Preference for music listening.... Vinyl, CD, Streaming?

[rjfp1962]

I have been using a CD based separates systems since 1986, replacing a Thorens TD166 turntable in the process. My first CD player was a Marantz CD84, Creek CAS4040 amp and Acoustic Research AR18 speakers.

My main reason to change at that time was, I didn't have a lot of vinyl records and the static/dust "noise" was annoying! Also as a young 24 year old at that time, the new tech certainly appealed!

I preferred going through the vinyl records in a store (Pre-Amazon days!) and the sleeves were better, the lyrics easier to read than the ones in a CD jewel case! But for pure listening I prefer CD, which like vinyl, has evolved and improved over the decades...

Just need glasses and magnifying glass to read the small printed lyrics sometimes....!

[otherman]

I still have a turntable and spin up some vinyl occasionally. But 99% of the time, my music comes from a digital collection on the PC, played out through my hifi amp and Wharfdales. It's so easy to build a playlist. I still use an old version of winamp, because it does all I need.

[theboss]

I use a combination of my own ripped / purchased lossless files sitting on my own server and streaming from Spotify and Tidal.

Spotify has the edge on usability due to seamless integration of devices with Spotify Connect, but doesn’t offer lossless streaming. That said, their 320kbps “high quality” doesn’t sound bad at all.

I like the streaming services a lot. The increased accessibility of music and ease of use means the hifi gets far more daily use from the whole family than it ever did in the past, which is great for wife approval factor.

[selym]

I listen mostly to vinyl and enjoy that format the most but I also stream music for listening to in the background; Radio Paradise mostly. I also use Tidal for a taster before I buy it on vinyl.

[outnumbered]

I didn't buy a single piece of vinyl after there was the choice to buy CD instead and I sold all my remaining vinyl 20+ years ago. I could never understand the attraction of such a compromised medium. These days I rip CDs and listen to them via a local streaming solution (haven't powered up my CD player for at least a couple of years), plus also use Spotify premium. The only downside of Spotify is that a lot of the older content is now remasters, which can be much worse than the originals for sound quality (e.g. due to loudness war over-compression).

[Deranged Rover]

I use Spotify Premium for making party playlists and the like, plus checking out new music, but buy my music on vinyl. I also have lots of CDs that I love but I haven't bought a new one for ages. Most of my CD purchases these days are older discs from second-hand shops/market stalls/car boot sales.

Oh and I also use cassette for nostalgia!

[GravelBen]

Mostly lossless files (some ripped from CD, some bought directly in that format) on PC, running as a media server for network devices to play from.

[belleair302]

80% streaming from Tidal, 10% in the car bluetooth, DAB or CD, and 10% SACD on an Oppo via my home cinema rack setup.

[Crackie]

outnumbered said:

I didn't buy a single piece of vinyl after there was the choice to buy CD instead and I sold all my remaining vinyl 20+ years ago. I could never understand the attraction of such a compromised medium. These days I rip CDs and listen to them via a local streaming solution (haven't powered up my CD player for at least a couple of years), plus also use Spotify premium. The only downside of Spotify is that a lot of the older content is now remasters, which can be much worse than the originals for sound quality (e.g. due to loudness war over-compression).

Very similar situation for me. I can't remember when I last purchased a vinyl record but it was probably in the late 80's / early 90s. Most of my listening is now streamed at pretty low res. I still have a Wadia CD player hooked up to the main system and an original Exposure CD in the dining room.......and a couple of early 90's Technics CD players too. The Wadia doesn't get much use these days but the others are in regular use.

From a convenience point of view, I agree that vinyl is a very compromised relative to newer alternatives. I don't agree that it is "such a compromised medium" as regards sound quality though. High quality vinyl is spectacularly good and has been since the 70's, imho the newer formats have only come close very recently.

[outnumbered]

Crackie said:

Very similar situation for me. I can't remember when I last purchased a vinyl record but it was probably in the late 80's / early 90s. Most of my listening is now streamed at pretty low res. I still have a Wadia CD player hooked up to the main system and an original Exposure CD in the dining room.......and a couple of early 90's Technics CD players too. The Wadia doesn't get much use these days but the others are in regular use.

From a convenience point of view, I agree that vinyl is a very compromised relative to newer alternatives. I don't agree that it is "such a compromised medium" as regards sound quality though. High quality vinyl is spectacularly good and has been since the 70's, imho the newer formats have only come close very recently.

I mean technically compromised. I get that some people like the sound of vinyl, and well mastered vinyl recordings on a good setup are going to sound great, but that doesn't stop it having limited dynamic range, variable distortions, prone to surface noise, etc etc.

[Crackie]

outnumbered said:

Crackie said:

Very similar situation for me. I can't remember when I last purchased a vinyl record but it was probably in the late 80's / early 90s. Most of my listening is now streamed at pretty low res. I still have a Wadia CD player hooked up to the main system and an original Exposure CD in the dining room.......and a couple of early 90's Technics CD players too. The Wadia doesn't get much use these days but the others are in regular use.

From a convenience point of view, I agree that vinyl is a very compromised relative to newer alternatives. I don't agree that it is "such a compromised medium" as regards sound quality though. High quality vinyl is spectacularly good and has been since the 70's, imho the newer formats have only come close very recently.

I mean technically compromised. I get that some people like the sound of vinyl, and well mastered vinyl recordings on a good setup are going to sound great, but that doesn't stop it having limited dynamic range, variable distortions, prone to surface noise, etc etc.

There was a turntable group test in Feb 1990's Hi-Fi Choice; back in the day when they conducted blind tests in front of a listening panel of approx 10 listeners. The test used master tapes from Altarus Records evaluate the performance of various players. The article, by Richard Black, concluded that the two best decks in the test ( Pink Triangle PT TOO with SME V & Townsend Rock Reference with Excaliber arm ) were extremely close to the original master tape. The only area where vinyl fell short was on bass heavy tracks where there was a slight evidence of pitch instability on big bass transients. The cartridge used for the test was far from state of the art; it was a mid range £100.00 Audio Technica AT-F5 moving coil. I still have the magazine somewhere. The point is that vinyl may be technically compromised but those compromises ( limited dynamic range etc are not subjectively audible when the turntable / arm / cartridge is of sufficient quality.

[selym]

Crackie said:

outnumbered said:

Crackie said:

Very similar situation for me. I can't remember when I last purchased a vinyl record but it was probably in the late 80's / early 90s. Most of my listening is now streamed at pretty low res. I still have a Wadia CD player hooked up to the main system and an original Exposure CD in the dining room.......and a couple of early 90's Technics CD players too. The Wadia doesn't get much use these days but the others are in regular use.

From a convenience point of view, I agree that vinyl is a very compromised relative to newer alternatives. I don't agree that it is "such a compromised medium" as regards sound quality though. High quality vinyl is spectacularly good and has been since the 70's, imho the newer formats have only come close very recently.

I mean technically compromised. I get that some people like the sound of vinyl, and well mastered vinyl recordings on a good setup are going to sound great, but that doesn't stop it having limited dynamic range, variable distortions, prone to surface noise, etc etc.

There was a turntable group test in Feb 1990's Hi-Fi Choice; back in the day when they conducted blind tests in front of a listening panel of approx 10 listeners. The test used master tapes from Altarus Records evaluate the performance of various players. The article, by Richard Black, concluded that the two best decks in the test ( Pink Triangle PT TOO with SME V & Townsend Rock Reference with Excaliber arm ) were extremely close to the original master tape. The only area where vinyl fell short was on bass heavy tracks where there was a slight evidence of pitch instability on big bass transients. The cartridge used for the test was far from state of the art; it was a mid range £100.00 Audio Technica AT-F5 moving coil. I still have the magazine somewhere. The point is that vinyl may be technically compromised but those compromises ( limited dynamic range etc are not subjectively audible when the turntable / arm / cartridge is of sufficient quality.

...and if you feel you have to deal with that slight pitch instability then you can throw a direct drive turntable like the SP10 in, which will nullify that tiny issue.

I use an LP12 so I'm light years away from faithfully reproducing the master tapes as I'm sure I'll be told!

[spyder dryver]

I've been using Meridian kit for more years than I care to remember, starting with 200 Series then 500 and now onto G Series. "Source" is a Sooloos Control 15 together with an MD600 4TB store. The Sooloos touchscreen has transformed the way I listen. I can put together a playlist in seconds using the screen, laptop or Ipad but I often use the "Focus" or "Explore" features where the choice is left to the Sooloos based on my suggestion of artist or genre etc. I can even pick a particular musician, say drummer, Jeff Porcaro, or a particular producer etc. and it searches out all relevant tracks. I'm probably listening to at least twice as much music since I got it which is a good thing.

[miniman]

Oddly perhaps I like listening to albums on the most likely original media. Eg Rumours sounds great on vinyl, Britpop on CD. I’m also far less likely to skip tracks and not listen to the whole album with physical media.

[rjfp1962]

[quote=selym]
I use an LP12 so I'm light years away from faithfully reproducing the master tapes as I'm sure I'll be told!

The Linn Sondek LP12 has always been regarded as a premium turntable for decades. I never got close to owning one before going to dedicated CD systems..!

[mike9009]

miniman said:

Oddly perhaps I like listening to albums on the most likely original media. Eg Rumours sounds great on vinyl, Britpop on CD. I’m also far less likely to skip tracks and not listen to the whole album with physical media.

I miss doing this and I am going to make the effort to listen to complete albums again. I stream stuff through basic Amazon prime subscription mainly now.... quite soulless really.

[rjfp1962]

[quote=mike9009]
I miss doing this and I am going to make the effort to listen to complete albums again. I stream stuff through basic Amazon prime subscription mainly now.... quite soulless really.

I have had a CD, amplifier and speakers system now since 1986, and unusual I know, this is my only way of listening to music.
Half my lounge is dedicated to my music system and seating for a good listening experience, and even though you can skip tracks on CD, I never do....!

[kingston12]

miniman said:

Oddly perhaps I like listening to albums on the most likely original media. Eg Rumours sounds great on vinyl, Britpop on CD. I’m also far less likely to skip tracks and not listen to the whole album with physical media.

I don't think that's odd, especially when using vinyl. It's more of a hassle to skip tracks.

I'm an album listener for most types of music anyway, but I might skip the occasional tick when listening to my streamed collection or Tidal, never on vinyl.

I listen to vinyl about 80% of the time, digital the rest.

That's changed a lot in the past six months as I'm WFH the whole time now. Before that, Id listen to vinyl 100% of the time at home, but that only represented a small proportion of my overall listening, the majority being digital through headphones while walking/on train/in office.

The WFH could work out expensive in terms of new vinyl/styli.

[Leggy]

Fancy one of those Brennan B2’s. Not a fan of streaming as I like to own my music outright. Plus you’re tied into a subscription that if you stop you’ve got little to show for your money.
Also crap broadband struggles to even get my Apple TV to play off my iPad reliably.
Anyone got experience of these B2’s?

[miniman]

kingston12 said:

miniman said:

Oddly perhaps I like listening to albums on the most likely original media. Eg Rumours sounds great on vinyl, Britpop on CD. I’m also far less likely to skip tracks and not listen to the whole album with physical media.

I don't think that's odd, especially when using vinyl. It's more of a hassle to skip tracks.

I'm an album listener for most types of music anyway, but I might skip the occasional tick when listening to my streamed collection or Tidal, never on vinyl.

I listen to vinyl about 80% of the time, digital the rest.

That's changed a lot in the past six months as I'm WFH the whole time now. Before that, Id listen to vinyl 100% of the time at home, but that only represented a small proportion of my overall listening, the majority being digital through headphones while walking/on train/in office.

The WFH could work out expensive in terms of new vinyl/styli.

Sorry, the odd bit I meant was that newer albums don’t sound right on vinyl. Eg I have the latest Jamiroquai on vinyl and it’s just wrong. But an old Elton John is perfect.