings far surpass the best that can be pulled out of a storage medium invented by Thomas Edison. (I am aware that this might put me in the audiophile minority, but it's my experience.) The clarity and transparency of good digital makes all but the very best vinyl playback sound downright murky to me. I will admit that I'm just not willing to put up with all the setup, maintenance, tweaking, etc etc though, and, whatever floats your boat. As long as you are enjoying your music, all is well.

Your post strikes a chord with me.  I dispensed with all things vinyl by the early '90's to focus on CD's.  I got back into vinyl in around 2006 when the vinyl resurgence began.  Then I flipped again around 2010 broke down and invested in a nice DAC and my vinyl stuff started languishing again.  Sold it all again a couple years ago and haven't looked back. 

Like vinyl, one needs to do digital playback right to get the most enjoyment out of it.  Vinyl is a labor of love to get right.  Digital is now simply queuing up stream on Qoboz/Tidal or a FLAC file off a server.  With three teenage daughters, I just don't have the time to put the effort into vinyl. 

The other thing that needs to be "right" with both digital and vinyl is the source material.  Some of the early CD's - which are still in many folks CD collections - sound absolutely horrid.  That fact, coupled with some of the less than stellar digital playback gear that was/is common in the marketplace continues to give digital a bad rap. However, even in the vinyl world, there are vinyl mavens that must have the right press by the right mastering engineer to believe that they're getting the fullest experience.

Again, to each their own.  Listening to an old Moody Blues tunes right now via Tidal playlist and it sounds great to me. 

Still have the same DAC I bought 10 years ago and see no reason to upgrade. 

[S Clark]

... Vinyl surface noise, pops, and clicks were always like finger nails on chalk board to me, so after literally dropping my nice turntable in the mid 80's I jumped fully into digital ...

Like most, I tired of tics and pops and was an early adopter of CD in the early '80s.  Fortunately, I didn't get rid of 3-400 lp's, and kept my mid fi B&O table.  So when I got re-energized about stereo in the early 2000's, based mostly on CD's, I still had my records and my Discwasher to spread the dirt around on them. 
But with the aid of the late John the Chair Guy, I upgraded, discovered better cleaning and made the move back to vinyl... but building an ultrasonic cleaner was huge in noiseless playback.  No dirt.  If the surface has noise, it's because it was mistreated or came from the press that way (which is still more of an  issue than it should be).   
So now I'm 95% vinyl.  My digital rig is actually quite good, but I never listen to it.  It just doesn't provide as much joy. I have nothing against good digital, just think that good vinyl still has much, and sometimes more, to offer. 

[rollo]

  For me vinyl was King. Had a CDP only for new music not available on vinyl. Today a whole new ballgame. Digital today is so much better than its birth. Using a modular design that allows future upgrades without buying a new uni is how I fly. In essence future proof. Sticking to 44.1 without up-sampling just sounds better to my ears. If recorded in DSD and played back at that rate digital is just wonderful. No noise pure tonality and harmonics.
  Yes my vinyl rig may give me a tad more 3D sound stage but that is it. Emotional impact from both sources now. Years ago digital was not. No harmonics or stage. Streaming is convenient for sure and VG. However not as good a dedicated transport IMHO. QoBuz and server with DAC using iPeng for me is the Prince and using transport King.
  Owning so many classic, collectable LPs my TT is staying put. Takes me back in time to good place I do not want to let go. So for me BOTH formats offer emotion the key of it all.


charles

[OzarkTom]

If you hit the garage sales, cD's can be had for 25 cents each. If scratched, I don't buy them. In the 80's, I bought a lot of LP's for 25 cents. Where is the Delorean?

[wushuliu]

I'm going through old hifi magazine archives online and am cracking up how little has changed both in terms of marketing and all the audiophile debates, digital/analog/measurements blah blah blah. Really given me some perspective. Same as it ever was.

[Stu Pitt]

Had been building a "digital ready" system since the late 70s anticipating the increased dynamic range of CDs.  Vinyl surface noise, pops, and clicks were always like finger nails on chalk board to me, so after literally dropping my nice turntable in the mid 80's I jumped fully into digital having already owned a CDP and never looked back.  Tossed the broken turntable away, replaced what vinyl I could with CDs and donated the vinyl albums to the local public radio station.  Now I listen to ripped CDs and stream Tidal.  Tried hi-res but wasn't impressed, the quality of the recording process is much more important.  Have heard good vinyl, but it's hit or miss on that nasty vinyl surface noise and prices are high. 

With CD streaming available there's no point in wasting time scrounging pawn shops, garage sales, etc. for old CDs that around here are in poor condition and of unwanted music.  But have held on to a couple of those early un-audiophile "guilty pleasure" CDs to use for auditioning gear as I don't want to be punished for listening to favorites. 

Yes Steve, DAC's technology has and is advancing very quickly.  Ten year old DACs are like 70 years old in dog years, making it nearly pointless to buy used DACs.

BTW solid state was king even in the 70's.

The good 10 year old DACs aren’t. Not even close. And good doesn’t have to mean expensive either. My 9 year old Rega DAC still sounds damn good. Sure, it won’t do DSD, MQA, or any of the other flavor of the month formats that’ll come and go, but that’s about it. It’ll do redbook and up to 192/24. 99.99% of my listening is redbook anyway, and the higher stuff I listen to isn’t a night and day difference sonically. I think it’s more mastering than bit rate, but that’s another conversation.

There’s far more to a DAC than the chip it uses. Power supply and output devices to name a few. A lot of people like the output of the Bluesound Node’s analog. My Rega DAC trounces it. My far older Theta Cobalt 307 DAC easily betters it as well. That’s not Node bashing; the analog output sounds quite good. It sounds far better than it has any right to IMO when you consider the price of the Node and everything it does compared to the majority of the stuff on the market today.

[Letitroll98]

I was a late adopter back in the 80's and didn't have my first CD player until 1990 or so.  I bought a cheap Technics player and would often demonstrate to guests how much better my Thorens table with Ortofon high output moving coil sounded.  They universally agreed and no one called me on the unfair comparison.  Through the years as my disposable increased both my digital and vinyl rig improved and until the advent of high res digital, vinyl remained superior.  Now I make no judgements on the ultimate quality of either format and consider them simply different flavors.