Unpopular Opinion

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CDs are better than vinyl and most people listen to music on systems that sound dreadful (lemmy.fwgx.uk)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

193 comments fedilink hide all child comments

CDs are in every way better than vinyl records. They are smaller, much higher quality audio, lower noise floor and don't wear out by being played. The fact that CD sales are behind vinyl is a sign that the world has gone mad. The fact you can rip and stream your own CD media is fantastic because generally remasters are not good and streaming services typically only have remastered versions, not originals. You have no control on streaming services about what version of an album you're served or whether it'll still be there tomorrow. Not an issue with physical media.

The vast majority of people listen to music using equipment that produces audio of poor quality, especially those that stream using ear buds. It makes me very sad when people don't care that what they're listening to could sound so much better, especially if played through a hifi from a CD player, or using half decent (not beats) headphones.

There's plenty of good sounding and well produced music out there, but it's typically played back through the equivalent of two cans and some string. I'm not sure people remember how good good music can sound when played back through good kit.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Like, I get your points but

With analog, you can actually make real, physical, adjustments to the audio output. On digital, you're effectively just messing with a bunch of 1s and 0s inside a computer. The whole process is much less authentic.

That's just damn ridiculous. The signal gets converted into audio, otherwise you wouldn't be able to hear it.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Well, yes, but I'm referring to the process of converting that audio and the active participation that it takes from the user to get to that point. I'm reminded of this one minute clip of Jeremy Clarkson where he talks about Charles Babbage's 'alluring uncertainty of machinery', which I kind of alluded to in my parent comment. The process of setting up, adjusting, equalizing, etc., an analog setup just feels more real in a way that's hard to explain. Obviously Clarkson is talking about cars in the video, but I think it applies just as well to any sort of machine whose output is essentially "built" by you. Knowing my audience on Lemmy, it's the difference between Windows and Linux. One might perform out-the-box better than the other, but the other is yours in a way that the first one never will be. That's the difference between experiencing music through an analog or digital setup.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

After the DAC it's all analog anyway. Same hardware for the same effect. It's a personal choice to do eq etc on the digital end vs after the DAC.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

You can still do all that stuff on CD