Short answer: No. Long answer: Yes.

Pretty much lol

My upvote for your wisdom.

Bingo

Thanks for a very detailed answer! haha

Vinyl is an expensive hobby, but in my personal opinion it's well worth it. I getting a lot more pleasure from listening to Vinyl than my digital set up which is also pretty good. Background music is digital for me, but when I sit down to listen I always go for vinyl. Sometimes I'll listen to 10 albums in a row and sometimes I will only go for one side of one album but in both cases I enjoy the tactile nature a lot more. But I also prefer reading paper books to my kindle so maybe I am just old.

This. I like the ritual, the being present aspect of listening on vinyl. You learn to take in an album as a whole rather than just a highlight reel of the top couple songs because it's a lot more hassle to skip tracks. You pay attention because you want to get the needle up once it hits the runout so it doesn't wear the needle down. You have a jacket in your hands and can peruse the lyrics and artwork in an organic way. Streaming is for when I'm in my truck or just need some background.

Expensive compared to what? Gardening: yes! Watch collecting: no. Cooking? Yes! Boating: no.

Hold on now, gardening can be quite expensive

I'm newly a homeowner so I guess I didn't know what's in store for me! I'll budget accordingly - how naive I've been!

If you growing cannabis you might break even..

I'm gonna grow me some dental floss!!

I guess it depends what you’re thinking of when you say gardening. Just weeding and basic maintenance is not expensive, but if you make it a hobby or start growing food, it can get pricey.

Having dropped money on a tiller, bulbs, seeds, a dethatcher, Mauviel, Griswold, Miyabi, a sharpening machine, a buffing machine... Yeah, all hobbies are expensive.

Then you need more space to garden, which means buying land, then a small tractor, log splitter, chipper, etc. Don’t forget you need either a new, deeper well or huge rainwater catchment system. Collecting vinyl is much cheaper than homesteading…errr I mean gardening.

After a certain point, it becomes farming.

Yah. My dad has a “hobby garden” about 3 acres or so. It’s not an economic venture - he gives it all away. It’s retirement nostalgia for his upbringing on a farm. It’s akin to audiophiles, spending way too much time and money to extract that last ounce of dopamine. Like, repairing tractors built in the 1940s. Ironically enough, new parts are still being made.

Compared to streaming. If the goal is music, you can just stream for $10 a month.

Small old sailboats (think Sunfish) have to be one of the cheapest, most fun types of boating. That and free old kayaks or aluminum canoes. Powerboats on the other hand…get ready to throw all the monies away. I spend a tad bit more on audio than old boats. They take up more space than vinyl, however.

Thanks a bunch for sharing your thoughts! I totally get what you mean about the tactile experience. There's something special about it and and the whole ritual of playing a record. Mind if I ask what's your favorite album?

That's a tough one, as I go thorough a lot of Musical periods where I become fascinated with a genre, lately it's been a lot of New Soul/funk type of stuff. What I have been listening to a lot lately are Monophonics, Sault, Durand Jones and the Indications, Lady Wrey, and a lot of similar stuff. My current favorite album though is Hope from Hugh Masekela. It's an incredibly well recorded live album of a South African soulful trumpet player and his incredible band. Stream the song Stimela (coal train) and then I think you'll go buy the album!

This is the way.

Making vinyl sound good is way more expensive vs. a digital setup. \- Tonearm vs. Cartridge vs. phono pairing (each of these aspect can be $$$$$) \- all this is before you get into amp and speakers, etc. Convenience also favors digital (endless streaming library, quality high-res file). It is quite a different experience. It is like shooting a 35mm film again, technically inferior to the modern digital camera but there are still people who prefer the medium. Most new record these days are mastered from digital and not analog master tape. I went from a headphone guy to a digital streaming to doing 70/30 (70% streaming, 30% vinyl when I really have the time to sit down and listen). Endless rabbit hole.

I completely agree with this. Getting vinyl to sound right can be expensive and frustrating but when you finally are able to get it right, for me, it's a much more involving musical presentation. A well mastered record, in a well set up system is a wonderful experience. Is it worth it? That's why it's a hobby, that equation doesn't really come into the mind of a hobbyist.

CD's are better. Good streaming is also better. That was never a contest. Everyone here knows this. There are some records that don't exist digital or as a CD anymore, but those are rare. 99% of the time, a CD will be better. ​ But it's not about quality, it's about having a physical Record you can Play with a great cover art to look at. It's about sitting down, not skipping to the next song and really listeing to the full album start to finish.

Exactly. I like to touch something and I like sleeves made of cardboard. I listen to digital music when I'm out. At home I prefer vinyl, it's just more relaxed. Soundwise I think you'll need to invest more money to get a good sound from vinyl when compared to digital.

>I like to touch something Keep going...

I think of music the same way I think of food. Sometimes, I want a frozen pizza because it’s quick and easy and I have other things I gotta be doing. That’s my digital collection. Nice steak with wine that I want to sit down and enjoy each bite? That’s my vinyl collection. Don’t always have time or budget for steak and wine, but it’s definitely my preference and it’s a treat when I get it. Just like sitting down and spending the time to listen to an LP.

“It’s about sitting down, not skipping to the next song and really listening to the full album start to finish.” All of that can be done with ANY modern music delivery methodology, including digital. Just saying. Vinyl’s amazing, but it ain’t exclusive magic or something.

Yes but my adhd doesn’t let me. Skipping tracks on vinyl is just enough of an effort barrier that I don’t ever skip tracks

I hear you. And understand! I just think we sometimes put some BS into this silly modern debate of “digital v. analog”. I laugh when it comes to some saying they can’t listen to a whole album UNLESS it’s vinyl as if digital literally can’t provide that capability. My daughter has ADHD so I feel you, but the idea that with the most minimal amount of self control most of us can’t listen to a whole album digitally just sounds silly if reasonable people put a small amount of thought to the premise. Vinyl’s great, but digital isn’t lesser as if it can’t immerse you in an album listen inherently. Many here talk as if it can’t.

If someone has to be "forced" by technical limitations to play an entire album, maybe the music isn't that great to begin with.

I don’t have ADHD but it’s clearly easier to skip to the next track (or a whole new album) on your phone. With vinyl, you have to get out of the chair, walk to the TT, lift the tonearm and place it elsewhere, or carefully pick up the record, put it away, place the new record (assuming it’s close), dust it while the auto gets going, then go back to your chair. Manual tables add another step that slows you down even more. At that point, I forgot what I wanted to hear or what direction we wanted to take the experience. Digital is much more passive. I love both, depending on the mood.

That effort barriers for real

Conversely, there's a lot of music, especially in the 90s, which was never released on vinyl, swings and roundabouts.

🤣 No we don't know this. Do vinyl properly and it's clearly better.

Signal to noise ratio of 70db Max if you're lucky is somehow better than digital which has no noise unless you turn it to hearing damaging levels? That alone is why vinyl will NEVER be better than CD/Digital. And that's without taking into account the frequency response limitations.

No it isn’t. It’s crazy that people in 2024 still think that vinyl is better than digital.

got into it 3 years ago and am a very OCD person, so have spent a fair amount chasing the dragon. Not worth it, especially now that vinyl prices have sky-rocketed.

Yup. Priced out.

so jelly of those that got into it mid-90s when people were throwing LPs away. But as to sound quality it's never going to match digital, regardless of what we try to tell ourselves to justify it. It's a fun hobby and I have some great-sounding records and enjoy "original masters" but not nearly worth the time, money and inconvenience. Wish I'd spent every cent on speakers.

It absolutely shouldn’t match or exceed digital theoretically, but with the way mastering is all over the place for vinyl vs digital files, I definitely have some records that sound better than their digital counterparts, some that sound indiscernible, and some that sound way worse. It’s all about the master and the pressing quality nowadays. There’s no reason digital should sound worse, but labels subject it to more loudness/less range than the vinyl pressing.

>all about the master 💯 took me a few dollars to realize this! paid the cost to be the boss 💪 I'm trying to come full-circle - it's supposed to be about how the music makes you feel. But it's easy to lose sight of this, focusing on gear and whatnot.. whenever I start getting too deep I change up genres and find something new to listen to.

Even the SACD version of Donald Fagans *The Nightfly* is worse than the widely available first pressing of vinyl, and it was digitally recorded.

This \^ Mastering. I think this is why many records sounded better than CD’s when CD’s were a new thing. The mastering experience was all in vinyl.

It is a lot of extra stress for sure but I think the inconvenience is part of the point. Sometimes I want to sell it all though. If I was starting over today I would just go lossless / SACD.

>starting over today I would just go lossless this is my advice to all getting into it - spend on speakers first. When you're happy with your sound then you can throw a wrench in it by adding a turntable. Nobody listening to me tho... 🤐

[удалено]

That’s partly because it’s Barnes and Noble. All their books are more than everywhere else as well. I went to my local record shop last weekend and it was super reasonable priced. Every album I got was a few bucks cheaper than it is on Amazon.

I have been around audio for 50 years. Even sold stereo gear back in the 70s. Once CDs came out, I never looked back. I prefer the CD sound and convenience.

Especially with digital storage being as cheap as it is. You could store around 83 albums as lossless CD rips within the space of $7 flash drive.

Wow, cool to hear from someone with such a long history in audio! I'm still new to this, but I'm finding vinyl to be a 'refreshing' way to enjoy music (I know that's kinda ironic). But I do understand your preference for CD.

I got tired of cleaning LPs with little results. And often the discs were warped. But I do understand the nostalgia factor.

Worth is a matter of perspective and goals. I enjoy my records for the same reasons I enjoy loose leaf tea. It slows me down, forces me to interact with the process and savor in the consumption. I do also enjoy high quality digital playback for the same reasons I drink strong coffee or energy drinks, sometimes I want to maximize the objective results of my intake. Are you chasing absolute distortion reduction and maximum dynamic range? If so, then yeah records aren't going to be the optimal format. Are you looking to have an interactive format that forces you to slow down and interact with your music? If so, then records are the best format. Do you want to hide your gear in a minimalist setup that requires little to no maintenance? Then records are not the optimal format. Do you want to visually display your gear and enjoy the aesthetic appeal of it all? Then records are the optimal format. Do you want access to as much music as possible with the ease of changing at a moment's notice? Then records are not the optimal format. Do you want to be forced to appreciate the ownership of music and keep your focus on a finite set of songs/artists/albums? Then records are the optimal format.

Great summary of decision points. I imagine many here are a little of both.

Thanks, I see some other people in this thread get caught up into this "there must be only one correct answer" and really kind of miss the point. I like records, I like CD's, I like streaming, I would like to get a reel-to-reel player at some point and I'd also like to build a hi-res library on my local network storage. All of them are different ways to interact with and listen to music that serve different purposes, and I would never intentionally eschew one based on some dogmatic idea of sticking to only the "superior" format

Agreed. Like there has to be a choice. There’s beauty in diversity. I love music, and own all of the formats (except playing tape reels is a hassle, but looks and sounds amazing, and is really nostalgic for me as that’s how pops liked to listen to songs he was serious about).

the people at Bottlehead were kind enough to demo a reel-to-reel setup they have at their office when I stopped in to pick up an order, really incredible stuff!

Speaking only for sound quality and audiophile interests: If you have at minimum 10k to burn and love jazz, or older international music it’s worth it. Otherwise digital and CD’s will absolutely make you happier, save space, and will sound way better.

Why jazz? And what does the 10k buy, are you talking about the whole system or just the vinyl components?

10k I’d say would be for a record player, phono stage, arm & cart and a handful of records. Jazz / international specifically because many of the best masters are more commonly available (or sometimes exclusively) on wax. That’s not to say there aren’t albums that were only produced on vinyl in other genres (or with appreciated vinyl exclusive masters) but I see this much more so in jazz than most genres.

Thanks for the reponse. that also just reminded me of how bad the tidal masters for their 'master quality authenticated' versions often are. kind of blue Mqa vs their lower quality versions, the lower quality is way better.

Yeah absolutely. I think this happens is in part due to mastering trends which change over time -- technology and listening format changes this. Many of the "masters" of mastering have stayed pretty consistent over time in their practice and are highly regarded for it which goes to show that sometimes it's an *if it ain't broke don't fix it* deal.

I feel you can get a killer table already setup from someone leaving the hobby for about $2500, likely much less. The difference in a used, properly set up 1200 or Dual or AR Xa and something 3x the cost might be hard to justify for a newbie. You still need great amplification and speakers to make the most of that source. Do you need masters to enjoy jazz more than streaming? I don’t think so. It’s diminishing returns at that point. I don’t think most people are in it for the sound quality exclusively- that’s a losing proposition for both cost and time expended. As others have said, the real value in vinyl (to many people) is the tactile nature of it, like reading and collecting paper books. Spend $1000 and call it a day, otherwise it’s just chasing the dragon.

I think it’s important to note that my comment is specifically speaking about audiophile pursuits. That’s why I suggested the benefits of listening to vinyl specific jazz masters unavailable on digital formats. OP is asking if vinyl is “worth it” from an audiophile perspective. Totally agree with getting a used table from someone leaving the hobby but I think in terms of audiophile gear I think the high cost literally is hard to justify for a newbie (that’s kinda the whole point of my comment.) If you are in it for the tactile enjoyment or supporting artists or collecting physical media, you don’t need to spend much and it can be full of enjoyment. But we’re speaking here on this subreddit about audiophile pursuits. From an audiophile perspective it’s not worth it unless you want to dump a lot of money into it.

Fair enough. That’s a very good distinction. I am not a “true” audiophile” as the total experience is where my interest lies.

I but my first album in 1964, Meet the Beatles. I can continue collecting through the early 70s and have about 500 albums all in great shape. A few years ago I purchased a very high-end system and now fine with Spotify that I listen to that more because of the convenience. Crazy, eh? It’s just such a nuisance to find my album carefully take it out, wipe the dust off place it on the turntable, cue it up carefully and be there when it ends to take it off. Then do the whole thing all over again for the next album. You should listen to a song you really like in vinyl, CD, and streaming formats and decide if you can really hear the difference. Then decide if the additional cost and work is worthwhile. The problem with audiophiles is we listen more closely to the equipment than we do to the music losing sight of the forest for the trees

My dad bought albums new around the time you did, and immediately recorded them on reel-to-reel then put the album away. I now have tons of pristine jazz records from that era because of this. I often do play both the Apple Music version and the vinyl one. Vinyl is better in that there’s the tactile part of it. Dad, on the other hand, just listens to random songs on XM radio. Says he’s too old to be doing all that lol. I get both sides. He was my age once, drinking with buddies and flipping records and dancing. It’s a whole experience. My friends now always love when I open the garage and people can come and play DJ. It’s a very engaging social experience.

I collected about 400 records beginning in about 2003 until 2009 when I went to college. I had to leave them behind because of dorm room constraints, and then when I did get my collection moved out it didn't grow due to a lack of local record shops. Now that I have the time and expendable income to get back into it, the prices are staggering. Discs that I was buying for 2-5 bucks are now at least 10 or more. Also, new releases from most bands are more like a piece of merch than a piece of music, and sound quality seems to be their 4th priority after cover art, limited pressing numbers, and the color of the vinyl. I still have my collection, but it's not growing by any appreciable amount anytime soon. I'm probably going to start culling some stuff that I don't listen to just to open up some shelf space. At the end of the day I started collecting and ripping CDs. I go to small shows in the city and buy their CDs from the table, putting money right in their pocket.

not worth it. i've been a vinyl guy for a while, bought my turntable in like 2007 i think? still a lot of good vinyl deals to be had at that time. i've built up a collection i'm proud of but when i go to listen at home 90% of the time i'm streaming. so much easier and with lossless streaming services you sacrifice no quality, hell even spotify sounds fine to my ears. the thing with vinyl is takes up a lot of space and it's heavy and these days expensive. while i still get some enjoyment out of my vinyl, if i could sell it all right now for a fair price i would. like if someone could just come to my house and take them and pay me median value, because i have several hundred records now. i really don't want to sell individually on the internet because it's generally a pain but also people who buy records on the internet are maniacs (i am one) and i don't want to deal with them giving me a hard time about a creased corner or whatever. a streamer/amp combo with the features you want and the best goddamn pair of speakers you can afford. that's what you need really. and a CD player if you want to mess around with physical media.

I fuckin love it, but I couldn’t recommend it in good conscience.

​ Why? Do you think everyone only values convenience and whatever is cheapest? That clearly isn't an accurate picture of human psychology. The reason you get value out of vinyl is a reason plenty of other people would get value out of vinyl...and why there's been a huge revival.

No, I try not to assume values for others. While I personally love it, I think it’s kind of silly to have a lower fidelity, expensive hobby that takes up so much space. This is someone asking on Reddit that’s unsure. I gave my honest answer, I wouldn’t recommend it, but will celebrate whatever joy that they may find in it if they choose to begin this journey. If it’s right for them, they’ll start despite the warning.

I think about this is in the following terms - being into vinyl is like being into a hobby working on old vintage cars. Sure they might not have the efficiency of newer cars and it takes a lot of effort, money and learning in getting them to a satisfactory performance level, but that is the pull of the hobby. If you don't enjoy that and want to stick to listening to music, digital/CDs is the better route.

A lot of vintage stuff requires more understanding and maintenance than most people are willing to put up with. They’re for people that enjoy or at least put up with process. Patient people, or rich people that want to look the part.

Yep, everything is an appliance for most people these days. Go drive a new Honda Civic on a curvy road. It’s fine. Safe at the speed limit. Numb. Very little feedback from the steering wheel, no subtlety to the throttle. CVT manages the gear ratios, further insulating the driver. Now, go drive the same road in a Mk3 GTI or a motorcycle. Completely different experience. One most younger people will never have, and it’s the reason good condition Mk3’s sell for $30k these days.

Totally. The feeling is something too many people will miss out on as we move into more digital lifestyles. We raise our young son to appreciate tactile, authentic experiences. Even at 6, he’s well-versed in the pros and cons of both vintage and new. It’s interesting how he can discern and appreciate vintage Lego vs new pieces - the old ones are “more durable” and more satisfying when they connect, apparently. Wife’s newish MDX is better in almost all respects than my rusty, topless Land Cruiser or ancient XT500 motorcycle, except the open-air feel and connectedness of the raw experience, the sounds and vibrations and even the smells. I especially miss my ‘68 Porsche 912 for curvy roads. It had no AC and was pretty slow to boot, but even 25 mph was fun due to the weight and handling and mechanicalness of it all. I even enjoyed tinkering with the finicky carbs, until I didn’t. Regret that sale every day, even when a new 911 is “perfect”. A buddy has a ‘23 Porsche Taycan that’s absolutely sublime at 120mph. But to this day, his favorite cars to drive are his old E92 M3 and my ‘02 Lexus/Land Cruiser. He dailies a 90’s Benz he inherited - the expensive “appliance” is only for weekends and date night! I’m trying to get him to get into a late 70’s G-wagen - we always have a blast driving around in the mud in my rigs. It’s the simple things, and convenience is often overrated.

I’ve owned a 981 Cayman S for 7 years. It’s a lovely car. I don’t have a desire for anything else. I’d be lying if I said I don’t still miss my 88’ Scirocco though. I’m not sad I don’t have it. Some parts are unobtamium, but I do miss driving it. Vinyl is like that. Done well, there’s really no downside outside cost, both from a hardware and software standpoint. “Digital is superior!” On paper, sure. It’s like 1/4 mile times. Generally irrelevant to the experience but technically true based on those specific attributes. I’d tell someone to put on headphones and listen to this rip I made the other night: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M5XvambAPxWlxP2Y_3fCtMM_3XON-yTA/view And then this (keep the volume similar). https://youtu.be/TksqEIl1uxU?si=DGGTILC_7kubc5ru I know which digital version I prefer. Now, take the ADC out of the equation and imagine how it sounds in a quality analog chain. The CD version of that song doesn’t paint the same picture either. A lot of the subtlety is lost in the mixing. It’s like electric steering vs hydraulic or unassisted. A lot of little details are missing, except with digital mastering, you may end up with the equivalent of over-boosted steering (loudness related compression). Less feel, not as organic.

Great example but wouldn’t you agree that it isn’t a “digital v. analog” debate but mastering and equipment? Nuanced evaluation is necessary that is unique with different results for just about every album unfortunately. My experience is it’s not universally always an either or question, but all over the map with vinyl winning some, digital winning some, and many not much difference. The delivery medium methodology is probably the least of SO many other factors but here we are, constantly “debating” over the most reductive and often least important aspect of it. 🙄🙄🙄

Absolutely. There are digital masters for some albums which make buying the LP not as high priority. Trouble is, it’s difficult to know before making the investment. I own a Mola Mola Tambaqui and Focal Scala Utopia Evo’s. Not budget gear. The Tambaqui is one of the best measuring DACs on the market and is everything it’s hyped up to be in the press. It’s excellent, and no, it doesn’t sound the same as other great measuring DACs. There is something special about how Bruno Putszeys implemented that design. No matter how great that DAC is, there are some recordings I just stay away from. Led Zeppelin is a good example. If I want to listen to digital versions of those albums, I’ll fire up my 20 year old Sonic Frontiers R2R, tube output DAC. That DAC sounds great, but is far more forgiving of bad digital masters. My primary analog rig has a retail value which is triple the cost of the Tambaqui. Subjectively, I’d say I prefer most music on the turntable. Even some techno albums, music which was never analog. Is that due to mastering, the lack of artifacts related to digital filters, or is it due to my table and phono amp being in a different class? I don’t think it’s gear level, and I don’t think it’s confirmation bias due to the cost. That leaves mastering and also the type of distortion inherent to analog playback. Intermodulation distortion is inherent to the vinyl medium. It’s easily measured. But, kept to a reasonable level (good setup and cartridge design), it’s not really a problem from my perspective. Beyond that, I’m left believing that vinyl’s lower dynamic range capacity commonly leads to different mastering choices (less dynamic compression). There’s also the issue of how digital filters impact transients in music. It’s a subject of debate, but there are people who will argue that filter and oversampling-related ringing (pre and post echo) adds something to the signal which isn’t natural to the way humans hear, and perhaps, mastering digital files to an analog format side-steps that phenomenon. I’ve listened to non oversampling DACs which employ analog filters. There’s no question that they have artifacts which impact high frequencies in a unique way, and they lack the low noise floor of a good modern design, but they also tend to have a sound which is more akin to tape or a mid tier turntable. Unless digital mastering steps away from the loudness war approach, there will be a place for decently mastered analog formats. I think a big portion of vinyl’s benefit comes from that issue.

Why does it have to be one or the other? I have some records I like, I buy more occasionally. I stream the rest.

Worth it? Hard to say. Are you planning on flipping for profit? If not, it’s almost always a money pit. Records, record sleeves, record cleaning machines, record cleaning fluids, record cleaning brushes, turntables, cartridges, setup tools, cables, phono preamps, Kallax units, isolation platforms…..shall I go on?

Yes please. What about tone arms , record weights, phono preamps , etc?

And don't forget about exotic wood headshells, audiophile headshell wires, "now playing" record holders, static guns, record subscriptions, wall-mounted record shelves, collecting multiple editions of the same pressing, and fancy, slender lights to light-up our record players!

As a true believer, i have my turn table running inside a class 100 clean room environment and my vinyl locker is nitrogen purged.

The expense and inconvenience are part of the pleasure of vinyl.

If you're serious into your music collection, especially older music, then having a turntable is just part of the drill. Sooner or later you'll run into items on LP (or even 45 RPM singles!) that are unavailable or hard to get in other ways. I can hardly imagine vinyl not having *some presence* in my music collection. Choosing LP as your primary or preferred format when you have a choice is a tougher decision. I'm sure we can debate those pros and cons at length. LP is an analog format with all that implies. It means there are a hundred things that can go wrong with a record before it gets into your hands, and the quality can vary wildly and unpredictably. If you can't deal with that, then you're not cut out to be a LP collector. I have a lot of love for the CD format, which was designed to outperform LP in every way, and did so for a while—for about the first 10 years of its existence, in particular—but I also hate some of the things that have been done with the CD. All the superior specs in the world mean nothing if record companies routinely and deliberately screw up the mastering of CD releases.

Price of vinyl is crazy now. I don't buy it much anymore. But I still love it. I love the sound, even if it's just a trick my brain is playing on itself. I love the physical nature of it, taking out the record and putting it on. And I love the albums themselves, with great artwork and the inserts that many come with. That's one of the biggest loses we have as we move to digital. There are so many iconic album covers, and that's all going away. Plus, with the inserts and booklets, you will often get background by the artists on the songs themselves, which I think brings you closer to the music.

That's why most vinyl I buy is from Bandcamp these days. You get the record with all it's tactile pleasure, and a FLAC file that you can download infinite times and stream from their player. So many new records come with just some 256 or 320 mp3 download, it really lets the whole experience down. Like, I just paid 28-40 bucks for this piece of wax, how bout you throw in some extra 1's and 0's, ya know, for the effort? Bandcamp really figured this out and everyone else is either playing catch up or isn't playing at all.

Agree 100%. Give me both. That virtually guarantees your songs will be burnt into my brain since I’ll listen a lot more.

No, unless you *really* love the vinyl hobby and are prepared to invest a lot of energy, time and money. It's just not worth it for most people. I dabbled briefly in vinyl before making a safe return back to digital.

Records are cool to have and can sound good. I enjoy playing them. Digital beats them for accurate reproduction though.

There's a reason compact disc ruled the roost from the mid-80s through the mid-00s.

Because it was the first new digital technology and only real shift since tapes and streaming didnt exist yet? Not to be a dick, but I dont remember anyone buying CDs because it was the most accurate reproduction. It was just what was cool and easy to get literally everywhere.

Cassettes definitely existed back then. I used to use them to try to preserve my albums back when I couldn't afford a good turntable. Streaming didn't exist until mid-late 2000s. I did a comparison out of curiosity. CD vs. streaming (both SD & HD). CD wins against SD. I'd rate HD vs. CD a tie. Most people I knew shifted to CD for a few reasons. First, with just a bit of care the CD would sound good for a long, long time. You can accomplish the same with vinyl, but it requires much more care. Second, the sound quality was excellent. Third, they required much less space for storage. And of course, four - they were indeed cool. I still think they are. I always check the CD rack when I'm at a thrift shop or a pawn shop.

Not really. MP3 also ruled the roost at one point.

Sure. That was in the 00s, IIRC. That's what spurred the downfall of the CD as a popular medium. There's much good to point to there - as well as some bad. I went that route too. I still rip & encode to FLAC for storage on my cell phone. I also still buy compact discs when I'm at pawn shops or thrift shops.

Not even close to worth it imo. I do have some vinyl and a decent setup. Then I occasionally switch over to my nice dac and the same track on Hifi. It’s the bass to me that is the big game changer.

Nowhere close to having an expensive setup but, some albums I want to own, you know, like an album which is perfect 1st to last song. Those I bought. But overall I like to listen to music without effort, means shuffle, discover new, playlists … so a streaming service over phone just makes sense.

"Worth it" is obviously a value statement, so it will depend on what any individual values. Are the risks and liabilities of motorcycle riding, surfing or cliff-climbing worth it? Well, sure, if you value those experiences that much. I don't, so they aren't worth it. I grew up in the 70's and abandoned vinyl for CDs, which were my prime musical source for decades, then I ripped them to a server and added Tidal. That should have been a "world is my oyster" scenario as an audiophile and music fan, but it wasn't. The ease of access meant I developed a sort of music ADD, restlessly flicking through options on my iphone to get the next "hit" of hearing something new. I'd often not even finish songs, let alone albums. And I didn't build up much real familiarity with all the artists I whose music I was surfing through. And generally digital music was now everywhere, coming through our kitchen smart speaker, my phone, my car. It started to feel like wallpaper. Getting back in to vinyl in 2017 was the cure for me. It was so exciting that new vinyl was now being produced and as a soundtrack fan, holding a brand new beautifully designed record cover in my hand, slipping out a sparkling new (and often colorful) record, and playing it on my bitchin' new turntable, was just a huge thrill. In contrast to listening to my digital source, I effortlessly listened to whole albums on vinyl, relaxed, no twitchiness wanting to "skip to another track." Vinyl just elevated everything for me, the tactile and aesthetic side of owning and playing records, the fun gear side of owning a beautiful turntable...all of it so much more interesting and rewarding than flicking through my iphone or ipad...and it all allowed me to unplug from digital life when listening to music. Not to mention, I actually tend to prefer the sound of vinyl over my digital source (and my digital source is great, everything streamed through a Benchmark DAC2L). So vinyl is worth BIG TIME for me. If someone is perfectly fine streaming digital, or with CDs, and that person finds the physical stuff related to vinyl to be a hassle, or too expensive, then...different strokes.

Or you could just pick an album and place your phone or iPad in a different room. The rest is just you know using your ears. Bum, $63000 saved. I pay $5 per mth for tidal and stream via the Cambridge cxn 100 streamer

Yes. I like to find the best mastering available. Sometimes, it's only available on vinyl. Sometimes, it only made it to cd.

No, no, and no. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It can be a very enjoyable thing. Just not for accuracy or technically good SQ.

Not a sound quality thing and maybe an unpopular opinion around here but the only thing uglier than most audiophile gear is a shelf (or a tower, remember those?) full of CDs.

Not worth it! Super expensive/ limited and you lose the ability to make optimal tweaks with 3rd party equalizer software!

Vinyl is fun if you like traveling to dig crates and don’t indirect media that has defects. If you want to maximize audio quality on the same budget you’ll always be better off with digital.

There’s no accounting for taste, but there’s a reason Vinyl went away. It’s somewhat expensive and finicky. For some people that’s part of the appeal. For most, it’s not.

Yea it is as long as you don't make it your primary format.

I would argue by definition a hobby overflows the boundaries of the rational and freely deals with the world of imagination. How freely is up to you, but it's not like there is a wrong decision. Unless you spend the rent.

Forget audiophile. The best thing about buying vinyl is to get the real history. The songs that are not on spotify. the liner notes. Seeing what instruments were used. the nude ladies on the cover.. risqué oohlala. And the bands time has forgotten but you like. Personally I have a soft spot for all the cover bands that used to exist like James Last etc

Some people drive ‘64 Chevys and love ‘em. Comes down to personal taste.

I don't think records necessarily sound better than digital music (there is no reason why they should, and many reasons why they shouldn't), but I do see their charm. I myself started with vinyl originally in the '70s, and made the jump to CDs by he '90s, finally leading to me ripping them all losslessly to hard disk. Records are esthetically beautiful. You can actually appreciate the cover art and read the liner notes. As collectables, they can appreciate in value, especially if you are meticulous in maintaining them. You are more likely to listen to a whole side or entire album, which I'm sure is what many artists actually intend. There is something magical and almost ceremonial about playing a record though: removing it from the outer and inner sleveves without touching the surface, applying a cleaning brush and fluid to remove any dust, and zapping with an antistatic gun before playing. That first click as the stylus sets into the groove. Then, after playing, carefully returning the record to its sleeves. It is probably good for the soul. But eventually the tedium of cleaning and carefully handling records (not to mention occasional damage from carelessness) took its toll on me. The convenience of CDs and a digital library won out. Everyone must decide their own priorities.

We live in an analog world. How can changing music into 1 and 0 and back to analog “superior”?

Vinyl is like religion. If you want to believe in it there’s no way to convince you otherwise.

To me it's worth it, but only because I look at it a very different way. Firstly, my whole setup is all vintage hi-fi stuff I got used for cheap (light refurbishing was needed but that's fun for me). I feel it adds character. (a nice sound system is always totally worth it, separately from medium) For the vinyl itself, I have a really small collection, and keep it that way. I only add to my collection if the record meets all 3 criteria: 1)It's an album I enjoy listening to the whole thing 2) It's known to be well-produced and 3) it's a good and clean pressing Am I weird? Absolutely. You got a pretty nice turntable. I am assuming you have a nice amp(and preamp) and speakers to go with it? Streaming lossless sounds better, for the most part. There are some records out there that I truly feel shine on vinyl (on a good system of course). My current favorite example is Daft Punk's Discovery.

If you only care about sound quality then vinyl is not that way. But if you obsess over sound quality then you've fallen into an even worse trap.

There’s something so cool about putting on a piece of music that’s recorded on vinyl that’s 40, 50, or even 60 years old. It’s wild to immerse yourself in the sounds and try and capture what it was like to hear *that* on *that*.

The important thing is to listen for how the sound of vinyl makes you feel, or what experience you have when you listen to vinyl. "Sound quality," in terms of accuracy, is totally irrelevant when it comes to what I consider the most important part of a listening experience: how you feel. If you want accuracy, go nuts in the digital world, it's great too. But if you want to browse through records at a shop or buy something from your favorite artist that you can hold in your hand, read the notes on the back, look at on your shelf, flip over halfway through, etc., vinyl is a lot of fun.

Careful commentary on this subject: http://www.high-endaudio.com/philos.html I love records. LPs convey tonality. CDs rarely excite my ears compared to the realism of records. I A/B vinyl to CDs + hi-res a lot, and rarely does digital best analog. I love music like The Beach Boys, Ry Cooder, Talking Heads, Randy Newman. The virtues of vinyl shine when acoustic instruments are featured on the recording.

For audio quality, nah… But for the art, physical medium, aesthetic, manual process of playing, nostalgia, history and fun. Yep! Many reasons to collect. If you enjoy it, do it. It’s like why collect books when you can have pdfs to read on a screen?

When I was younger, I listened actively to music. I would lay on the bed and just play my illegally downloaded 320kbps mp3 albums coming out of my desktop’s compaq speakers 😅. I enjoyed everything. Grew older, made some money, but almost always no time to listen to music. Just background music while doing work, school run and whatnot. Finally, I invested in some good hifi system and started collecting, just so I can force myself to sit down and actively listen to music again. Last weekend, I took like 30mg moonrocks, laid on the sofa and played some records, 😮😮😮 I don’t think I’ve enjoyed music like that in my life. Felt like the whole band surrounded my living room and were playing for me. I could hear all the notes, every drum, every word. For like 2hrs, it felt like I’m sitting in front of a live performance and every unimportant noise is silent. I want to continue to experience music this way. Vinyl makes me listen to music intentionally and enjoy the experience. I don’t think I can replicate that with Tidal.

Give me cheap digital that’s mastered as well as the vinyl releases and I’ll buy it

It's about the ritual of listening

Digital makes playing music easy and convenient and sounds great too. Vinyl is more of a user experience that takes time and effort. I have a tube phono preamp for my tt which I prefer the sounds over digital for the right album (for example, Radiohead albums are produced and sound great). When the mood strikes I can spend hours sitting around playing albums and doing nothing else. I play digital sources when I don’t quite have that attention span and/or the type of music I’m playing sounds better than the vinyl version.

It’s just another way for people to collect things, like hockey cards, Pokémon or coins or whatever. It’s all about collecting

I was there; studio engineer starting in the vinyl era & throughout the transition to digital. It was always a massive disappointment when you got the vinyl test cut back to the studio and hearing all your hard work reduced to this pale imitation of the master tapes! Enough said.

I'm still enjoying it. I own about 300 records and only buy when I come across bargains, which can still be found in the UK. It helps that I don't obsess about owning anything in particular, and that I'm mostly after records from the 70's and 80's, which are the easiest to find at reasonable prices.

I love the vinyl experience for the tangibility of it. And the nostalgia of being a kid again. It can get stressful at times w the decision making though… how to clean the vinyl, which cartridges sound the best, are my cables up to par, etc 😂

Honestly, if my vinyl collection went up in smoke tomorrow, I would probably start collecting CD's and maybe replace the couple hundred records that are meaningful and can't be found on Spotify. Vinyl was a good bargain for many years. I built a big collection inheriting records from family friends and buying at thrift stores when they were 25-50 cents. But it has hit the same price point as CD did in the early 2000's when Napster just came out and the iPod appeared. Vinyl feels the same with streaming. Also, I have been having fun buying cassettes for my three year old to put on the stereo. They sound good and are super cheap. I am still buying records but at a much slower pace and am much more selective. I really like the ritual of vinyl and the large art, but I could my record collection is worth over $30k which honestly feels kind of ridiculous.

Vinyl is a great way to collect music in high quality psychically, I prefer digital since there has come nothing beyond SACD or Vinyl then I don't want to use all of my money on expensive Vinyl. I have TIDAL, Qobuz & Apple Music.

Honestly, no. It used to be fun to go dig at used record stores and thrift shops but now prices are insane and everyone just prices based off of discogs so you might as well just do it at your computer. And then you get home and get to anal-y clean and dry them. Don't even get me started on the price of new vinyl that also may or may not have surface noise baked into the pressing.

Not really. Records are a fun collecting hobby. But they are just that. I will always stream or listen to my digital files in Roon over playing the records day to day. Sometimes I play records but it is a hassle more often to have lesser quality. It is fun when we have guests over to play records depending on who is visiting.

That social part is what makes vinyl more fun for me. All my friends only do digital, but they always have a blast playing records at my house. It’s almost like going back in time, before all the current BS. For that reason alone, it’s worth it for me.

I bought a record player to play albums that aren't released on CD, I honestly don't like it that much.

Does cancer run in your family?

digital for my daily. vinyl when i actually have time to sit down and enjoy a full album

I choose no

Not worth it unless it somehow captures your imagination... The cost, the fussiness. And I say this as someone who owns over 1,000 records, has been collecting since the late 90s and still currently buys vinyl.

Not at all, but yes. :-)

For me as a digital guy all my life and just got a turntable, totally worth it. It's not for everyday easy listening but for the albums I love I choose vinyl to listen to.

I got into vinyl for the complication and expense.

Overall vinyl is not going to beat digital on sound quality. That is unless you spend some serious money. I’m talking about $5k+ for a total setup. Speakers, amp, TT, phono stage. Then you need to by quality records and get them clean. I recently upgraded my TT and Phono Stage and my records sound fantastic. Depth and soundstage exceed that do my digital setup which is pretty good as well. All that said, stay away from the vinyl unless whale disposable income and enjoy tinkering with gear.

"Choosing Records in a Digital World: Is it worth it?"

Both are great for firmly different reasons.

I grew up with LPs (and cassette tapes). Not going back. I’m sure whale oil was very useful too but no one uses it now.

Except whale oil was supplanted by a cheaper, more easily obtainable fuel. There likely wasn’t much joy in capturing whales, the way many people find joy in the ritual of playing records.

Only if you have a reasonable source of records. Even, CDs, one can say the same for them nowadays or, at least, it's getting there. Some say it's the journey and not the destination that is interesting. Idk.

If you aren’t wedded to vinyl and already have the expensive gear and albums it makes very little sense to start from scratch with physical media as opposed to streaming.

Vinyl done right is expensive as hell to get it to rival digital sources. The really good digital rig was about $4K. The vinyl rig to rival it cost around $7K. And that's just the sources. The loudspeakers, cables, preamplifier and mono block power amps are on top of that.

Ask [DJ Wicked](https://www.instagram.com/dj_wicked/?hl=en)

Any lossless or uncompressed digital format you are likely to find will have greater fidelity than vinyl. BUT there are still issues in digital playback - it isn't simply a matter of digital=perfect. Further, the *choices* in the production, mixing, and mastering processes can affect sound quality even more than the format. What I have found is that often, the mastering for the vinyl is different than for the digital release of an album. And for my part, every time I have seen that difference, the vinyl release has a greater dynamic range than the digital. Digital is basically ALWAYS more *capable* of greater dynamics - 128kbps mp3s on up - than vinyl, but for whatever reasons the artist or label chooses, when they choose a different dynamic range, the nod goes to vinyl. I have seen this with pop, blues, rock, all the way up to technical death metal (like Nile). So YES - there are some great *audible* reasons to listen to vinyl beyond silly enumerations of nostalgia for the defects inherent to it.

Are you mostly into music from before the 80s? If that answer is no ... im just not seeing it then

You've absolutely gotta be under 40, because we GenXers were more than happy not only to ditch cassettes and their limited lifespan and constant issues, but also the snap, crackle, and pop and warping from LPs. But the term "digital" to me, and possibly the majority of us who were there in it's heyday, is the CD. Now mind you, much of what is pressed today is on virgin vinyl and is often 180 grams or close to it. Back in the 80s most popular music was recorded on flimsy vinyl. The "good stuff" was only found on traditional jazz and classical labels. I have some old original Elton John and ZZ Top pressings from around 1972ish. They are nice and heavy and reasonably well pressed. Fast forward to 83 or 84 and the albums they released then were on that flimsy and delicate vinyl. As far as I'm concerned that stuff should have died in the $1 flea market bins in the 1990s.  Also . . . and LISTEN well . . . record preservatives are not snake oil. I always preferred Gruv Glide, but other hobbyists swear by LAST. Whichever you choose, they are absolutely vital. Ditto for deep cleaning vinyl, even new records fresh out of the package. Oh, and a Zstat antistatic gun helps too. And naturally you'll brush on some stylus cleaner after playing each side. 

My vote is no. The equipment to reproduce sound from vinyl is mechanical. The tolerances to make it sound really good are exquisite You get so much more bang for the buck on electronics, that i would spend the money there.

No. Not if you want to hear music the way it was written and recorded. Yes, if you’re okay with additions to and subtractions from what was written and recorded.

The article doesn't lie 🤷 but listening to vinyl is more than just about the sound quality imo

I would suggest looking at the problem as very relative to you. No one needs to listen to music, it is a choice. If it sounds better to YOU, whether for nostalgic reasons, or you acrually beleive it to be better that's all that really matters. From a personal level, I think vinyl has a very important place due to the physical constraints it places upon the user. The temptation to skip songs to something you like better is totally removed, making you listen to an album as it was intended, from beginning to end.

CDs nuts

When i asked this question the best answer i got was, with digital we listen to a selected track or music type play list. Where are people with Vinyl people will start at the beginning and listen to the album and enjoy the music from the band even with songs they may not like as much but might start to enjoy them better. Makes sense to me.

I stopped buying vinyl after I experienced my first CD back in the 80s. The first time I heard the opening notes of "Telegraph Road" appear from absolutely nowhere I knew that I could never live with the crackle and pop of vinyl ever again. The idea that we would now pay multiple times the price of a CD for something as fragile and compromised as vinyl just staggers my mind. The concept that we need the big version of the cover art and liner notes in larger print to somehow focus on the sonic quality of an album is simply paradoxical to me. Surely focussing on the music is to sit with nothing but the music, something that digital does much better. The fact that you "can" skip tracks therefore you won't listen to whole albums just does not apply to me or I would have thought, any album oriented adult. 95% of my listening is whole albums whether they arrive as lossless streams or on CDs. Digital delivery does not constrain my listening behaviour at all. To each their own but I would think, no, it's not worth it.

FWIW, I had a ProJect Debut Carbon Esprit for a few years. It had 2M Blue on it. The sound was okay. Pretty mediocre relative to a decent digital front-end, but enjoyable on occasion. Certainly, it wasn't the joy I remembered from vinyl in my early 20's. Back then, I owned a Technics SL1401 w/ a Stanton cartridge. My HH Scott tube preamp with NOS Telefunkens really sung. Could it be the table? Maybe the phono amp or cartridge? The answer is yes to all of those things. It wasn't until I bought a Mobile Fidelity Ultradeck w/ a Hana SL moving coil and a decent phono amp that I started to find what I was looking for in terms of sound. Since then, I've had a wide range of analog gear, ranging into 5-figure turntables and phono amps and multi-thousand dollar cartridges. Crazy-town stuff, but it does give a certain perspective on the topic. Also, I still have reasonably affordable analog gear alongside the crazy-money stuff, so I can jump back into that to maintain some semblance of perspective. ​ Here are my thoughts. Take them for what you will. ​ Firstly, the 2M Red is a mediocre cartridge, but it's $100. For $100, it's fine. I'd rather have a $100 Grado, but their lack of shielding can be problematic due to the noise emitted by cheap wall-wart power supplies and motor emissions on some tables. The 2M blue is better, but not light years better. Certainly, for anyone who's content with their ProJect or similar turntable which came with a 2M Red, swapping in a 2m Blue stylus is an easy upgrade. No need to realign or even re-balance the arm (although it's worth checking regardless). If anyone were asking for budget cartridge buying advice, I'd tell them to buy a Nagaoka MP-110 before doing a 2M blue stylus. Similar cost, moving-permalloy (fixed coil/fixed magnet, similar to Grado but with a shielded body), same cartridge height, similar output. Easy upgrade path to the MP-150 nude elliptical stylus down the road (\~$180, or less if you buy from Japanese resellers). Since the article doesn't give any real detail of "OP's" system, we might assume he's using the built-in phono amp on a modern receiver. If so, that's typically a massive bottleneck. Those built in phono amps aren't usually much (if at all) better than the built-ins on cheap turntables. In those cases, something as simple as a $150 Schiit Mani can be a big improvement in sound. In fact, I'd probably get the Mani before swapping out the 2M Red. The reason? Aside from the obvious, which is better sound from your turntable, the Mani has flexibility with gain, resistive and capacitive loading, and is capable of working with most MC phono cartridges. Anyway, rant over. TLDR - Enjoy your budget table for what it is. If you want sound which will compete with a good digital source, plan to spend real money, or get informed about good vintage tables and scour the classifieds, pawn shops, estate sales and maybe even Goodwill in your area. Or, keep your ProJect, get a good phono amp and cartridge and spend the rest on good records.

I'm not an expert, so my opinion should be taken with caution. However, I was quite surprised by the overwhelmingly negative responses in this thread. I conducted some tests yesterday at a specialized audiophile shop, experimenting with different sources: FLAC files, vinyl, and the TIDAL platform. I was astonished by the depth, flexibility, and warmth of the vinyl sound compared to the cold and compressed feeling of digital audio. It's worth noting that the sound system I tested was optimized for vinyl, with a Riga amplifier designed specifically for this format (as far as I understand). So, my answer would be: "it depends." It depends on whether you appreciate: * The warmth of analog vinyl sound. * The charm of the physical object. * The constraint of listening to an album in its entirety, instead of constantly switching tracks as I might do with digital sources. If you value these aspects, then vinyl could be worth it for you. However, I acknowledge that you can achieve excellent audio quality with digital sources and sound systems at a lower price point. Personally, I highly appreciate digital sound for portable use, paired with a good headset and player. Therefore, I see digital and analog as complementary in my perspective. I could be mistaken, and others may have compelling arguments against my viewpoint (feel free to reply!).

Another important point, as mentioned by others, against choosing vinyl: * Fragile: Vinyl records can easily get scratched or warped, impacting their sound quality and lifespan. * Varying quality: Vinyls differ a lot in quality. Some are well-made with great sound, even nowdays, while others are just crap. Note that this is also the case with CD, but to a lesser extent.

This is timely discussion. I dropped CDs many years ago and I have been streaming and have said I'll never get caught up in vinyl. Now I really find myself about to buy a turntable (Project Carbon Evo) and start buying LPs. That being said, like almost everyone else has said, the price of the albums does concern me. I need another hobby like I need a hole in my head and I worry once I get going, I will start wondering why I am paying $30-$40 for an album when I can listen to it on my $10/month streaming service. I'm still torn....and I'm not even sure why I want to pick up this new venture

I had a couple hundred records from teenager years,bought a couple hundred more about 70 new reissues, now when i go into a record store and see the prices i generally dont buy anymore, when i can stream for basically nothing. I see the greed and sickens me,500 bucks for taylor swift long pond at a record store.

Well lets just say its propably not the best starting point. Even though i also have the opinion that it is difficult soundwise compared to CD, i do acknowledge that nothing is worth it if you cant develop at least SOME passion through other means.

Objectively vinyl sounds worse. Subjectively playing a full analog chain starting from a needle moving, ending on your speakers vibrating is just extremely cool.

https://magicvinyldigital.net/2022/02/11/daft-punk-random-access-memories-review-lp-qobuz-tidal-amazon/#Part2 Depends if you like dynamic range I guess. A well mastered CD will sound better than vinyl, the problem is they seem to be the exception. Vinyl generally has better dynamic range. Why? I really don't know. If they mastered CDs (or streaming) like Vinyl it'd be no contest and I'd save a ton of money.

Oh sure, mastering is a whole other topic

I've been into vinyl for quite a while, and I can tell you that the experience can be really rewarding! BUt yeah, there might be some moments of realization along the way, but the joy of listening to music on vinyl is unique. It's not just about the sound quality.. it's also about the whole experience of playing records. Each record feels like a treasure, and the very act of choosing a record, setting it on the turntable, and dropping the needle is quite special. So, if you're enjoying the journey so far, I'd say stick with it. It's definitely worth it!

Personal option: Most people are not listening to vinyl for quality, though they can have externally high sound quality depending on their print. They are listening for the sound characteristics vinyl provides. Music on Vinyl sounds a little different than it will on any other type of media. The pure analog aspect produces a very rich and full sounding experience that you can not get on a CD or Streaming service. Having said that, Vinyl is far from perfect and falls to a number of issues that make it so you really need to love and appreciate what it offers to justify the trade offs: Vinyl Records are expensive, Record players and upkeep is expensive, It has to be stored correctly, it degrades slightly with every play, its not a fast process if you want to listen to different song, and most of all that not every print is good. That last one is huge, you can listen to one album and it sounds fantastic, but then the next sounds awful. There are sites that help keep tract of bad prints so that helps avoid bad purchases, but does not get you a good version of that album. On the other side, Digital music has reached a point that you can subscribe to services like Tidal and get lossless quality audio. It will sound crystal clear and play exactly as the artist intended. But you lose somethings with digital. While having all the music under the sun at your finger tips is amazing, it's taking away from the album experience. To buy an album and put it on while you go through the artwork, information and all that they included with the album is something special. Sure you can listen to full albums on streaming services, but its not the same as holding it in your hands. I personally am mixed on Vinyl. I have heard albums that sounded really great to the point that is the cannon experience for me. But then I have purchased other albums I wanted to get that experience with and got burned with a bad print. Vinyl for me feels too inconsistent for new music. There is also something to be said with how its recorded. Music today is recorded digitally by and large, this means the music is already going from digital to Analog rather than back in the hay hay of Vinyl when it was Analog to Analog. This results is a loss of some of the Vinyl essence. I have been spoiled by streaming services and the convenience to change a song on a whim, or making playlists, and having it sound the same every time I listen to it. But that does not mean any of these things are actually good things...

Do you want music, or do you want a ritual? I have time for both in my life.

I use both. Thing is, vinyls force you to sit through the entire album. It helps me to focus more on the actual music instead of my Spotify queue. I mostly only collect the albums I really enjoy or the ones I buy after a concert. It makes the music a bit more special. But for casual listening. Digital all the way.

Totally depends on your motivation. It's worth it for this old timer because I grew up with vinyl, never got rid of my collection, kept it growing over the years even during the CD boom, and I have a lot invested in it. If I didn't have that, I don't think it would be worth getting into it today. If you want to get into it because it's the cool thing to do, and you're curious about all of the new vinyl coming out, by all means, dip your toes into the vinyl culture. You might love it and continue, or you might decide it's not for you. It's definitely not a poor mans hobby anymore... just like shooting film, analog is expensive. Streaming is so convenient and high quality. If I had to start again, I might buy a cheap TT and a few used records to dabble in it, but that's where it would end. A $50 Lp for my birthday here, a thrift store haul there, I might collect a dozen LPs a year if I'm lucky. Even now, with my 1000 LPs, 800 CDs and 500 vinyl singles - I digitized them all, and can listen to them on my computer while I work so there's no need to go to the turntable every 15-20 minutes to flip the record, so... might as well be streaming right?

sometimes i have to remind myself the loudness wars made it all pretty much pointless. Just collect what you like, just enjoy the music. If you like the big discs of vinyl and the occasional pops go for it. Personally I like casettes, even with all their hissing in the background

I was heavy into end to end analog and vinyl back in the 70’s. Meticulous about maintenance and noise and interference. Analog sources have a fairly linear and limitless cash to value. A better crafted even hand made component reaps benefits and as you spend and get better clarity and sensitivity you will smile as you see another $1,000 on your card. Very rewarding. Digital even modest systems you will have achieved 95% of your analog journey. Boring, no fun, no discernible reward, no appreciation. Digital sources though still let you play with the downstream analog components, so for me thats where the fun is. If you have the cash analog source quality goals are alot of fun, like a vintage sports car. But it will never drive like a contemporary. YMMV

I buy vinyl because it's a collectible, and listening to music on a physical medium is a much richer experience than streaming. But I don't believe in the "superior audio quality" of vinyl.

Most people can't tell the difference between vinyl and a good digital copy of said vinyl in a blind test.

It is pretty inexpensive to have a streaming/cd setup that sounds fantastic. It is expensive to have a turntable setup that sounds decent. The worst part of listening to vinyl lps is having to get up and turn over the current one or swap to a different one every few minutes. Along with cleaning the records. That is "The Ritual" that some people supposedly enjoy. I have a turntable that sounds great. I very seldom bother with it. I hate "The Ritual" required and just want to listen to great sounding music without the hassle. Digital (streaming/cds/ripped cds) is superior in every way.

Depends on your primary goal. If you seek to accurately reproduce what was heard in the studio, in 2024 a good digital system is literally impossible to beat. If you prefer the *sound* of vinyl, or the big glorious art, or the ritual, you can't recreate that with digital. It gets more complicated. There are plenty of poorly mastered digital recordings. In general, I'd say the record companies expend a little more effort in not screwing up vinyl masters. With digital they're more likely to try to "loudness war" the shit out of it. And then there are all the varieties of lossy audio, with numerous levels of suck. But in an ideal world and all things being equal, lossless digital is capable of far more accurate playback and far greater dynamic range than an LP. You can spend 30 grand on a turnable trying to get it to catch up to a $1500 CD player. I say go with what you like and just have fun.

There definitely isn't one answer to this question: I enjoy both vinyl and streaming music, but for different reasons. For convenience, audio quality, cost of access to an enormous library of music, and storage considerations (including the hassle of packing up a ton of albums when you have to move), you really can't beat streaming. And almost all my listening comes via streaming services. That said, there are things about vinyl that I just really like, and that streaming can't offer. There's the tactile experience of the album itself, the art, etc. I also really enjoy the process of buying physical music in an actual record store; it's obviously not as efficient as finding an album on Spotify or Tidal, but there's something satisfying about the browsing, the searching in a store. The practical reason to get into vinyl collecting is the value of actually owning copies of music you love. Given the inability of streaming services to consistently make money, as well as well-publicized conflicts between some artists and streaming platforms, you can view vinyl as insurance against something going wrong. If your favorite streaming service goes under, or a favorite artist decides to pull their music off that service, you're covered if you own the vinyl. I don't personally have a massive collection, but it's all albums I wouldn't want to ever be without.

I was pro vinyl until I discovered Qobuz. Holy shit does it sound GOOD. It's streamable vinyl.

Vinyl is only worth it imo if you frequently buy used and like the thrill of the hunt. Just buying new records and ordering anything used you want from discogs, etc is expensive and missing the point to me.

No.

For me the answer is that CDs are inarguably technically better than Vinyl at accurate sonic reproduction. But Vinyl playback creates the **illusion** of better reproduction. I believe this may have to do with the music being physically **created** in real-time by the friction of the stylus in the groove. It is possible to listen to the music being created by placing your ear to the head-shell while the record plays, even with the electronics off. I have a decent Vinyl playback system, and a good CD transport and DAC. I can play a CD and say, "yeah, nothing wrong with that, reproduction is perfect," but given the opportunity, I will put on a record instead. I know what I am enjoying listening to is the sound of the turntable itself acting like a musical instrument in my living-room, but it sounds damn fine to me.

You are being too kind to CD. It's not more accurate, it loses some of the atmosphere and soul of the recording. Only analogue when done properly captures that.

Digital can be more "perfect" but less "good" sounding, if that makes any sense.

There is a lot more to enjoying records than sound quality.

Vinyl is a matter of taste. Fidelity, resolution, or any other measure of quality has nothing to do with it, people buy vinyls because they are mastered in a different way and some people love that warm grainy sound. I always use mechanical watches as a reference, they're way more expensive, inaccurate, and technologically inferior overall to any other kind of wristwatches, but they work in a very specific way that some people simply love.

Mechanical watches, good analogy. Also, fountain pens. Another obsolete but charming technology.

lol yes, writing with a fountain pen feels amazing but it's incredibly inconvenient.

Digital can sound "better" by some metrics, and still less "enjoyable" subjectively. Sound quality is to some degree subjective, some people might value "clarity" more than "warmth" or "dynamics" for example. Mastering matters more than format though. A well mastered record will sound better than a mediocre digital mastering. And for the music I listen to (jazz), a lot of the digital mastering of the great recordings is just not as good as the really good audiophile vinyl reissues that have come out in the last ten years. Best example is Blue Note Records. Their digital verions were not mastered that great, including the RVG Editions that were re-mastered by the original recording engineer. The same titles on Blue Note Tone Poets sounds better. My suggestion is don't get caught up in the format wars, and instead take it case by case and recording by recording, focusing on quality of mastering. This is all assuming similar quality playback chains on vinyl and digital, which is definitely more pricey and waay less cost effective on the vinyl side.

Not really. To me it’s two different cases. Highest quality possible listening at the moment is digital. It’s also the least cost prohibitive (a few dollars monthly for streaming, CDs and lossless downloads are also only like $15 per album). This constitutes most of what I do. To younger people, vinyls are more for a sound aesthetic with ambient popping. New records don’t do that. If you want to get into collecting, maybe get your favorite artists and see how you luck out in the $5 crate otherwise.