Record Player tries Spotify !

[Bhaskar Jyoti Talapatra]

Digital is good when we want to store, transport and process music. Analog is good when we do listening or amplification. By nature , every signal is analog and our eyes and ears can process analog signals only. Theoretically an analog signal contains infinite amount of information which is impossible to store or transmit.Also they are much vulnerable to noise. so its very difficult to store and transmit an analog signal. Hency we convert it to digital. the moment we convert an analog signal to digital we lose "something", even we use more bits per sample or very high sampling frequency. The reason why vinyl sounds good is its analog (ASAIK) and nothing is lost!

Hello
Kingfisher
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and also some information regarding digital world. But my concern is not the SQ in the different streaming services available these days. Rather I focused on the conveniences which digital media offers. I can listen to almost all the songs I like anywhere with out bothering much about change of speed and record size( 12 inches or 7 inches, 33 1/3 RPM or 45 RPM etc), placing of the cart on the groove and returning it at the end of each record . Now I can just open an app and the music is on. Besides this, streaming services recommend many new songs which I don't have in any other physical media ( vinyls, CDs or casseettes). Actually during lockdown I discovered many new songs and I enjoyed all. As FM Ashenden has pointed out we would have ended up listening to the same music had there been no streaming services. However, buying a vinyl( pre owned or new), washing those, mending the outer sleeves, and playing them in a decent TT is something which the digital media can hardly offer. I am an old school person and I started listening to music tuning on radio and spinning vinyls on HMV fiesta. I can never forget my endeavour in procuring vinyls and casseettes and even some times I had to have songs recorded in blank cassettes. Analogue is peerless if you go for SQ and digital is ok if you consider convenience over everything.
Regards

 

[Record Player]

Hello
Kingfisher
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and also some information regarding digital world. But my concern is not the SQ in the different streaming services available these days. Rather I focused on the conveniences which digital media offers. I can listen to almost all the songs I like anywhere with out bothering much about change of speed and record size( 12 inches or 7 inches, 33 1/3 RPM or 45 RPM etc), placing of the cart on the groove and returning it at the end of each record . Now I can just open an app and the music is on. Besides this, streaming services recommend many new songs which I don't have in any other physical media ( vinyls, CDs or casseettes). Actually during lockdown I discovered many new songs and I enjoyed all. As FM Ashenden has pointed out we would have ended up listening to the same music had there been no streaming services. However, buying a vinyl( pre owned or new), washing those, mending the outer sleeves, and playing them in a decent TT is something which the digital media can hardly offer. I am an old school person and I started listening to music tuning on radio and spinning vinyls on HMV fiesta. I can never forget my endeavour in procuring vinyls and casseettes and even some times I had to have songs recorded in blank cassettes. Analogue is peerless if you go for SQ and digital is ok if you consider convenience over everything.
Regards

I grew up listening to a lot of music from my younger days. Still have fond memories scouting for music, visiting friends houses to check their collections, spending long hours at music world checking out CDs, HMV for cassettes on St. Marks Road Bangalore and saving up my pocket money to buy them to writing lyrics in a book as I was in a band too and was a drummer. Hanging at out Pecos, Habitat for their best collection of CDs and even Styx for some heavy metal and head banging (whole group had long hair) to painting Aerosmith, Megadeath on black tshirts I can just go on and on. Attended and performed at so many live concerts from Strawberry Fields to Freedom Jam, MCC Chennai to the biggies. Those were the days really. The minute I was exposed to Vinyl, I was in Love and I knew right away, this is my zone ! Then came streaming in the 90s with a dial up modem, today streaming has really advanced and its a shame in some sort that its all a click away now. Im not that old but really miss all that hard work for music.

With the above said, a big thumbs up to streaming for a matter of sheer convenience and being exposed to so much more music with great audio quality. The nostalgia and the love for those days will always be cherished.

PS: Vinyls the best

 

[argho]

Honestly, I dont get the retro nostalgia.

Kid from the 70s. Grew up with cassette tapes, records and film cameras.

Have embraced digital, and never looked back.
Ripped all my CDs to a hard drive as Flac files, and gave away the CDs.

Saved tons of space. Convenience - entire library available at the touch of a button.
And no worries about CD or records getting scratched / lost / damaged.

And I do use Spotify a lot now. My system has Spotify connect, and it works beautifully.
And my 50 year old ears cant tell the difference between Spotify Org Vorbis stream at 320kbps , and the lossless flac.

 

[bhaskarcan]

People may not understand this, but with respect to vinyl, it's the "inconveniences" ( opposite of the conveniences of digital) listed above by various members are the "main attractions" that we, the vinyl lovers die for.

 

[Bhaskar Jyoti Talapatra]

People may not understand this, but with respect to vinyl, it's the "inconveniences" ( opposite of the conveniences of digital) listed above by various members are the "main attractions" that we, the vinyl lovers die for.

Yes , Bhaskarda
You have rightly pointed out what we, the vinyl lovers feel. Keeping the so called and much discussed and debated conveniences aside , vinyl is just peerless. Along side having celestial joy of listening to music spinning vinyl , don't we feel nostalgic? A 12 inches LP spinning on a decent TT is also a treat to eyes. However, I am ok with streaming services but I shall hanker after vinyls for ever.
Regards

 

[bhaskarcan]

Yes , Bhaskarda
You have rightly pointed out what we, the vinyl lovers feel. Keeping the so called and much discussed and debated conveniences aside , vinyl is just peerless. Along side having celestial joy of listening to music spinning vinyl , don't we feel nostalgic? A 12 inches LP spinning on a decent TT is also a treat to eyes. However, I am ok with streaming services but I shall hanker after vinyls for ever.
Regards

Yes sure, nostalgia plays a big part indeed. Vinyl helps to recreate in our memory those olden days at least in one direct way. And our brain fills the canvas with imagination triggered by the big physical presence of records and TTs.
So whenever I play Hum Kisise Kam Nahin record, I am transported to the Durga Puja time of 1977, when my father bought it as one of the customary "Puja records" and we were spinning it multiple times a day. Pure nostalgia.

 

[Bloom@83]

Yes sure, nostalgia plays a big part indeed. Vinyl helps to recreate in our memory those olden days at least in one direct way. And our brain fills the canvas with imagination triggered by the big physical presence of records and TTs.
So whenever I play Hum Kisise Kam Nahin record, I am transported to the Durga Puja time of 1977, when my father bought it as one of the customary "Puja records" and we were spinning it multiple times a day. Pure nostalgia.

That , and the sheer joy of hunting for vinyls in the market , talking to sellers , dealers , buying and exchanging the same copy twice even thrice for a near mint copy - the active physical pursuit of cherished albums across one’s city - which infinitely increases the joy of listening to the final selected vinyl. That is something that’s never gonna happen with a digital playlist ready to go at the touch of our fingertips.

Let me give an example. In the last 7 months , I’ve bought RD Burman’s Ghar from two different sellers and returned to them and patiently waited for another two months before I got better copies from both. This is despite the fact that I have the original OST CD and of course Spotify and Apple Music. And yes , the joy I got upon finally playing the good copy of Ghar on my TT is boundless.

 

[kingfisher]

I was born in 80s. I remember a solid state AM radio in my house my father used to listen. I was around 10 then. I still remember how tat radio sounded.During college days I used to buy cassettes and record to play in an assembled stereo set. I still have those cassettes! When I went job I bought my first sony walkman and then Cowon S9.I did not have change to buy a CD player or Hifi system. Now recently bought a stereo amp and speaker.Vinyl is the one I am yet to listen!. I think we are the last generation to experience all of these.

 

[Record Player]

Evening Everybody - Though Ill share an update on me Spotify escapades from the last time. So, I listen to Spotify a lot these days and I am quite enjoying it. Alongside a fair bit of Vinyl playing as well and to be honest, really enjoying these various formats.

Got me-self a ChromeCast audio device and a Spotify premium which has taken this to another level really !

Cheers & Stay Safe !

 

[Naturelover]

Good to see you got hold of a CCA.
What's your chain for that?

 

[Record Player]

Good to see you got hold of a CCA.
What's your chain for that?

Just connected to the NAD 3020 amp.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Why is critical listening associated with vinyls is something I don’t understand.

At the end of a tiresome day , what could be more relaxing than picking a favourite vinyl from the shelf and giving it a spin while resting on a couch ? One can also work while a vinyl is spinning just like streaming from iPad , and even if the tonearm hits the wax once in a while , what’s the big deal ? One doesn’t have to turn into a nitpicking audiophile when playing a vinyl.

That’s probably what most did till the 70s when vinyl was the only/dominant medium. Today however, those who go for vinyl, despite the cost and effort involved, are seeking the superior sound quality from the vinyls in their possession. Naturally, most of them would rather do focused/dedicated listening to extract that differential value that’d justify the expense and effort. I don’t see many non-audiophiles going for vinyl today, yet. It’s mostly them or the rare old timers who continued listening to their collection despite the CD and streaming revolutions.

Is it a bit of the cart pulling the horse? Probably.

 

[reubensm]

Just came across this thread, i have also slanted a lot towards digital but the record playing passion and equipment remains. A lot of my staple of vinyl is the older stuff but when it comes to the metal scene, especially the 80s, its digital all the way

I always felt older music from the 50s, 60s and 70s, and softer genres are more suited to the vinyl signature.

In my personal opinion, the metal genre is better listened to, in digital as I have found vinyl to be too smooth and classy, when the genre requires one to visit the school of hard-knocks and extreme

 

[Sean de Silva]

I've been using streaming for the past few years and prefer it over physical media. I was fully into Audio CDs prior to that, and nowadays I rarely play them. Services like Spotify excel in discovering Independent/obscure artists/albums which I'm unlikely to either discover from blogs/forums or find them in a CD shop (the shops here usually used to stock up on what used to sell well). If I stayed with CDs I was probably going to be stuck listening to Rock/Pop/Film songs. The change in taste meant I'm no longer bored of listening to the familiar genres and artists. I doubt if I'll be going back to CDs.

Honestly, I dont get the retro nostalgia.

Kid from the 70s. Grew up with cassette tapes, records and film cameras.

Have embraced digital, and never looked back.
Ripped all my CDs to a hard drive as Flac files, and gave away the CDs.

Saved tons of space. Convenience - entire library available at the touch of a button.
And no worries about CD or records getting scratched / lost / damaged.

And I do use Spotify a lot now. My system has Spotify connect, and it works beautifully.
And my 50 year old ears cant tell the difference between Spotify Org Vorbis stream at 320kbps , and the lossless flac.

I've just subscribed to Spotify Premium for 1 year. I'm very impressed with the plethora of new artists/previously undiscovered music/albums that I've always wanted on physical disc not to mention the sheer convenience of having so much worth exploring under one umbrella! Bye Bye CDs/LPs...