Vinyl

[Mark E. Hurling]

To be fair, most of the music I listen to, is from a bunch of dead people. So its not like the artist is really losing out

So the pirating you confessed to is like being only a little bit pregnant, right?

[JM3]

Mark- I don't know how old OP is - but this generation is changing the paradigm for how media and software are consumed- it is basically stealing- I won't argue that for a moment- but there is a flux in terms of how people think of information in general.
I was in a commerical studio recently and nearly everything being used was pirated- when I mentioned it to the engineer he replied that he had bought every current version with every update for the first 5 years - but after a point, the software companies he was a customer of made so many changes, and so many incompatibilities with older versions cropped up that he completely lost interest in spending 500-1000 per program every year to simply use a newer iteration of something he felt he had paid for. So he began to simply upgrade hardware only and get unlocked copies of all software.
Stealing? Yes, but, I had empathize with him a bit -he felt ripped off by the companies he had bought from. Obviously the cycle perpetuates itself.

[MattJ.D.]

Define Sound quality?

If you mean fidelity, then you are wrong. Sure a clean record sounds good, but does it really sound as detailed as an uncompressed digital format? Especially the SACD format that has been available for years, but totally flopped because everyone got into highly compressed audio files from Itunes rather than HIFI.

I like records, I buy and listen to them. But I know that unless I blow some serious cash on hifi stylus & cartridge, im not even gonna get close to the detail of CD. Plus most of my records wouldve been presses from a CD quality digital master anyway! Also I have dust and scratches to contend with.

If you want the best hifi option, look into SACD.

CDs aren't lossless, and itunes didn't cause the raise of lossy music, it was napster and everyone sharing 126 bit rate music in the 90s...aka mp3s(edit and the fact that storage wasn't, as cheap as it is today). You're right about lossless formats(flac, wav, etc.) though they do sound great, but I still think vinyl and a nice system is king...

and SADC>Cds ...cds only go up to 90db while SADC can be upwards to like 12db I think?....I wouldnt pay money for cds, because even they have a lot cut out...specifically in the highest and lowest dbs..

[Mark E. Hurling]

JM3, your point is well taken. Matt, I'll give you something of an apology for my brusque manner of speaking. I work in security and have been eye ball deep in the protection of information for some time. I have studied protection of intellectual property in the legal and practical realm. It's a really big deal for me. Mostly so in the area of technology and national security, but the law is the same. I have to pass background investigations and polygraphs about this every few years or so, and it's made me pretty inflexible about it. So please consider my remarks in this light. But it's still wrong and you shouldn't do it.

[Dastardly]

But its funny that the world choice convenience over quality, I dont think anyone predicted that. Back in the 90's everyone was gearing up for the new better format to replace CD and then all of a sudden HIFI dies. Everyone throws away there home stereos and big speakers in favour of listening to 128kbit mp3's through shitty earphones or laptop speakers.

Most people dont even know what a SACD is. Its strange because video formats have improved so enormously, but general public does not seem to care at all about quality sound. Most home recording musicians work with 24bit 96khz (or higher) recordings. Any crappy computer or even an Ipad can do this fine. But there is no format to pass this onto a listener.

[JM3]

Look at Hurling going soft on crime...

[Mark E. Hurling]

Look at Hurling going soft on crime...

Love ya' man, but not a bloody chance. I'm being more polite than is normally my practice. There are only a few people who can convince me to act this way.

[ColoWayno]

If Vinyl some how made a come back, who would buy a turn table and a bunch of records? Personally I would never pirate again if vinyl was cheaper and easier to come upon..the sound quality is unmatched.

I just need a new needle, ha.

[MattJ.D.]

But its funny that the world choice convenience over quality, I dont think anyone predicted that. Back in the 90's everyone was gearing up for the new better format to replace CD and then all of a sudden HIFI dies. Everyone throws away there home stereos and big speakers in favour of listening to 128kbit mp3's through shitty earphones or laptop speakers.

Most people dont even know what a SACD is. Its strange because video formats have improved so enormously, but general public does not seem to care at all about quality sound. Most home recording musicians work with 24bit 96khz (or higher) recordings. Any crappy computer or even an Ipad can do this fine. But there is no format to pass this onto a listener.

Storage...storage was extremely expensive then, and not having to carry around those huge packs of all your cds was a big plus...honestly even If I end up getting all lossless formats for my music..I'll still keep mp3 versions of it just for my ipod. I mean if I'm out somewhere its unrealistic to be able to have a ton of high quality music...for example a flac discography of The Beatles is 13gigs, even with my 160gig ipod thats a lot of fucking room, and the ipod wouldn't even be able to play the music to its potential anyway. So its wasted in that sense, but for at home or clubs(if you have a decent speakers/amp), mp3s do not cut it.

[hamburgerfan]

I only own one record. First press of Paranoid by Black Sabbath. I probably won't buy any more unless they're a cool thing to collect.