The 16/44.1 thing really depends on the recording engineer. I can play some 16/44.1 recordings that will knock your socks off while others sound like hammered shit. A good example of a well recorded 16/44.1 digitally recorded piece of vinyl is Joe Jacksons Night and Day. Drop a needle on that one and you'll hear a great recording. The other thing it had going for it was they used minimal, post production processing (according to the liner notes). Like any system, the fewer pieces of gear a signal runs through, the cleaner the sound will be.
On the opposite hand, I've got a bunch of the early Denon PCM classical recordings and they sound pretty darned bad. Overall I'd say early digital recordings are a crap shoot. If you can get them cheap enough, take a chance. There will most definitely be a few gems that you'll find.
Daniel, since you are new to the vinyl arena (congrats
) let me make a suggestion.....more a pointer than anything. Not all vinyl is created the same. During the late 60's, 70's and early 80's when individual records were selling hundreds of thousands of copies per release, much of what you will pick up out there can sound....well, not so nifty. Now, I'm not trying to scare you off, just give you a pointer or two when you start picking out your base collection.
First, you need to do a little research on how a record is made. There are a number of sites (and video's) out there, of which I can't put my fingers on the links but I'm sure some of the other guys can help out here. Basically (and I'm going to blast through this so be prepared for me to miss a step or two and maybe some details), a lacquer is cut from the analog tapes (or digital master). From that several (metal) master stampers are made, they are called "mothers". The lacquer has a
finite number of times it can be used before all of the low level resolution (plus highs and lows) are so muddled that the record sounds bad. The Mother also has a finite number of pieces of vinyl that can be stamped from it before the same happens. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but the usual number of stampings each metal master can do is around 1000 to 1500 pieces of vinyl (I'm going from memory so be easy on me).
That said, up through the mid-70's, record companies would take the very first production runs and use white labels on them, then hand them out to the radio stations as promotions. These were called White Label Promo's (WLP). They can commonly be found on eBay or any record shop. Keep in mind, these WLP's were the closest to the mother and metal master of all the production runs (until they switched stampers for a fresh one). These most often sound the best when you play them back on your rig.
Sometime during the mid-70's to save money (as its told), they stopped the process of using the white labels. In turn what they did was simply grab a sticker that said "For Promotion Only", pealed the cellophane off and stuck it on the record cover. These "Promo's" may or may not be from the first part of the production run. Often (I've found) that these promo's don't sound as good as other copies I've got in my collection.
Sound quality in vinyl can vary dramatically from production plant to production plant and label to label (often a release in the states was one label and the UK on another). People on other forums have explanations. No doubt it has something to due with the vinyl formulations but there were likely other factors that came into play like the local mastering engineers ear and playback system when he/she actually cut the lacquer locally.
Your best bet in buying vinyl is to get it as cheap as humanly possible. Avoid eBay and your local record shops as they will be the most expensive. Go for the Goodwills and Salvation Army's of the world. Flea markets are good too. Vinyl there is usually $.50 to a $1.00. Garage sales are a great place to pick up vinyl. If you don't see any, ask the owner if they have any inside that they might want to part with. They usually do. Second hand and resale shops usually have a pile or two you can root through. Be aware, the Antique Malls of the world usually have WAY overpriced vinyl. They think that just because Elvis or the Beatles put out a record it is automatically worth $50. These people are truly mis-informed.
Don't let a dusty/moldy record scare you off either. Those can easily be cleaned with some Spray and Wash and then a portable steam cleaner for deep cleaning (use distilled water in the steam cleaner). Just watch for scratches. You can't do anything with those. Scuffs usually aren't an issue on playback but a deep scratch can pull your stylus off.
For the music you want most, you're base collection of your favorite music (for me its 60's & 70 rock), I'd suggest going for the WLP's. For those you'll have to go to a record store or eBay to pick those up. You'll have to pay market value which is usually about 20% more than a regular copy but chances are it will sound better.
If you are thinking that the WLP's might be worn out by the radio stations, chances are they aren't. Stations (at least around here) used to take them home, listen for the good cuts then bring them back to the station and record them on carts (cartridges) for playback on the air. After that, the record was filed away, seldom to be played again. Now, if a private party got them after the radio station went to CD's, Lord knows what kind of shape they are in.
Oh, if you get a record that doesn't sound too terrific, try rebuying it (assuming it was one of the cheap ones). Eventually you will find a copy that was stamped close to the mother. It took me eight times before I found a super resolute copy of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.
Oh, MoFi's can be way over-hyped too. I've got stock releases that can sound better than MoFi's.
Oh, Oh, nearly anything that Stan Ricker mastered sounds
really good (if that helps).
Again, don't let me scare you off. Don't fret about buying used vinyl. Just find a good, cheap source and most of all go out looking. Don't leave your vinyl fate to the online retailers and eBay. Those guys will certainly keep your wallet empty.
...damn, I could have made that post into an article
