I am currently using the 950/770 combo with dvd,cd ,phono pre-amp and OLD Harmond Kardon/Rabco turntable. Let me tell you something . Nothing sounds better than VINYL.I have LOTs of old stuff (over 1000 albums on vinyl) and over 3000 cd's. I also buy new stuff on vinyl like radiohead, soulive, whitestripes, pinkfloyd etc... You can never beat the dynamic range of VINYL.The record industry should be ashamed of itself!!!!!

I've heard some people in the record industry wishing they could abandon CDs and go back to LPs, if for no other reason than they can't be "ripped" as easily. I've also heard that some bands are releasing ONLY on LPs!!! I say good for them!!!

LPs rock. I listen to CDs 99% of the time. And every time I put an lp on, I keep hitting myself upside the head for not listening to them more often. But ... CDs are just more convenient.

I am convinced that I can "make" a better CD than most of the older recordings issued today, simply because most of them have been so limited and compressed (to try to make them sound "louder" but certainly not better), just by:

original issue lp => Shure V15 type VxMR cartridge => Sony PSX-600 turntable => Creek OBH-8SE phono pre-amp => either a) HHB CDR-830 Professional Compact Disc Recorder, or, b) Tascam DA-40 Digital Audio Tape deck.

Don't even go through the preamp. Direct.

Maybe there is hope for SACD or DVD-A...

Count me among the vinyl enthusiasts, too. I've got about 5000 LPs. When listening to vinyl, be sure you're listening through a Bypass setting on the 950 or, better yet, connect it to the 6-channel analog inputs.

The detail and fluidity of vinyl just can't be surpassed by CD, IMHO. Run it through a tube preamp prior to the 6-channel input and you've got sonic nirvana.

Sex, politics, religion ... analogue vs. digital: they're all guaranteed to draw a response - and should be avoided during pleasant dinner conversation.

But since the BBQ has cooled off, the friends have all left, and I'm feeling a little game with a dram of some very fine single malt in hand (a 21 year old Springbank) let me offer an opinion.

All else being equal, I'll take the digital version any day. Less noise, greater dynamics, much more convenient.

I like vinyl. I play several albums each month. But I choose to play several times more CDs than records. The records still sound good. CDs sound much better.

I've always said that the two biggest sources for either improvement, or degredation, are right at the input or output stages of the process. Great speakers and superb digital source material: nothing else in between will make as much of a difference.

That being said (and given that is a "950" thread) I must admit that the various processing modes available on the 950 are breathing new life into my old vinyl collection (and CDs for that matter). Yes I like to listen in "stereo bypass" mode to most of my records, but many of them take on a whole new life using PLIIM+CR and other such modes. It's getting me closer to those live performances by Frampton, and Supertramp, and the Stones, and Bowie that I attended in my (and their) younger days, than I've ever been able to do in my own home.

CD over vinyl. DVD over laserdisc over analogue tape.

But to each his own.

Jeff Mackwood

boblinds- I am sad. I am sad because at one point, I had about 1500 lps, and then I "bought" into the falsehood that is compact disc: "perfect sound forever." I got rid of, or swapped, lps for CDs until I was down to about 500 lps. Then I actually listened for myself. Now, I'm back up to about 700 lps. CD, by necessity, is only an approximation of lp. LP is analog. Pure, continous signal. CD isn't. Zero's and ones. Digital. It's a sampled version of the original analog signal. CDs are more convenient than lps. But for pure sound quality, lp wins. But you have to have the analog rig for that to be apparent.

Kevin,

But ooh them ones and zeros (with the little pauses in between) they do sound nice!

Semi-seriously, I never made the mistake of trashing my vinyl collection. In fact I'm still adding to it.

My late father had a huge vinyl collection - lots of it pre-stereo. Every time I go and visit the homestead I borrow a few from his collection. Original Goodman. Original Garland. They sound great. But my CD versions sound better.

Two weeks ago a friend from Montreal dropped off 300 albums that his recently-deceased neighbour had willed to him. He started with 350, and kept 50. I kept 50 and passed 250 on to my neighbour. And so on. Original Beach Boys. Original Beatles. Rush, The Clash, Ozzie. Pristine condition. I use a very good set-up to play them. The CDs still sound better.

And just think. To a whole new generation of music listeners out there, MP3 is all the quality that they need and want - or perhaps ever get to experience. Now that's a shame!

Jeff Mackwood

I was anxiously awaiting the release of the first CD player and when I finally got one, I sold a good deal of my LPs for a dollar or so apiece STUPID - STUPID - S T U P I D ! ! ! !

Not to dig too deeply - but I nagged Peter Tribeman to include a TUBE phono input stage in the RR2150 - He didn't - how sad




[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited July 14, 2003).]

There are plenty of good albums in all styles of music out there for the taking. Also there are nice quality TT (Music Hall and Projects) that are much better than anything you could get in the $500 to $1000 range years ago, and they have nice arms (I know I have the Project nine arms) and nice cartridges. Records can be bought at thrift stores, yard sales, from you friends who will give them to you just for carting them off. IT is a great time to be in Vinyl. There is so much on vinyl that will never make it to CD and it is good. I would still argue that before I got rid of my Sota Cosmos $5.5M and picked up a Project, and added a SACD player that the vinyl sounded better in my system. It is still close. A lot of the Blues, Jazz and Folk music that I have on LPs will never see a CD. All of our great heritage lost is we don't support this format and take care of a facet of hghend that is still growing, albeit slowly.

IMHO, vinyl definitely has a place. However I feel that the technology generally in place for playing back an LP could be greatly improved. It seems to me that it would not be out-of-reach for someone to develop an interference pattern laser (or some-such) LP groove reader for $500 or less that would allow the playback of vinyl collections without friction and it’s detrimental effects on the recorded material. Such a situation would allow someone to enjoy “pure analog” without the “guilt” of wear and tear. If such equipment were available, it might help in the marketing of vinyl by those that still have the capability of producing high-quality LP’s.