LPs that actually do sound better?, Somebody Should Make a List Options

[tonybelding]

Hi all. . . I'm new here, but I've been pointed towards this site many times in the past to settle questions about audio -- especially about digital compression.

So anyhow. . . I got me a turntable!

What prompted me to get it was a series of records that National Geographic published back in the 70s and which never were released on CD. They were high production quality stuff: gatefold, elaborate liner notes, etc. It was supposed to be a history of American music -- an early example of edu-tainment, you might say. I fondly remembered some of these from when I was little, and I thought it would be cool to collect the LPs (thanks to the modern miracle of eBay) and digitize them, and put them in my iTunes library. QED, right?

I first thought I'd get one of those cheap USB turntables, but then I did a little research and found out they were basically crummy, so of course I wanted a better one. . . and one thing led to another. I ended up with a Technics SL-D2 with a Shure M95ED cartridge, which seems to be working pretty well so far. It's been a long time since I had a turntable, and this is way better than any I had before.

So, I dug out some other old LPs. One that particularly pleases me is Blue Oyster Cult's The Revolution By Night. It sounds way better than the CD. The CD is one of those early releases that were. . . messed up. I don't know exactly what the explanation is, but it seems around 1984-86 there were a fair number of CDs that came out sounding thin, harsh and bright. I suspect it had something to do with the mad rush to convert whole back catalogs ASAP while engineers were still getting used to the new format and equipment.

Adding insult to injury, the CD was a "budget" release with the (excellent IMHO) cover art shrunk to about cassette size and surrounded with a useless border proclaiming what a bargain it was. The sleeve art was jettisoned entirely. Gee thanks, CBS Records!

I've tinkered with the CD rip before, applying equalization -- greatly reducing the higher frequencies -- and re-normalizing it, and I was able to make the CD sound a lot better. Even so, apparently I never totally figured it out, because the LP still sounds better to me.

At the end of this long story, I'm left wondering. . . Can anybody suggest other LPs that are notably better than their CD release? I mean examples where the CD was messed up in some way, whether it was equalization or over-compression, clipping, whatever, while the LP was OK. Bonus points could be awarded if the LP has great cover art, gatefold art, etc!

We could even make a list of these; it seems like somebody ought to.

[analog scott]

Name a record that IYO sounds better than any of it's CD counterparts.
I'll start the list with one entry and we can go from there.
1. Yes, Fragile. Released by Analog Productions. In blind comparisons it beat out every CD version I own including the latest Mofi CD.

How about a list of records that sound better than the CD counterparts simply BECAUSE they are on vinyl?

Well if you want to start a new thread called "A list of records that sound better than the CD counterparts simply BECAUSE they are on vinyl" Feel free to do so. But it would be limited to LPs and CDs that were mastered exactly the same way in that the exact same signal was fed to the cutting lathe preamp as was the A/D converter....
If you want to start that list I'll give you your first entry.
1. James Boyk, Pictures at an Exhibition on Perfomance Recordings. It was offered as a comparison package. Now that entry does come with an asterix. It was better on my system using my TT rig and preamp and my CDP. Your results may vary.

But the topic of this thread is "LPs that actually do sound better, let's make a list." The difference is substantial and more importantly the goal of the OP in trying to create such a list is obviously quite different than what would be achieved by what you are proposing. IMO your proposal would lead to nothing more than a typical fruitless garden variety circle jerk pissing contest between CD advocates and vinyl advocates and would serve no purpose to those genuinely interested in better sound.

This post has been edited by analog scott: Sep 15 2010, 18:22

[cliveb]

How about a list of records that sound better than the CD counterparts simply BECAUSE they are on vinyl?

Well if you want to start a new thread called "A list of records that sound better than the CD counterparts simply BECAUSE they are on vinyl" Feel free to do so.

I thought pdq was talking about albums that are not available on CD at all.

I'll start the ball rolling with a story. My wife had the vinyl of the Original Cast recording of Godspell. She then saw it on CD and bought it, only to be dismayed to find that the CD version was the Original *Los Angeles* cast, while her LP was the *London* cast (David Essex, Jeremy Irons, Julie Covington, et al). The CD had the same cover art as the LP, so I think she was entitled to assume it would be the same recording. We returned it and continue to use the needle-drop I made from her (rather battered) LP. As far as I'm aware, the Original London cast recording of Godspell still isn't available on CD.

[krabapple]

How about a list of records that sound better than the CD counterparts simply BECAUSE they are on vinyl?

Well if you want to start a new thread called "A list of records that sound better than the CD counterparts simply BECAUSE they are on vinyl" Feel free to do so.

I thought pdq was talking about albums that are not available on CD at all.

I'll start the ball rolling with a story. My wife had the vinyl of the Original Cast recording of Godspell. She then saw it on CD and bought it, only to be dismayed to find that the CD version was the Original *Los Angeles* cast, while her LP was the *London* cast (David Essex, Jeremy Irons, Julie Covington, et al). The CD had the same cover art as the LP, so I think she was entitled to assume it would be the same recording. We returned it and continue to use the needle-drop I made from her (rather battered) LP. As far as I'm aware, the Original London cast recording of Godspell still isn't available on CD.

Same story with the original LP release of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.