Remastered vinyl vs original CD?

[Yesfan70]

I've been on an America kick here lately. I got to looking around hoping the first album was finally remastered for CD. I did find it on Amazon remastered on vinyl. I can get it used for $7.

link


What I was wondering about was if this version would sound better than the original CD I have. If not, what about the original vinyl? I know CDs released in the 80s/early 90s may have used the same masters as vinyl, resulting in that "tinny" sound they had (my '94 Yes remasters sound better than the originals imo). So I was wondering would it be better to get some of those albums on vinyl, digitize to wav, and burn them on CDRs for better quality.

 

[soundhound]

Don't buy used vinyl, no matter how perfect a condition they say it is in unless you're not particular.

 

[Yesfan70]

Don't buy used vinyl, no matter how perfect a condition they say it is in unless you're not particular.

Point taken, especially reading the sellers' description.


Sure, $25 but if it's (much) better than the original CD pressing, I can justify that cost as it is a regularly played album in my collection. "Riverside" and (especially) "Three Roses" are my favorite tunes on that album.

 

[Dennie]

Used vinyl is a crap-shoot and most people think their used vinyl is Like New, even if it is scratched to hell.

I've had some great luck with $1 bin used vinyl and at that price I will take my chances, but if someone is asking over $4 -$5, I get nervous. Unless you know them and they will give you your money back if you are not happy.

New vinyl is also a crap-shoot. I've heard many many stories of disappointment with new vinyl. Make sure of the return policy, before you buy.

To address your question about mastering, only research will tell. There are some people on Audiokarma.org who are very into what is written in the "dead wax" and they could probably help you decipher which is which.

Good luck,


Dennie

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[Yesfan70]

Rope

Already have that (which is good). What I'm wondering about is the S/T studio debut (from 1972).


I might take a shot at it and see what happens. Thanks guys!

 

[Deleted member 133]

While I'm not looking to start a bun war, I personally would never consider buying vinyl unless it was the only way to get something that I wanted for my collection.

On a side note, that Saturn store in Hamburg Germany that I mentioned today in another thread has an entire floor devoted to CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and yes, vinyl! Seems that Germans have (re-)embraced the format; at least enough that a good length of bin space was devoted to it.

But to tie this post back to the OP, what I was surprised to discover was that there, in those bins, I could find not only vinyl versions of new releases, and so called "remastered" vinyl, but also re-releases that were identical to the originals. I mean identical album covers, inserts, and, by the looks of it, the discs themselves.

Want that Sinatra album from the 50s that you once saw at a garage sale for 50 cents? They had it for 22EUR.

Jeff

 

[Yesfan70]

While I'm not looking to start a bun war, I personally would never consider buying vinyl unless it was the only way to get something that I wanted for my collection.

On a side note, that Saturn store in Hamburg Germany that I mentioned today in another thread has an entire floor devoted to CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and yes, vinyl! Seems that Germans have (re-)embraced the format; at least enough that a good length of bin space was devoted to it.

But to tie this post back to the OP, what I was surprised to discover was that there, in those bins, I could find not only vinyl versions of new releases, and so called "remastered" vinyl, but also re-releases that were identical to the originals. I mean identical album covers, inserts, and, by the looks of it, the discs themselves.

Want that Sinatra album from the 50s that you once saw at a garage sale for 50 cents? They had it for 22EUR.

Jeff

I feel the same way. My first priority is getting it on CD. What I was wondering about was whether some of these remastered albums on vinyl (and not remastered for CD) are going to be better than the original CD versions.

The first America album is a prime example. It has yet to be remastered for CD, yet you can get it remastered on vinyl. Will this remaster (or vinyl in general) be better than the original CD? Who knows. I do have the original CD of Coltrane's A Love Supreme and also on SACD. The CDR copy from the SACD sounds much better than my original CDs.

I did find a few copies of America in VG+ to Mint condition for about $2 on Discogs. That's much cheaper than the remastered vinyl from Amazon ($24).

 

[soundhound]

The source of the master and the abilities of the person doing the transfer have much more impact than the delivery format.

 

[Yesfan70]

The source of the master and the abilities of the person doing the transfer have much more impact than the delivery format.

That tells me to take a chance with vinyl being the better choice then when comparing the same album that was released on CD in the 80s.

 

[soundhound]

While I prefer vinyl for a lot of material, vinyl is not for everyone because of the investment in equipment and upkeep. Only you can make that determination.

 

[Deleted member 133]

I forgot to mention that the Saturn store also had a section dedicated to SACD! Mind you it was only in the classical section, but it contained a healthy number of releases, many at quite reasonable prices. I picked up Phantomes: An Organ Spectacular (Harald Feller) and L'Amour et la Mort (Iveta Apkalna). I've had time to give them a quick spin back home and both the recordings and the performances are top notch.

Jeff