My girlfriend loves her vinyl and while at hers recently I was allowed to select, touch and actually play a couple of albums. I was really disappointed with the experience.
As a 54 yr old male I grew up with records but used mainly tapes as a kid (recorded mix tapes and purchased) then quickly moved to CD’s. Based on this recent experience I think CDs are a way better media for a music experience. Excellent audio quality and an albums worth of tracks playing off one ‘side’
A lot of her newer discs seem to be on these heavy weight ‘audiophile quality’ discs and a common trend seems to be to split an album across a couple of discs. Having to flip sides/discs constantly really ruined the listening experience for me. I found it really jarring.
Many of the proponents of vinyl sing the praises of the whole experience and the process of playing a vinyl disc. My experience was pretty negative especially these new multi disc albums.
good for you that your biggest problem at 54 is having to flip an LP after half hour
Wow, wake up grumpy?
OP has a valid point - especially for the price you pay for new vinyl versus any other media
I’m not the type to really enjoy listening to one album, as generally I like select songs. Is vinyl nice? Sure. Is it transcendent? No.
Ok?
8 track tapes have entered the chat. Ah the joy of hearing “ka-chunk” in the middle of a song.
Indeed some of it is totally unnecessary. I was gifted the 50th anniversary issue of Tom Waits’ “Closing Time” for my 50th and it is spread over two records, which I find totally irritating. I would much prefer having the standard issue. I guess 20-odd minutes per side works for me as it’s what I grew up with, when more than two sides was only justified for double albums.
As someone old enough to have grown up with records the attraction of faffing around with them these days is beyond me but if some get pleasure from it then that’s fine. It would only become an issue if it adversely influenced the price or availability of high quality music. I don’t know enough about how the music business works to know the degree to which this is true. Anyone? My guess would be small but it is a guess.
I often find that the new thick “audiophile” vinyl sound worse than some of the vintage original pressings I have in my collection. Many are riding the wave of popularity that vinyl is enjoying, and they are being made thicker than the past, but I don’t think the quality of the pressing is nearly as good in most cases.
I listen to my CDs most often, but I don’t mind flipping a record when needed 🤷🏻♂️.
I completely understand your point if I understand it correctly. But it sounds to me like what you hate about how involved you need to be with vinyl is the reason why I love it. Why I am so much more connected to the music compared to when I play a digital format. For me, that is streaming Qubuz or Tidal. No CDs. I don’t jump tracks and I enjoy really listening and picking out things that I don’t hear when I listen to the digital formats. I listen more intently compared to digital which tends to become background music for me. I’m not going to get into the argument about what sounds better, but I will say that vinyl has a warmer sound and possibly an imperfection in its reproduction that some people may prefer the sound of. Sort of how people prefer r to r DACs. They tend to be a warmer sounding, less critically defined in its reproduction of music. I find good recorded vinyl typically has better dynamic range then CD recordings that tend to be fairly compressed. I think CDs came out early in the loudness wars. I also have sunk a lot of $$$ into my turntable, cart, phono amp, etc, so when I play good vinyl, it sounds as good to me as I can afford it too. Saying that, finding good vinyl actually requires a little bit of research. I’ve owned vinyl that sounds absolutely horrible then purchased a different pressing of the same album and It is fantastic! Vinyl is a hobby in itself so I totally get it when people don’t find it enjoyable like I do.
It really depends if the album was created with Vinyl in mind. When you think of things like SGT Peppers and one side being traditional beatles and the other starting with indian influenced sounds it makes the experience all the more enjoyable.
I’ll take the hit on convenience, to enjoy the brief rest and the enjoyable tactile experience but It doesn’t increase the audible experience.
If its not created with Vinyl in mind and you dont enjoy the tactile experience then just get some Flacs or WAVS and playlist it.
Listening to vinyl records is different. It’s about the analog experience, including which turntable is being used.
Its more about this moment in time while the record is playing. Not unlike enjoying anything else that only lasts for a brief pediod in time.
I love vinyl, but 85% of the time I listen to cd or digital files. I tend to listen to vinyl records when I’m in the mood to actively listen to music, where I want to savor every note.
I can only write about my own reasons.
All the futzing around is a feature of the “vinyl experience”. If you don’t like it, it’s not for you.
Fell back in love with vinyl again after many years. I don’t disagree with the OPs sentiment. It’s one of the primary reasons I avoid most live performance LPs
Some serious first world grumping here.