Comparing compact discs cds to vinyl or gramophone records is the musical equivalent of comparing digital photography with film photography.
Is modern vinyl better than cd.
Cds and vinyl records are both audio storage and playback formats based on rotating discs from different times in music history the cd audio is digitally encoded and read by a laser while analog vinyl audio is physically read by a needle.
Modern recordings though are comparatively louder.
The sound from a vinyl record is so rare and authentic that audiences can t get enough.
Crackles and pops records that skip and the whine of a needle against the lp all problems that the cd advertised itself on solving decades ago.
Why vinyl sounds better than cd.
A vinyl record has a groove carved into it that mirrors the original sound s waveform.
Vinyl records play an analog recording while cds play a digital recording.
The amplifier then raises the voltage of the signal to a level powerful enough to drive your speaker.
So why does vinyl sound better than cds especially since cds are a newer technology.
Ways to improve vinyl.
Vinyl is back no doubt about it.
About 2 percent in 2014.
In your home stereo the cd or dvd player takes this digital recording and converts it to an analog signal which is fed to your amplifier.
While coloured vinyl and picture discs are an easy way to ensure degradation to a record s playback there are practices made to better the way an lp sounds.
So no vinyl isn t better than digital music but it offers several advantages because of the fact that loudness war mixing isn t feasible on the medium.
The vinyl format can generate other issues.
On a theoretical level there s just no reason it should be the case that vinyl sounds better.
But if you were to play a cd let s say from 20 years ago and compare.
Why cds may actually sound better than vinyl chris kornelis january 27 2015 james russell s mother told him that his first invention was the automated battleship he built when he was 6.
That s kind of a subjective term.
Sales of vinyl records have been soaring although they still represent only a tiny fraction of the music industry s revenues.
There are built in problems with using vinyl as a data encoding mechanisms that have no cd equivalent.