I love music so pay a lot of attention to stuff like speakers. One thing I notice is that when people get into vinyl, they get into the overall experience of listening to music. They spend a little more on speakers, align them with music in mind and start sitting down and listening to music. Digital is so easy that it’s background noise when we’re driving, working and living. Vinyl takes more work and in my experience, that work leads to an enhanced experience. It’s not surprising people call it ‘warm’.
For a lot of people (including myself), digital has essentially become radio. Most of the time I just listen to playlists of various sorts and, mostly, not even ones I've curated myself. I haven't done any meaningful rating and curating of my music lists in years.
This is a great comment! At risk of dating myself, I remember a brief period between CDs and CD players in cars being commonplace. At the time, mixtapes were an entire art. Crap, the hours I put into mixing and curating tapes?? Those were the days...
After switching my entire collection over to CD, one of the bands I later got into, only as a "CD band" were The Muffs (R.I.P., Kim).
Years later, seeing their albums that I loved so much released on vinyl, I thought, why not? The instant I put the needle down I knew there was magic in vinyl that I had traded for convenience years ago. It sounded that much better.
The significance for me was that this was a band I knew digitally before I ever heard analog. Somehow, going that direction, and enjoying the vinyl better convinced me there was something there.
Explain away. I am happy when I put on my records.
Mastering on Vinyl is almost always less compressed, and sounds more natural due to natural limitations of the medium. This sounds especially better (IMO) when you turn up the volume.
Of course, it's entirely possible to master like that on CD, MP3, etc but nobody does it.
Exactly. I have so many late 70s/early 80s stuff made in the early days of digital that sound so gross on CD, and are just amazing on vinyl. I know the mastering could be done way better on CD, but especially with the loudness wars now it never does.
Geez bud, I have nothing of any value to add but you triggered a long session with the Muffs today. What a wicked, wicked band. Once again, poor Kim Shattuck...what a talent.
I love music so pay a lot of attention to stuff like speakers. One thing I notice is that when people get into vinyl, they get into the overall experience of listening to music. They spend a little more on speakers, align them with music in mind and start sitting down and listening to music. Digital is so easy that it’s background noise when we’re driving, working and living. Vinyl takes more work and in my experience, that work leads to an enhanced experience. It’s not surprising people call it ‘warm’.