Notes

Wired 10/24/07
Vinyl may be final nail in CDs coffin

“ Portability is no longer any reason to stick with CDs and neither is audio quality”
-consumers are now using MP3s, ipods and iphones. Cds are becoming a superfluous intermediate between producers and listeners.


Differences of sound between vinyl and Cds
-audio on vinyl cannot be compressed to extremes
-more data contained in analog groves
-CDs have a wider dynamic range

Turntables and vinyl records are still made and in demand by audiophyles.

Some musicians choose to release on vinyl and MP3s only.

Not realistic to think that Vinyl will make complete comeback but strong evidence that it will not disappear either. In fact there is an increasing demand for vinyl .

Wikipedia
Loudness War

To explain difference in sound and sound quality:

Producers look for new sounds and tend to produce and broadcast music with increasing level of Loudness.

Maximum amplitude once reached, one can only increase loudness by decreasing the dynamic range: loudest peaks destroyed.
Compression distorts or clips waveforms.

What kind of music is easily heard in noisy environments (car, city, public places): with high level of sound pressure.
Radio stations : compression necessary .
Explains choices of producers.

Choices of producers is criticized by recording industry professionals
(Ex Dou Sax Geoff Emerick, Steve Hofman) and musicians (Neil Young, Bob Dylan)
Quote from Bob Dylan
Quote from Jay Graydon

Mastering engineers are pressured against their will to make release louder.
There is evidence that consumers are noticing and beginning to be discontent with the loudness of recordings.

Hearing problems could result from such sound mastering.

Technical explanations of the effect of increasing loudness:
dynamic range, waveforms and how these effect emotional perception and reaction.
Distortion, clipping

History of recording medium

http://blog.wired
/music/2008/04/riaa-admits-vin.html
RIAA Admits Vinyl Sales Are Climbing

Evidence that vinyl sales are up
Sales reports from 2005 to 2008

Outline

I. Intro

II. Cost
1. Price of both vinyl and cd's originally
2. Price of both vinyl and cd's today
3. How important is the price (how does it relate to the rest)
III. Lifespan
1. Talk about the lifespan of an average cd, what happens to it over time
2. Talk about the lifespan of an average vinyl record, and how it wears over time
3. Does quality decrease with age?
IV. Production
1. Explain production of both cd's and vinyl
2. How record industry mixers/producers feel about modern music
3. Explain how digital music is like a movie, and how analog is natural
V. Capacity
1. Cd capacity and how much an average mp3 file takes
2. Vinyl capacity and how long a record can play on one side
3. What does capacity mean for sound?
VI. Conclusion
1.
2.
3.

Still Working

I am still gathering information and producing more subquestions that I will have to answer in order to successfully determine the answer to my question. I have decided that in order to reach a conclusion about quality between vinyl records and cd's, I will have to do the following

1. Determine the different types (If any) of cd's and vinyl records there are.
2. Use the same stereo for any testing I might do
3. Listen to the same tracks/songs on both cd and vinyl if I do testing

I also will be speaking with an audio recording technician at MockingBird Music in Mansfield to futher help my reasearch.

Subquestions

These are some questions I will be answering in order to establish a final conclusion

What are the shortcomings of vinyl and cd's?
What makes a cd sound good or not good?
Does quality decrease over time with cd's and vinyl?
How has the quality of cd's improved?
Is the audible range higher on vinyl then on cd's?

Working Bibliography

Works Cited

Elsea, Peter. "Analog Recording." The Division of the Arts | UC Santa Cruz. 1996. University of California. 10 Mar. 2009 .

Fremer, Michael. "Fans Flock to Vinyl In the Era of CD's." The New York Times 7 May 1998: 1-2.

Buskirk, Eliot. "RIAA Admits Vinyl Sales Are Climbing." Wired 28 Apr. 2008. Digital Music News. 17 Mar. 2009 .

A Dreamer of Pictures: Neil Young, the man and his music. London: Bloomsbury, 1995.

"Loudness war -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 24 Mar. 2009 .

Van Buskirk, Eliot. "Vinyl May Be Final Nail in CD's Coffin." Wired 29 Oct. 2007.

Change in topic

After researching my original topic, I decided it would be easier and more realistic to follow my third option. I will be comparing the audio quality of cd's to vinyl on the same sound system. This topic also fits in with my plans for the future to become a recording studio technician, and is of high interest to me.