Okay.....what would you personally consider the biggest difference between vinyl records and CD's? Is it the type of sound each produces? Is it the physical look? What draws you to one and not the other?
Personally I can't hear a difference between them (or between them and an MP3 file), but I know lots of people can. If I had to have all my music in one format or the other, I think it would come down to more practical considerations such as storage space. If all our downloaded music was on vinyl it would be piled from floor to ceiling in every room!
There is a sound quality difference between the two. Some people like the crackling sound of a vinyl, while others like the crisp, clean sound of a CD. I prefer CDs just because they take up less space and they are easy to take with you.
I like the way listening to vinyl kind of forces you to listen to a whole side, in order and without stopping. With CD's all you have to do is push a button to hear another track. They make that easy for you. Vinyl's make it easy to hear a record in the order the producer wanted you to hear it.
If all our downloaded music was on vinyl it would be piled from floor to ceiling in every room!
Some people dream of that scenario. Think of all the conversation starters you would have. All the "remember when" conversations over good wine and good friends.
gofar99 Messages: 2015 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, An endless discussion....sort of like which do you prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream? When played on a high quality system both can sound excellent. On low quality systems the clear winner is the CD. That said, I tend to prefer vinyl. The two mediums have what I call a different ambience and flavor. The CD is naturally precise in presentation. It will do what ever the recording engineer wanted it to do. A LP is naturally less precise, but has a more blended surround sound stage. New LPs and well kept older ones can be extremely quiet and on a good system in a blind test most folks would not be able to consistently tell the difference. All that said I do feel that the digital hi-res media will kill the CD and likely the audio DVD. It is quite excellent sounding and will only improve as the technology develops. 32 bit 320K and above recordings can be stunning. Still with all the millions of records out there and the recent trend increasing.... sales of LPs are now at the highest level in nearly 25 years and equipment companies are scrambling to make new turntables (real ones not Crosley types). So it is not likely it will go away. Personally I find it rewarding to play a LP. I don't get the same feeling from stuffing a CD in my OPPO player. YMMV
Most people cannot tell the difference but I guess a vinyl is a bit bigger? In terms of quality of audio, I would settle for the vinyl anytime. There has been talk of production of HD vinyls in the next 3 years so. I do not see CDs lasting for long though.
I've played vinyl records for many years, and in the past few years, I've also played cds records, and one of the biggest difference that I noticed from both of them is how the music sound or audio quality.
The sound when I play my favourite R & B songs on the vinyl records is always unique, as if the artist is right there performing the songs for me. The songs always penetrate my soul in a way that I don't feel when I play CDs records.
I will admit that cds are sharper, more coherent, and cleaner, but it always look more machine made than what I feel when I play Vinyl records.
The sound of music while I play vinyl records is what I've fallen deeply in love with, and I don't see myself having a change of mind anytime soon.
Wayne Parham Messages: 19015 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
To me, the difference is largely convenience versus quality. CDs are very convenient because there is little maintenance. Vinyl records must be cleaned each time, and the stylus must also be cleaned and replaced regularly. But vinyl records always sound better to me, sometimes just a little but often quite a bit.
Another option presents itself though. Blu-ray sound is sometimes incredibly good. And for the same reason, there are lossless high-resolution digital formats that are quite good.
Even so, I must admit that I consider vinyl to be the gold standard. Might be partially that I'm addicted to the process, might have some nostalgia thrown in there too. But it is my favorite format. All the others are just my daily convenience formats.
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Think of all the conversation starters you would have. All the "remember when" conversations over good wine and good friends. 
