Why Vinyl Is Better Than Cds

The vinyl format can generate other issues.

Why vinyl is better than cds.

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. On a theoretical level there s just no reason it should be the case that vinyl sounds better. The difference between the loudest and softest sounds an lp can play is about 70 decibels db. You ll also hear vinyl enthusiasts discussing the warm sound they get from their record players.

The simplest is to make a record that plays faster. Cds are now cheaper than lps. It didn t used to be this way which is part of what made collecting used vinyl in the 90s and early aughts such a gas. Vinyl is in a resurgence of course with records outselling cds for the first time in almost three decades.

In practical terms this means that cds have more than 10. It s for this reason that vinyl sounds better than digital. Digital got its act together but not until the death of the cd. Cds give you more bang for the buck.

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. A vinyl record is an analog recording and cds and dvds are digital recordings. There are built in problems with using vinyl as a data encoding mechanisms that have no cd equivalent. But this article isn t focused on why cds are better than vinyl.

Original sound is analog by definition. Cds can handle over 90 db. It wasn t long before vinyl recordings of the same content often had better sound quality at normal listening volumes simply because they had higher dynamic range. Take a look at the graph below.

Cds on the other hand have been on the decline. What is perplexing is that when the eventual resurgence of high quality audio came it wasn t via a glorious return of the compact disc but rather a hipster fueled vinyl record revolution. For comparison listening to vinyl as opposed to digital is like viewing the mona lisa with your own eyes rather than looking at a picture of it on a smartphone.