Does vinyl really sound that better?

Does vinyl really sound that better?
on a scale of 1-10 how much better does vinyl sound than streaming?

Entirely dependent on setup. It can range from being actually worse if your setup is the turntable in your photo, to being incomparably better if you clean your records properly and have a nice set of speakers, a designated pre-amp, and a quality stylus/cart/table setup
It's all about the point beyond which you personally no longer hear a difference, because otherwise you could technically improve sound to some really absurd degrees

a little better. I have a $2000 setup and it's really about just making it as good as it can be, not night and day.
It's worth it though.

me
i might add if anyone wants to answer this that my gfs dad collects CDs and i make fun of him for this.
he claims it sounds so much better in the car than streaming. is he right? im under 30 so i dont own a CD but i feel like there is no way its that much better especially going through all that effort.

I guess it depends on the album but Eno and Zeppelin definitely sound better on vinyl.

The quality is better then streaming but not drastically so.

Yeah CDs sound better than streaming unless it's tidal
CDs are lossless quality, streaming is lossy, and usually not even 320kbs
>im under 30 so i dont own a CD
I don't know why you even said this, im 19 and I own like 50 cds as well as ~150 records

i actually do own 1 CD i got at a concert so the band would sign it but ive never listened to it as when i want to listen to it i just put on their playlist on spotify. thats quite an impressive record collection i have a very small one but i never know if they actually sound better or if i just think they do because people say they do you know

10 because my setup is really good and my computer and phone both suck ass

It's more difficult and expensive to get vinyl to sound good. It all depends on what you're listening to/for.

Super hi-res streaming doesn't really exist, yet (there's Tidal but I don't know many people that really use it) but I think it'll become the norm eventually.

A nice DAC with hi-res audio files into a receiver with some nice speakers will always be superior to vinyl to my ears. Even a CD on a proper set up will usually beat vinyl.

Depends on what gear you're playing the vinyl, the condition of the vinyl, and the pressing of the vinyl (different pressing might use different masters, and some pressings can sound better than others due to material differences, etc.)
And with streams, its quality can play a part, though it likely won't matter when you get near/above 256kbps. Plus there's the question of what version of the album the streaming service has, a dynamic earlier master or some clipping compressed loudness war mess.

How much better is your record setup than your streaming setup?

A lot of people bitch about streaming because of the low bitrate but the bigger problem is everyones listening to music on fucking apple earpods or some shitty laptop speaker or some 50 dollar JBL speakers you bought at kohls. At that point it doesn't even matter if you're listening to flac or some 128kb/s youtube rip because the speakers are so shit your ear cant tell the difference.

The same goes for vinyl.

People go from built in laptop speakers or a cheap bluetooth speaker, to a turntable with a built in preamp and a pair of self powered bookshelf speakers. Honestly, a 320kbps MP3 isn't much worse than regular CD quality. People just aren't paying attention to what gear they're listening with most of the time.

It's always going to sound better.

If the record in question is an "unmastered/unmixed" version compared to some modern remastering, it could sound much better

For me records are a way to get versions of songs that never made it to CD/mp3/digital. For example theres a version of a Neil Diamond song that shows up ONCE on one album in the 70s and never shows up on any re-release, remaster, compilation, or lost tracks modern album

If you spend that much you cannot compare vinyls to normal gear, you have to compare them to professional studio monitors and I doubt vinyls sound better then

it doesn't, it's a meme

When I got my first record player and record (in the aeroplane over the sea)
When I played it I almost cried because of how amazing it sounded and how I've always wanted to hear it on vinyl and it sounded so great

If you buy modern music that was recorded digtially then track to a record with some meme "150G AUDIOPHILE VINLY" then you deserve it

The noise floor inherent in vinyl already makes it sound worse than anything in a recording studio. The closest you can get to that is a pristine reel to reel tape master or a high resolution digital audio file. The sound of a stylus rubbing up against a piece of plastic to create sound isn't all that high-fidelity anymore.

A lot of audiophiles are listening to modern music on audio systems that likely cost more than the budgets of a lot of the albums they're listening to. Which is hilarious to me.

The sound quality of vinyl varies wildly, and in my opinion, only sounds better than CD if it has a favourable master. Vinyl is cool, but I certainly didn't get into it for sound quality reasons.

Too many LPs have distortion because the engineer was a dipshit during mastering.

It's a fun format, it's comfy, and it has its place. But the fact that sibilance distortion is so prevalent in a lot of pressings is enough to prevent me from having a massive collection of records. I'd rather spend that $18+ on an HDTracks version or something unless it's an album I really love.

Better fidelity 9.5/10 times. Whether you have the player and/or equipment to enjoy that is another story

>HDtracks
I think hi res audio is just as much of a meme as vinyl being superior, honestly. At least with vinyl you get a nice physical package, which is a huge part of why it's popular again.

Its not about the format, its the mastering

The difference in fidelity between 24 bit and 16 bit audio is big and noticeable enough to me. It's worthwhile.

I don't care much for higher sampling rates above 44.1 khz. But bit depth has always had a noticeable difference in stereo width, sound stage depth, dynamic range, and detail.

It doesn't sound better if you use a turntable like that

did those 16bit tracks suffer from digital decay?

I never said 16 bit audio was shit. It's adequate. But 24 bit sounds better. When it's available, I'd rather listen to that. It's like picking between 720p video and 1080p.

Out of curiosity, what gear do you listen with and have you done a blind ABX test?

I got into records because I love 60s 70s rock so thats mostly what I have. Its good for old albums (as in old or og pressings) if you buy mostly new music in the format youre a fuckin dumbass

Honestly, I wouldn't always say it sounds better, especially with newer albums. I'd definitly say it has it's own sound and personally I love it. But thats just my two cents.

I've done a lot of ABX tests with file formats, bit depths, sampling rates, etc. I know what I like and what I don't. I have experience with recording, mixing, mastering, and listening so I'm not talking out of my ass.

In terms of my gear, it varies between my home hi-fi system, recording studios in the area, consumer grade headphones.

this.

Yas i

shut up

Trust me it sounds better.

If your willing to invest the time and money into getting a nice setup its really incredible, and most important of all is as this user said its the mastering and pressing of the record, I have some records that sound the same as streamed music (newer ones mostly) and some of those ones that were mastered perfectly (and played on a good setup) are a truly unmatched experience
when it comes to home listening.

>notice dust on stylus
>try to clean it off by wiping it with a tissue and a microfiber cloth then pulling the clump off with tweezers
>do research online
>styluses are very delicate and even using a record brush on them might cause damage
Did I fuck it up bad? I haven't tested it out since I "cleaned" it.

probably not, they are fragile, but if you were being careful you probably didn't do any long term damage, but dont do it again. Stylus brushes are like 5 bucks on amazon