Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo cd vrs. lp

do lp's sound better than cd's and what are the advantages or disadvantages with a solid state amp?

I have never sat down and actually A/B'd a lp against a cd. I can only tell you that the first time I heard the Beach Boys on CD I was very disappointed.

I went back and played the lp. While listening it dawned on me that the snaps and crackles and hiss from the original lp were missing from the cd and I missed them. The CD had better sound quality but the sound didn't seem "right".

I also miss the album art that the large lp's provided.

some LP's are great quality
some CD's are great quality

a lot of LP's and CD's are terrible quality.....

LP's sound analog. sometimes too messy
CD's sound digital. sometimes too fake


it really all depends what you are listening to

get Getz/Gilberto featuring Jobim, it's a CD that sounds like a perfect LP, if not better...

As ravi points out, there's no hard and fast rule regarding CD sound vs. LP sound (or transistor sound vs. tube sound for that matter).

Two weekends ago, I listened to a massive (both in size and in budget) system - Accuphase CD player, Art Audio preamp, Plinius power amp (running in pure class A), and Avantgarde Duo horn loudspeakers. The cost of cables alone totalled in the tens of thousands. And guess what? It sounded horrible. It wasn't any fault of the components themselves, but a case of system synergy. Whether your amplification is tube or solid-state is irrelevant, it's the end result - and whether you're satisfied with it or not - that counts.

So listen to an LP in your system. If you like it, then go ahead and purchase a turntable and some vinyl. No harm in that: the more music and the more you enjoy it, the better.

good call yage!!

I've heard some really bad 50$k setups as well... for some reason, a couple of them had B & W speakers..

What does matter in the end is the sound! I have been thinking of testing out a turntable so I can hear some good ol vinyl, so I can judge it for myself, on my system, in my listening room.

I think that the main things to keep in mind are source availability, and maintenance.

New releases may not be available on vinyl, but there is a lot of older/used around. The maintenance of the media is another big plus for CD.

I have a couple of excellent turntables, and ensure that I take great care with the vinyl. In comparisons between CD and vinyl pieces, I prefer the vinyl...as do many of my friends when they hear it on a good system. Many of the demo's I hear comparing these medium are skewed one way or the other - usually in a magintude toward the persons biased. I have seen $100 devices matched against $1000 devices. Not a fair comparison in any regard!