Done with digital

[SoundMann]

Done with digital?

Multiple times. I've sold or thrown away more digital music than most people every considered was out there and worth listening to.

What a lame hit and run question.

I'm still here. Your somewhat confusing response sounds a bit hypocritical.

 

[rando]

I'm still here. Your someone confusing response sounds a bit hypocritical.

Reread my response a few more times and see if you were merely a foil to self aggrandizing humor.

 

[SoundMann]

Reread my response a few more times and see if you were merely a foil to self aggrandizing humor.

Likewise.

 

[John T]

I got on WBF to get away from the mentality of Audiogon and the bickering of little girls. I appreciate the knowledge and insight I get here. If I wanted to listen catchy semantics I would join Facebook. Lets stick with audio. This is all of our passion, try not to pollute it like the rest of the topics in this world...John

 

[Audire]

I am happy that vinyl sales are increasing - it means that more people are enjoying music with rituals, something that very is positive for our hobby. However it looks like a retro movement - see the tittles of the best vinyl sales of the last five years:

2017 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles 72,000
2018 Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 Various Artists 84,000
2019 Abbey Road The Beatles 246,000
2020 Fine Line
2021 Voyage ABBA

A 15 year retro movement! While no format is perfect, there’s a lot of quality in older music that is simply lost in this era of digital. 70% of the younger generation listen to older music because much of the new stuff is so poorly done - that’s the performance and recording of it …

Digital is a fake it till you make it format, but it will never make it as it will never be truely analogue! Vinyl is the only consumer playback format we have that is fully analogue and fully lossless. Unlike digital, with vinyl you may enjoy a full-fidelity listening experience. An analogue format allows for artists to transport their music from tape to LP. This is the closest one can get to what the artist intended - the closest to live music you can arrive at in home audio. And some of us enjoy the warm sound of vinyl; IMO this corresponds to how humans actually hear things organically. Digital music is hyper-compressed and cancels out some of the dynamics and textures that give recordings their depth, vitality, and liveliness. Thus, with vinyl most have a deeper emotional bond with the music. As stated before digital can be good - very good - but it will never be a analogue; it’s just not in the digital DNA to be such.

Digital rights are also very confusing. Some brag about how many songs they have access to, but their preferred song selections can disappear in a millisecond. Apple is currently facing a lawsuit as they desire to remove access to digital media on their platform—“even if you purchased it.” The old you own it, but not not really game. With vinyl I own it. I don’t have to bow down to the likes of the Dictator's of Music - like Amazon and Apple - telling me what I may and may not listen too on their platforms.

Some may be happy listening to their YouTube songs on a WADAX, but if given a choice, I’ll take vinyl any day of the week.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

A 15 year retro movement! While no format is perfect, there’s a lot of quality in older music that is simply lost in this era of digital. 70% of the younger generation listen to older music because much of the new stuff is so poorly done - that’s the performance and recording of it …

OTOH much new music is well recorded. and we can own plenty of analog era recordings yet no reason not to pursue new music.

Digital is a fake it till you make it format, but it will never make it as it will never be truely analogue! Vinyl is the only consumer playback format we have that is fully analogue and fully lossless. Unlike digital, with vinyl you may enjoy a full-fidelity listening experience. An analogue format allows for artists to transport their music from tape to LP. This is the closest one can get to what the artist intended - the closest to live music you can arrive at in home audio. And some of us enjoy the warm sound of vinyl; IMO this corresponds to how humans actually hear things organically. Digital music is hyper-compressed and cancels out some of the dynamics and textures that give recordings their depth, vitality, and liveliness. Thus, with vinyl most have a deeper emotional bond with the music. As stated before digital can be good - very good - but it will never be a analogue; it’s just not in the digital DNA to be such.

really? i love my 12,000 records (and 250 master dubs on tape) too, but digital can be excellent and it's not so simple a picture as you represent. you seem to have a 'head in the sand' viewpoint. but we all walk our own path.

Digital rights are also very confusing. Some brag about how many songs they have access to, but their preferred song selections can disappear in a millisecond. Apple is currently facing a lawsuit as they desire to remove access to digital media on their platform—“even if you purchased it.” The old you own it, but not not really game. With vinyl I own it. I don’t have to bow down to the likes of the Dictator's of Music - like Amazon and Apple - telling me what I may and may not listen too on their platforms.

i have 20 terabytes of music on my server, adding more all the time. my server can hold 66 terabytes. so i can own plenty of digital files. but in reality access to new music by streaming is here to stay. the whole music industry is built upon it. but again; you can rationalize any slight into a reason to not play digital. we walk our own path.

Some may be happy listening to their YouTube songs on a WADAX,

youtube? i do that on my laptop. then find the higher rez file on streaming and listen to that on the Wadax.

but if given a choice, I’ll take vinyl any day of the week.

why choose? i have both.......and i get access to new music constantly, ease of use with digital allows me to listen more. i listen to lots of classical music, and there has been essentially zero analog classical recorded in the last 20 years. so if i want more classical it's the only access. and it sounds wonderful.

i'm in it for the music.....as well as great sound.

 

[Audire]

OTOH much new music is well recorded. and we can own plenty of analog era recordings yet no reason not to pursue new music.

I didn’t say all new music wasn't good, just most of it that I’ve heard. It can’t all be bad as 30% still listen to some of it.

Personally, I’ve only found only a few albums of new music that I actually enjoy and that have been worth purchasing. In most cases the older stuff sounds better to me.

really? i love my 12,000 records (and 250 master dubs on tape) too, but digital can be excellent and it's not so simple a picture as you represent. you seem to have a 'head in the sand' viewpoint. but we all walk our own path.

Ears to the TT, not head in the sand. Analogue is better. The sound is richer and gets me emotionally engaged in the music. Digital can be good, but it will never be analogue.

i have 20 terabytes of music on my server, adding more all the time. my server can hold 66 terabytes. so i can own plenty of digital files. but in reality access to new music by streaming is here to stay. the whole music industry is built upon it. but again; you can rationalize any slight into a reason to not play digital. we walk our own path.

We never know what the courts will rule and what new lawsuits will be filed down the line. Streaming one day may be against the law. And if Apple wins this present lawsuit … that will be a huge blow for the streaming community. You own it, but not really.

The Feds can already do a search warrant and take and charge someone with copyright violations, etc.

Making unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings is against the law and may subject you to civil and criminal liability.

A Supreme Court decision in MGM vs. Grokster held that “the fact that permission to make a copy in particular circumstances is often or even routinely granted” does not “necessarily establish that the copying is a fair use when the copyright owner withholds that authorization.” In other words, what allows you to copy CDs to your computer or iPod is permission from the record label, which can rescinded at any moment.

So, IMO a fight is brewing and it’s volcano head will one day erupt.

About Piracy - RIAA

Music theft—or piracy—is constantly evolving as technology changes. Many different actions qualify as piracy, from downloading unauthorized versions of copyrighted... Read More »

www.riaa.com

youtube? i do that on my laptop. then find the higher rez file on streaming and listen to that on the Wadax.

why choose? i have both.......and i get access to new music constantly, ease of use with digital allows me to listen more. i listen to lots of classical music, and there has been essentially zero analog classical recorded in the last 20 years. so if i want more classical it's the only access. and it sounds wonderful.

Because of health reasons, I presently own both too. They both sound excellent. But given a choice of only one I will select analogue.

I left analogue for many years when CDs came out. I thought it was ok. Huge Mistake! But in time, I heard a good analogue setup. I was absolutely floored. There’s nothing like a good vinyl setup. I’m back and never leaving again.

i'm in it for the music.....as well as great sound.

So am I and the music sounds best with analogue.

 

[Argonaut]

As a rough guesstimate , what percentage of newly recorded material or remastered albums are true analogue source material transferred to analogue master ?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i'm in it for the music.....as well as great sound.

So am I and the music sounds best with analogue.

great! we agree!

and love your system Joe! congrats!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

As a rough guesstimate , what percentage of newly recorded material or remastered albums are true analogue source material transferred to analogue master ?

no idea at all.

you could go to Acoustic Sounds and observe their new arrivals and do the math on a specific time period of their offerings. they will likely have the majority of vinyl analog sourced offerings. they would be mostly re-issues. and a few recent recordings that are all analog. and if so they typically disclose that.

i search their site for direct to disc offerings from time to time since i don't want to miss one. they are not all great, but most are special in one way or another.

then somehow figure out how many sources there are for RTR tapes from recent all analog recordings.

then look for statistics on total annual music titles released.

sounds like a task that might pull me away from listening and not worth the time. rather be streaming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Audire]

great! we agree!

and love your system Joe! congrats!

I love your system too and wish I had some of your media. I couldn’t play as much as you own in a lifetime, so only some of it.

 

[Audire]

As a rough guesstimate , what percentage of newly recorded material or remastered albums are true analogue source material transferred to analogue master ?

As others here have taught me, go out and find the older stuff at local shops. We have two such shops with 30 minutes of us. If I go a little further I have six more.

So, we don‘t have to be stuck with reissues. I just found a brand new Zager and Evans 1970 album yesterday - just opened yesterday. Awesome.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

Nope - “Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market. Even worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking.”

Is Old Music Killing New Music?​

Have you listened to the new music, does this surprise you somehow? There is some good new music out there, just not in the pop genre, its deplorable.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

If that's your beat, then I've got a beautiful Tandberg 3014a cassette monster that was serviced perfectly and working when I put it in its box 20+ years ago to sell you

acording to ebay you have $4000 sitting in a box, sell that thing you are never going to use again.

 

[astrotoy]

Always tough to determine what will be considered great music even a couple of decades from now, let alone 50 or more years from now. Remember in Beethoven's time his first symphony was considered his most popular symphony, and his Septet was his most popular composition.
Larry

 

[Kingrex]

Have you listened to the new music, does this surprise you somehow? There is some good new music out there, just not in the pop genre, its deplorable.

I have tried all the pop stars. Each has maybe 2 to 4 songs that are good. And 1 that I find really good. Then there is album after album of crap. Really bad crap.

I asked some kids at a coffee shop playing hard rock if they liked Zeppelin. They said it was great but their burned on it as there were not many albums and a lot of other stuff to play.

 

[bryans]

I have tried all the pop stars. Each has maybe 2 to 4 songs that are good. And 1 that I find really good. Then there is album after album of crap. Really bad crap.

I asked some kids at a coffee shop playing hard rock if they liked Zeppelin. They said it was great but their burned on it as there were not many albums and a lot of other stuff to play.

One man's trash is another man's treasure. It seems every generation says that same thing about new music. My parents told me the same thing. I remember my grandparents saying the same thing to my parents. And yes I say the same thing to my kids. Funny how everyone thinks their generation had the best music.

 

[Audire]

Have you listened to the new music, does this surprise you somehow? There is some good new music out there, just not in the pop genre, its deplorable.

You need to re-read what I wrote. I never stated that all new music was bad. I just stated that most of it is. And it is as shown by the stats - 70% listen to old which leaves 30% for this new perverse new generation of so-called music.

And it doesn’t surprise me at all as much of what is called music today just isn’t - it’s just junk with very little if any talent. And most of the audio engineers have sold out to doing things a new way. Yes, I know it’s about a job, but there’s a sacrifice of quality with digital only. The digital age seems to be more about quantity than quality.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

One man's trash is another man's treasure. It seems every generation says that same thing about new music. My parents told me the same thing. I remember my grandparents saying the same thing to my parents. And yes I say the same thing to my kids. Funny how everyone thinks their generation had the best music.

You just do not see anticipated new releases and songs everyone is clamoring to hear or buy anymore.
I love new music and I do not care what generation it spawns from.
You don't see people lining up at music stores to buy new releases. I have personally done that many times, and it actually scored me a first pressing unedited album cover of Some Girls lol.
When on go on discovery mode streaming I listen first then investigate further, there just seems to be a lot of very uninteresting and un-invloving music coming out these days, but I do agree with the first sentence of your post 100%

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

You need to re-read what I wrote. I never stated that all new music was bad. I just stated that most of it is. And it is as shown by the stats - 70% listen to old which leaves 30% for this new perverse new generation of so-called music.

And it doesn’t surprise me at all as much of what is called music today just isn’t - it’s just junk with very little if any talent. And most of the audio engineers have sold out to doing things a new way. Yes, I know it’s about a job, but there’s a sacrifice of quality with digital only. The digital age seems to be more about quantity than quality.

Oh I agree with you 100%!
This post is spot on.