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Is vinyl still worth the cost and inconvenience?

TheDecameron

TheDecameron

Unicorns fart glitter.
Define 'inconvenient' in the context of enjoying a hobby to its fullest extent...
 
I think there's room for Vinyl and streaming.
Streaming (Tidal in my case) for convenience, laziness & trying out music thats new to me. Akin to joining a vast library without even having to leave my sofa to access it.
Vinyl for when I fancy sitting down & listening to a whole album, with a cuppa or a glass of wine. Maybe nostalgia plays a part in the enjoyment, maybe the tactile element of looking through my collection & holding a physical copy of a recording triggers a response.
CD is, for me, somewhere in no-mans-land between these two methods. Not quite as convenient as streaming, yet not as tactile as putting a record on the turntable.
 
Most of us will have vinyl replay setups we've owned for years, perhaps from when vinyl was the principle format. I still really enjoy it but I'm not sure if I was starting from scratch now, that I'd pay current prices to get to where I am. I could put together a complete digital system of high quality for the retail price of my tonearm!
 
After much thought I have decided to adopt vinyl as a source.
Being able to listen to music where no digital source with good sq is available makes it worth the cost/effort imo.
 
No - it is a habit that is impossible to break.
With kit bought ages ago in the main, the extra cost for the record compared to a CD, and not being totally skint, matters little.
 
My experience with new music on vinyl is that, although their might be a perceived improvement in SQ over the CD (but not always), the sometimes dreadfully shoddy final product completely puts me off buying them, unless it's premium releases (and they can sometimes be substandard too). I find that my track record of buying second hand original 1960s-80s vinyl gives me a better quality success rate, which is ironic for something that can be both used and 40 years old. New CDs are mostly brickwalled too, so most of my new music listening is via streaming (Spotify/Tidal). So maybe the haphazard nature of new product is a wicked record company ruse to eventually not release anything in a physical format in the near future.

Or maybe I'm just a miserable old goat...
 
For me it is. I still enjoy my ripped CD collection, and exploring new music via Tidal is great fun. But I tend to listen longer, and with a higher level of involvement, to vinyl. But if I was young, and my budget was limited, I would probably think differently.
 
I enjoy vinyl, but if I did not have the library I doubt if I would start now. Something small, streamer amp, and a pair of speakers would keep me supplied with the music I need. The only ''fly'' in the ointment is the thought of paying for the required speed of internet access, and the streaming fees when retirement hits. A owned library of CDs and or Vinyl takes away the need to be spending £40 or so a month on internet/music.
 
manicatel said:
I think there's room for Vinyl and streaming.
Streaming (Tidal in my case) for convenience, laziness & trying out music thats new to me. Akin to joining a vast library without even having to leave my sofa to access it.
Vinyl for when I fancy sitting down & listening to a whole album, with a cuppa or a glass of wine. Maybe nostalgia plays a part in the enjoyment, maybe the tactile element of looking through my collection & holding a physical copy of a recording triggers a response.
CD is, for me, somewhere in no-mans-land between these two methods. Not quite as convenient as streaming, yet not as tactile as putting a record on the turntable.
Click to expand...


I wholeheartedly agree with this man/woman/person
 
If I were starting now I don't think I would bother with vinyl but it's the major part of my system and I can't see that changing. So yes it's definitely worth the bother, to me at least.
 
I have been wondering this recently. I got into vinyl when most people were chucking out their turntables and records. My Sondek cost me less than half what my CDP did (and I feel they are of a similar standard sound-wise) and I could pick up 2nd hand records for next to nothing from charity and car boot for very little. It is too late for me, I have a few 1000 black disks and am emotionally attached - but having seen what Oxfam now ask for records I wouldn't start over and do the same now!
 
Just listening to the Wah Wah reissue of Popul Vuh's Das Hohelied Salomos on the old fruitbox and the answer is in my case, most definitely yes. The digital versions do a descent approximation the LP is just "emotionally" on a different level. That said, if starting out, I doubt I would be using a TT.
 
The biggest problem for me is storage, not cost - I just don't have the space for 600+ 12" Vinyl records (or CDs for that matter).
 
TheDecameron said:
Starting from scratch, at today's prices, putting together a vinyl replay system good enough to rival digital replay, is very expensive. It's also inconvenient - is it still worth the trouble for you?
Click to expand...

Putting together a digital replay system good enough to rival even a modest vinyl replay system is very expensive!
 
For me, vinyl reminds me of being very young in the second half of the1970's and all the happy memories that brings. When i put Abba on my LP12 i am transported back. My mum used to play it all the time. For these memories it is priceless. :)
 
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