Does vinyl sound better than CD?

Digital sound is superior to Analog in every way. Funny when original digital recording sound is converted into vinyl and then "vinyl audiophiles" claim that it sounds superior. I don't even mention noise, cracks and pops of vinyl. Vinyl was re introduced by Corporations to prevent piracy and some "audiophiles" swallowed the bait. CD costs say 10£ and vinyl £30- and more and that's the secret of good salesman...

My experience as being a sound-engineer for 35 years make me totally agree - but I still love the LP format :-)

Why does no one ever say that vinyl can sound as cold and lifeless as a CD? I have many examples of this in my collection. Also, what many hardcore vinyl-lovers never mention is the cartridge/stylus, which has a huge impact on what the vinyl will sound like. They never seem to tell you what they are working with. I also submit that if you think vinyl sounds warmer, whatever that means, you are actually hearing the surface noise and probably some element of the turntable. Tony does mention this.

Well done, Tony. You've pointed out enough facts about the advantages of the CD format, so as to point out the illogical choice of going with vinyl. Nostalgia is vinyl's biggest selling point.

Great video. Lots of good points raised. As an owner of thousands of both Vinyl and CD and having worked in both Analog and Digital formats, I can say that there are far more advantages to Cd's than Vinyl. Even Hi-Res files are great! Your listening experience is personal but Cd's have a far greater selection of music in all decades. Vinyl stopped being readily available after the big Digital overhaul in the 90's. Cd's last longer, are portable, much quieter, you can clone them and they are far cheaper with far greater liner notes and multi page booklets. A good DAC upgrades the CD and Remastered CD's often contain bonus tracks that cannot be fitted onto a vinyl record without badly affecting audio quality. I love both fornats because it's all about the MUSIC, but building the mother of all Rock Collections is far better with CD's!

Perfectly said! I have bought a LOT of vinyl records in my life.... and they were charming and wonderful in their day. In fact I have 2 Magnavox console stereos from the year 1968... so I have some vintage vinly I keep with them just to play on the Micromatic turntables. However, in 1986 I went all out and bought my first CD deck for 370. A lot of money now, but A LOT more back then.... and the reason was because I could not stand those "ticks" and "pops". So I have over 300 CDs, but now only have a couple of dozen vinyl albums and those are only for nostalgia, not serious listening. THANKS for your incredible video which gives me a TON of useful arguments why I love my CDs. Especially helpful was the reminder that if a record is made from a digital source, it can't possibly be smoother than the digital master. Makes SO much sense. Thank you!

You nailed the problem with vinyl: there are too many variables which can cost a lot to get right. For CD playback you do need to purchase a good DAC and then connect it to any old disc player that has a coax output. Done.

I tend to listen to vinyl when listening actively, cd and digital for passive listening. Both serve a valuable purpose- to perpetuate love for the beautiful gift of music!

CD > vinyl

I purchased the SONY CDP-101 in 1983, it is still in working order. I've loved the CD format ever since and the SACD!

I'm glad I ran across your video. I have nothing against vinyl, I grew up listening to vinyl. But, since 1983-84, I've gone the cd route, at first because I had no choice. Where I grew up, record stores stopped stocking vinyl records. As you have pointed out, cd's don't wear out, and they don't skip, hiss, or pop. Of course, there are faulty cd's, like anything else made in the world. Something else I like about cd's is that I can program them. If I wish to listen to tracks 1, 4, 7, 9 on a record, it's easily done. As I said, vinyl was what I listened to growing up, so I've no problem with it, what bugs me, however, is the attitude of some people, definitely not all, in the vinyl community who seem to look down their nose at cd's and those who collect them. I don't get it, but I see it. Anyway, I'm glad to know that cd's actually sound pretty good, I can rest easy now.

All I want to say is the most gut wrenching Bass I have ever heard is of J S Bach Toccata and Fugue on Cassette - so the recording/Mastering also play's a huge part. Vinyl is different from CD but both Vinyl and CDs are now considered old hat and cassettes dinosaurs - yet I gain huge pleasure from all these formats. I like to own the hard copy and hardware that will play it - digital streaming is evolving but as corporations see ways of wiping out your music by withholding licences for a particular codecs or discontinuing access to a loved streaming service - my hard copy material is playable even if I have to stoke my wood fired generator to get the electricity. I like ownership and control - so hard core old school it may be but consider how LP,s were first introduced in 1949 and still going - nothing beats the best.

"Warm Sound" Hi everybody and thank you very much for this REALLY competent and objective explanation on that subject. Having Engineered and being present at countless Final Record cuttings since the early 70ies I can only appreciate this post. Obviously I was part of the whole Digital Recording Process as well. In addition to this post, I would like to mention the situation of the High Frequencies, which are also part of the "Warm Sound" experience. Equal to the situation of the Low End, the Analog/Tape Recordings roll off significantly at 16 KHz. Digital Conversion easily handles 40KHz and above. When we try to listen to a "Dog Whistle" which is above 23 KHz we can't hear it. However it's there and it makes us uncomfortable. In music terms high frequencies even above our hearing capabilities can be used to produce excitement. Now if we understand the limitations of the Analog Audio Recording and consequently Vinyl Sound, We can make a Digital Recording sound very, very similar to the Warm Sound of an Analog Medium. While at the beginning of the Digital Recordings, there was a well founded critic of the Sound Quality at the time.These days however our Digital Converters and the Dynamic Range have being developed to a level, very, very few Golden Years claim to hear the difference. Another Aspect would be the Phase Relationship in a Stereo Recording between Left and Right. A Vinyl Cutting won't allow "Out of Phase" music, or the needle would dive and consequently jump. Digital Recordings allows this to happen but is not pleasing (Warm Sounding) in my opinion.  All that said, I still offer a complete Analog Chain Recording and Mixing in my Studio and I love it ha, ha, ha.... Besides to have only 24 Tracks versus 100's of tracks is very challenging and can support creativity and excitement in the Music. Good Recording to all of you ❤

I spent $75,000 on my turntable. I gotta tell you all the crackles and pops sound amazingly clear now.

Well done video. At about 7:30 you hit the real difference. If your LP is mastered from digitally recorded material, you will not get the sonic difference other than maybe some reduced highs. But when you master from analogue recorded material, there is a textural difference. Very subtle and would be lost on most casual listeners, but it is there. So if you are buying music recorded in the modern era, in all likelihood it has been recorded in a digital format. So just get yourself a good CD player (mp3's sound OK, but they are not CD quality) and a good system and just enjoy the music. The difference most are experiencing with vinyl mastered from digital is a lack of highs thus making the vinyl give the illusion of warmth. So a good graphic equalizer can do about the same thing. But for that small textural difference that few can hear, the benefits of digital for most will out weigh the benefit. Just my opinion of course. Having said that, I did love my records back in the day! Clicks, pops, scratches and all. Most pop and rock records don't have much dynamic range either by the time they are recorded and mastered, especially today. Orchestral music on the other hand can have a significant range depending on the piece. Oddly enough tho, orchestral music is where I noticed that textural thing I speak of the most. It's a balancing act. I like both formats for different reasons. Oh, and you are so right about the quality of the "record player".

I’m back into vinyl after chasing the digital carrot for 35 years. Music is back in my life like being a teenager again.

I gave my nephew over 300 lps in 1990, the year I switched to digital music. I have never regretted, never looked back. I feel nostalgic for the collecting of, the jacket art etc. But, as for audio quality I’ll take cds and hi-res lossless audio every time. Good clip. Thanks

Great presentation, Tony. You convinced me that CD's have a better sound without offending my love for my 55 year collection of over 1400 vinyl records!

Thanks much Tony; this confirmed what I have believed because my ears told me so. It's great to have the technical facts to support our preferences. Your video greatly appreciated!

The biggest selling point for me personally for Vinyl is that its a physical piece of art. You can ofcourse say the same about CD's, but as someone who listens to hundred thousands of hours to music, i caught myself really wanting to find that "one" song, play it over and over and move on to the next "one" song. The way you cant skip a song on a vinyl player (well, you can, but you know what i mean) and really appreciate the album of a artist opened my world up to appreciate music alot more. The "hunt" for certain vinyls is another big deal for me personally. I love the search and speaking to other music enthousiasts to get in contact with the one person who has the vinyl i so desperately want. You can ofcourse argue that you do the same with CD's ofcourse, but personally, it is a different experience.