If you are interested in excellent sound quality for today, you might want to check out Neil Young's Pono which is on Kickstarter now. My guess is he'll have no problem raising the funds needed to create this alternative to iTunes/iPods which will focus on delivering the sound the way the artist recorded it. Whatever else you might use to play it back from Pono will of course have impact but the source will not be the weakest link in the chain anymore with Pono.

Personally, I think Pono will succeed but be a niche thing for those who prefer and appreciate high quality sound. The current generation was raised on shitty MP3s and earbuds for music which just does not compare to even a basic middle of the road stereo system with a quality source recording.

You do not need high end gear to substantially upgrade the audio quality experience, even though that of course is nice for those who can afford it.

I don't know about that, OFG. I remember vinyl quite well too (somewhere I have a rather extensive LP collection). I think some of the difference in CD and vinyl stems from better production values and technology today. As well, CDs have stuck around because the industry has moved to CD/digital technology. Not necessarily because it's inherently better (if that were the driving force, we'd have all been using Betamax back in the day instead of VHS).

I'm no audiophile, but I personally find the sound of vinyl is, as others have said, a much warmer and richer feel than CD. Does that mean I buy vinyl and have a stereo system with a turntable? Not at all. I have all my music on CD or digital now. But that's for convenience sake, not because I think it sounds better. If I had the cash and the ambition - and it were convenient - I'd definitely go vinyl for my music collection.

Gods, yes. That's definitely an area where vinyl trumps CDs. The artwork 9and some of the inserts) on some albums was amazing. And remember the thrill of taking the cellophane off those double albums and unfolding it for the first time? Man, that was awesome.

nice. my favourite album by them was always animals. [and my favourite song was dogs.]

the other thing to bear in mind is what's known as "the loudness wars." [which has been mentioned here.] - one of the reasons vinyl "sounds better" is because they were generally mastering more quietly and less abrasively.

this resulted in a "less painful" sound when listening to that music. that's /some/ of the reason why people tend to advocate vinyl over cd.

some folks /have/ gone back to mastering like that, but it's a bit of a lost art, now and generally only done on "audiophile" releases.

Fantastic song. And album. Funny, I was listening to that in the car yesterday while driving home (my daughter insisted, as she loves Floyd - for which I take credit).

Hah!!!! That's my favorite all time album too.

Man recalling the nights I used to be stoned.... err... stone cold sober, and would just mellow, turn out the lights, and get lost in those songs.

I even eventually turned my mother into a Pink Floyd fan. (Sort of). She loved "Us and Them" on The Dark Side of The Moon album. I used to crank that up and listen to it, and damn if mom didn't actually REQUEST me crank it up and play that song sometimes. LOL

I used to stack them on the spindle, turn off the lights and just lay there in the dark listening. Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and two sides of The Wall (usually sides 1 and 3 - had to have Comfortably Numb in there!)

in that event, well done on your daughter's awesome taste in music ;)

:D

Not bad for a fifteen year old. Especially when all her friends say 'Pink Floyd? Who the hell is that?'

us + them is a favourite of mine, too. that and "great gig in the sky" from dark side of the moon.

it's neat that your mom liked that song and became a fan as a result - it took me a /long/ time to get into them - one day, i finally just put animals on from end to end and it all just clicked.

but then, i think with some listeners it's a bit like that - it's a time and place thing.

I was long gone from home by the time The Wall came out. Never did see the flick. Eventually got the album (it was a two album set IIRC) and loved it though. Very good stuff, as usual, from those guys.

Unfortunately, it seems my country took "We don't need no education" to heart. Never thought I'd live to see the day where being intelligent was ridiculed and being stupid was a virtue, but here we are...

I love vinyl. And I don't think you need a lot of high end crap - get a turntable and a couple speakers (and I don't mean mini computer-type speakers) and I think the sound winds hands down. Just my opinion.

It's all about the mastering. A lot of CD mastering removes the dynamic range, so it sounds really bad.
CD is TECHNICALLY better than vinyl, since it does not degrade from use. It's just that usually they are not well utilized.
Analog warmth is a thing, yes, but there's also stuff to be said about long-term fidelity.

And that is why a goddamn vinyl rip on youtube can sound better and richer than a CD, it's all about how it was mastered.

Interesting! Thank you for the info. ^_^