Dzsono: Ironically, the dynamic range of digital is never fully utilised (with the exception of concert music) as mastering has now become a job of reducing dynamic range as much as possible without distorting the sound in order to win the loudness war.
Definitely true, although that kind of music would sound just as terrible no matter what medium you're using. I just steer clear of more recent popular music. I do however have some really good indie albums where they mastered it to sound good rather than grab attention. I also have some older Jazz discs which were transferred from vinyl to CD with minimal interference and as such are much easier to listen to.
As far as pop goes though, The Eagles albums are much better in that regards, or at least that copies I own make a huge use of the available dynamic range and are quite easy on the ears.
Dzsono: Vinyl produces a warmer sound through its own shortcomings - harmonic distortion. The same with vintage recording gear. Imperfections are what gives character. I do like this, but it has its place and I do not believe it superior to lossless codecs, or indeed, anything digital.
I wouldn't call it nostalgia, but I do like the process of taking these clumsy discs out of the sleeve and hearing the clicks and pops of dust and imperfection. All this ceremony encourages focus on the music because it isn't instantly accessable as it is with modern devices. I don't go to parties anymore, but I used to have brain hemorrhages of irritation as noone had the attention span to listen to an entire song before moving to the next. And the song wasn't even being listened to anyway...
I would call it nostalgia mostly because I think you had to have listened to enough of it to become attached to those imperfections. Although to really settle it you would have to gather up a group of young folks and see which version they prefer. The trick there is getting appropriate selections to choose from. A lot of CDs clip, and that's something which is definitely not going to sound good. I'm guessing that orchestral music, jazz or possibly some indie stuff would be the best choice being available in both formats.
That's not to say that it's a bad thing, I just think that it's important for people to understand that it's purely in their own head. I personally find older FPS games to be amazingly immersive even without any music. Whereas with newer ones I don't think that I would feel that way without music and sound.
