Compact Disc versus Vinyl

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E7
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby E7 » Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:59 am

rilynes wrote:A question for anyone in the group who copied their LP's to CD's. Have you had any deterioration of those CD's? I was all set to begin transferring my LP's to CD's (this is back in the 90's) but never got around to setting things up. This was pre-USB and required a line-level audio feed to the audio inputs on a sound card in your PC plus some fairly pricey software. Later came the reports that the blank CD's you used in your PC or CD recorder didn't hold up well over time. Can't remember now if it was the green ones or the blue ones that started to give up their data in less than five years. Can't remember the tech differences that made them not as permanent as the commercially manufactured CD's, but was always glad I never overcame the inertia that kept me from starting the project. Maybe there were more dependable blanks available later. Anyone have any experiences either way?


I asked a friend of mine that has many many copies (done on Memorex blanks), and the answer was no problems to date. Talking a period of 6 years or thereabouts, so it appears that if you transfer to decent quality blanks you will be good to go.

Considering it generally costs more to buy new vinyl than CD versions, and that vinyl degrades with every playing, and because I am totally happy with the sound I get from CD's, it will be a cold day in Hades before I buy anymore vinyl.

Rich

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John Webster
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby John Webster » Thu Nov 16, 2017 12:20 am

How do you get the paper sleeves with the lyrics on them into the CD cases?
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E7
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby E7 » Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:24 am

John Webster wrote:How do you get the paper sleeves with the lyrics on them into the CD cases?


John,

On the standard plastic "jewel boxes" there are 4 small semicircular tabs (2 each side) of the lid. The pamphlet with the notes about the disc slides under those tabs. There are 2 "stops" at the open end of the lid to help keep the notes in place. You can feel them and the side tabs with your fingers if you can't see them.

On the cardboard style cases, there is a diagonal slot in the lid and the notes slide in behind it.

I know you have been having some vision problems of late, hope this helps!

Rich

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John Webster
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby John Webster » Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:06 am

Thanks Rich.
You begin flying with a full bag of luck and an empty bag for experience. The object is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

J. S. Bach
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby J. S. Bach » Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:29 pm

Where do you park the electron microscope needed to read the pamphlet with the notes about the disc?

E7
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby E7 » Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:59 pm

J. S. Bach wrote:Where do you park the electron microscope needed to read the pamphlet with the notes about the disc?


The Coca-Cola bottling plant is running a Black Friday special on lenses! :mrgreen:

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chuck
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby chuck » Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:10 am

If you can still find one that doesn't cost a fortune, the linear track turntables can produce the best sound in terms of getting as much as possible off the vinyl. That's how the master was cut, linear track. Everything else introduces some degree of skew since the pick up needle isn't truly perpendicular to the track. Radio Shack used to actually carry a nice LT turntable for about $150 dollars. Biggest complaint(s) was finding cartridges for it and it needed to be level and on a very sturdy isolated base. The downward tracking force was insanely low and almost any vibration would cause it to skip.

Way back in the day when vinyl was still supreme there were some studies done on why a record could even be played once as the contact forces for the stylus were high enough to deform the vinyl (not to mention shaving it off). The team doing the research realized the vinyl was distorted but would "rebound" if allowed to recover for something lie 12-24 hours.

The biggest enemies have always been dirt/dust and static electricity (which helped attract the dirt and dust). I have has so so luck transferring vinyl to digital format. Main issues are the quality of the play back. If the record's in bad shape you would need some serious software (and skills to use it) to get it back to something close to original shape. I've found it better/easier to search 2nd hand music shops for CD's if it's something I really want. There were lot of disks pressed that weren't in the catalogs or stores.

My hearing is in pretty good shape but I doubt I could tell the difference between an LP and a CD other that the CD probably sounds cleaner. The early CD's had issues with the RIAA curves that needed to be adjusted for CD production. They were overly bright or in rare cases could actually damage play back equipment. If you have exceptional hearing you can detect the difference. Vinyl and old school tapes are analog. Everything else is digital. By the time you get the sample rate up to where someone with good hearing can't "notice" the discrete steps you're dealing with very large amounts of data. To the folks with ears that can hear the difference that's probably what they are actually detecting and why the call it "warmth".
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E7
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Re: Compact Disc versus Vinyl

Postby E7 » Fri Nov 17, 2017 2:03 pm

Pioneer made a nice linear tracking turntable (no locomotives allowed), the PL-850. I never made the step up to that one because the CD was either there, or right on the horizon, so I backed off what would have otherwise been a purchase.

The few LP's that I had copied to CD were done off of mint copies. The people who did the copying were pros and had noise removal equipment. I went by the GIGO principle: garbage in-garbage out.+

I am continually amazed at how much old material has been brought back on CD.


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