Sigh…
The title is Formats - Do they really ever die.
Opinions outside of that are irrelevant to me.
There’s a handy difference, it’s possible to keep the results of digitisation pristine forever. Tapes biggest issue is degradation/fragility and making perfect copies is impossible. Once digitised you have multiple perfect copies, as long as you’re careful. You only need to digitise again if you think you can do a better job, not because the tape stretched, broke, etc.
Things don’t die as long as there’s enthusiastic communities of use behind them. High speed trains haven’t stopped steam engines…
Whatever format floats your boat is fine. Those who belittle your choices are jerk a-holes. Playing an LP makes you feel engaged with the music and the album pictures are great. Cassettes were and still are an easy to carry around and mix music collections for your hopeful for significant other. DAT was wonderful for quality sound but Sony pulled the plug on it. It was easy to connect to sound-boards in the Grateful Dead days. I tried Minidisk but Sony did that one wrong. Did not regret seeing tthat go. 8-track: never got into it but never had a muscle car either. Reel to reel is great and is still around at 20 times original price. You could be super good sounding pre-recorced reel to reel tapes for $15. They now sell for $500. I still love SACDs. Abandoned by Sony but happily still alive. Love whatever format you like, it is still the music that counts.
Agreed ! Format itself is of no importance. If you enjoy the music itself it does not matter at all. It is the message that is important not the messenger.
I am always surprised to see such queries on Roon, such a progressive way to play back music. Vinyl, CDs, and open reel are lots of fun but don’t approach digital. That’s science not opinion. Some people still play 78s—these things are basically dead but not extinct.
Yes—it’s just plain science. The LP crowd gets very twitchy when they are reminded of this.
My vinyl does not have ticks and pops (except a very few well over 50 y/o, and they have extremely few) due to meticulous care and cleaning. And, they have s/n of about 70dB, which is actually better than most music being released today has. The main problem with vinyl is that you do have to be meticulous. But listening to Eva Cassidy’s Nightbird box, vinyl totally trumps any digital version of it. And I can say that about numerous works. But vinyl playback is more variable than digital. If your equipment is more entry level, digital probably wins out. But, if you spend enough money (probably at least $3-4k), and are meticulous in setup, care and cleaning, you can get vinyl to sound as good or better that digital on MOST works. That’s way too much for most folks.
Nope not twitchy at all.
Just sit back and smirk and know what we know and flip another record.
Enjoy the music!
Millions of listeners would disagree with you on that.
Neil
Not only is it way too much money for most folks nowadays I think the most important aspect is that it is way too much work for them to keep up with.
Even though you, I and the rest of the dinosaurs know it is effort very well worthwhile it does not appeal to the push a button crowd.
But hey please let us all just enjoy the music however it is delivered ok!
Its going to be a great weekend!
Also, digitizing older works on at least 192/24 (preferable DSD) can save works from fires like the one that happened 2-3 years ago. Digital can be stores at multiple locations, analog can not.
No remote with vinyl, either. I love both vinyl and digital. Both have strengths. Both have weaknesses. Well I love LOSSLESS digital, anyway, which leaves out mp3, aac, MQA, etc.
The real answer is that some formats do and some don’t. Eight track and cassette are dead and reel to reel is pretty much finito. But LPs are alive and well, and the CD refuses to die. Lots of people like all the paraphernalia associated with LPs and they let that obscure their judgment as to what format actually sounds better. So there is an explanation for why the LP persists that goes beyond pure sound quality. Also, the audio industry encourages the huge market expansion—probably there are more high end turntables available now than ever.
Some people should probably google the actual inner workings and code behind the humble CD and what was actually needed to make it even work with all the kludges and loss of data while reading the pits and lands.
Makes calling it science a little amusing…lol.
But to say cassette is dead is simply untrue whether you like the format or not at least lets be accurate here, a lot of new and upcoming bands are releasing demos and eps on the very humble cassette tape.
Our local lrs supports local artists this way and releases their efforts on their own label on cassette.
Now if your definition of a “dead format” is commercially produced media then yes cassette is close to that description and r2r certainly is.
My definition is media that is still being used frequently and has a respectable following which cassette and r2r definitely still have.
Just my 3 cents.
Lets not mention the dreaded M word here…lmao
I’m all digital these days, with a large stack of vinyl in storage but I’d go along with this definition. In fact I was an anti CD holdout way into the mid 90s. I’ve always been keen on communities of use that keep things going, sometimes against the odds. For cassette tapes I suspect fewer and fewer people will have access to the hardware over time. Alongside my stored vinyl there’s a few tape decks, including one rtr. I don’t use them and haven’t in almost two decades but I can’t quite cut the cord and sell…
My vinyl was a casualty of space in the container when I emigrated to South Africa in 1996 ,
I decided CD , bought a Linn Karik and never looked back. Eventually my Nakamichi 582 and CR7e went the way of the world . The Revox A77 went long before that.
I agree you need to be meticulous with vinyl, I was (I hope)
I never got to 8 track or DAT
I went fully digital in 2012 and am perfectly happy.
I bet they would, but you don’t measure truth by how many people agree or disagree with something, do you?
Actually I have zero interest in measuring anything.
My ears tell me all I need to know.
Enjoy the 
!