Ipods are killing people's love of quality music

vinyl all the way, I do use an Ipod when im away from home though.

well I could buy a hi-fi amp and hi-fi speakers (otherwise the increased quality is moot) but that is so expensive. and it depends on what you get out of music. if it's a message you can still receive theres no problem, if it's soundplay purely then of course hi-fi is preferred but the difference (mp3 vs. vinyl through the same set up) is so minute it doesnt bother me (as a DJ and long time audiophile) also although I agree that squared bytes can only go so far and never recreate real sound, there has to be a point where they come so close the human ears interpretation fills in the gaps exactly the same, and therefore I prefer .wav.
My final point would be that any of these formats (vinyl included) will go through speakers and the electrical and mechanical impulses and movements will distort the sound so if were going to be this rediculous about it you may as well never listen to anything except live sets played on acoustic instruments.

I've nevered listened to vinyl

i just interviewed a guy who was in the music industry for several years and now teaches music industry studies.

he said something really funny about this.

basically he said that for the first time in history, we have accepted a technology that is a step backwards in sound quality. no doubt it is because of the convenience and affordability of digital music, but he said he thinks our kids will look back at us and say, "what the hell were you thinking?"

Though this may be disqualified with the statement that I am both an audiophile and a musician...

F**K MP3s. They sound like crap. The high end register is full of pixelated distortion, which is especially noticeable in any crash or ride cymbals or hi-hat sounds.

Give me vinyl any day of the week.

None of my friends can hear the difference, but they've all blasted their high range out with earbuds, which are terrible for your ears even at low volume.

I can hear when most electronic devices are on and drawing AC power, and it drives me batty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNzmrEgz_GI

i would just like to say that music is music, we have all shared a part in listining to something really great in life, and that some peticular songs may bring us back to a certain sentamental memory. vinl on another level is just to dinosuar. and im sure no one wants to go out there and spend money on a record player and another half on vinl albums. thats why the ipod was created you can fit many vinl albums on them, and dont have to worry about your records bending over prolonged heat exposure. . . "MUSIC IS LIFE, LIVE IT"

I do not own a television, no ipod, no nano, still have my cassettes, a few CD's, Pogues mostly. I will say, what happens if these Ipod loving folk run the rest of us out of Dodge? What happens then? Will we all be forced to buy computers to enjoy our music?

There's nothing like live music

@ jadedgem: so does that include you then?

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yes, lets kill every ignorant little bastard who cant appreciate the "good old days".

actually there never really were any good old days, it was just the days of your youth and now you are old and things are different.

i for one do not own an ipod, I still use a portable CD player, and i used to have a really kick ass stereo for at home, but alas, I lost my home.

i think there is more of an issue with the quality of the music itself, not so much the format. also, who are these people who call themselves artists these days???

fuckin cris brown, jay z, kayne west, miley, brittney, et cetera. i dont even know man. all i know the death of rock was the death of jim morrison LOL (j/k)

You think vinyl is better than CDs? (.wav)

I like to buy albums, pull the little tab on the bottom of the jewel case and flip it open (preserving the sticker on the top), then rip the CD and put the original in a pile.

Then I use the MP3 either on my computer, on my XBOX360, or in my car.

One kid on Xbox Live said that he has never bought a CD, he just rips his friend's. I find that very peculiar...

I'd be broke if I paid to listen to the best quality sounding music.

we should just have a youth of america genocide. i bet that would solve everything.

But did early recording devices kill live music? Didn't vinyl cheapen the "sense of warmth and comfort"?

Phfft, what pretentious bull.

well there are record players, now out on the market, that play vinyl and make it into an mp3 so you can put it on your ipod. so you can have both!

iPods are way too convenient to not use on the go. its the most practical way to listen to your favorite music anywhere you want..

But that's not to say that the sound of vinyl isn't anything but audio gold. the richness, warmth and fullness of a good ol fashioned record, i believe, will never be surpassed.

@NakedBum
You have to start with a lossless filetype, it's pointless to convert a lossy file into lossless. Rip it in .flac or dl it in .flac. You can always convert .flac into .mp3 but you won't want to convert .mp3 into .flac

Real music lovers, real people who appreciate sound quality see it live!

This has been like the billionth article over this subject matter and the only cultural shift I see is people not getting out and seeing shows live anymore. I don't seem to get it. Whether you're watching a local band at a cramped house party or seeing an large scale orchestra at the Maracanã in Rio, isn't that 10 times better than both vinyl or mp3.

I like all three mediums but this debate has become tiring. Hence why I seemed to bother myself with it again.

All music sources including 8 track have their own appeal. Even the best audio source can't recreate a kickass show!

Good vinyl beats MP3s hand down on quality. As mentioned there are plenty of new digital formats that can replace them (MP3's that is).

Also a lot of people don't understand WHY vinyl is awesome. No, it's not convenient, but that's the point. There's something about going into a record store; physically searching through hundreds of records; finding something of interest; buying it; taking it home and exploring the sleeve, inserts, and now a days the color of vinyl; placing the needle into that first groove, hearing those crackles and filling up with anticipation...

Like the article says it's about a feeling of comfort. I'm not a big collector, but I have freinds who are and through them I've learned to love sitting down and just listening to an album or line up of 7"'s.

listen to all you people . i appreciate music PERIOD. i dont give a F*** on the format. music is music. you humans are so high maintenance . . .

OK then, genius. You try finding free vinyl from the convenience of your home computer in just seconds.

You know what's even better than recorded music in any format? Live music. Yeah, try beating that, Vinyl. And if I get to see more live bands because I'm saving money with all these mp3s floating around AND more and more bands are touring to make up for the money lost from freeshare music, then please, don't lecture me on high fidelity crap.

i've never listened to a vinyl record. :(
how do you get songs in a better format,lossless, like you guys were saying? can you convert mp3 files to better quality? i don't understand this stuff, i have no idea how it works.

it really doesn't matter if you have pristine vinyl if you have shit speakers or cheap headphones , etc. . the "average listener" , given an "average stereo" would probably have a richer listening experience if they listened to a track on an ipod , through factory headphones , regardless of fidelity .

mp3 sucks. but i use mp3s when i am on the go

unfortunately , he his talking about the same generation that uses there mobile phone as a boom box. I'm a sound engineer and it annoys me that digital beat analogue. Tape is practically the same thing as vinyl.

For a lossless format, .WAV or .AIFF is the way to go but for a good quality compressed audio file go for .ogg. The only time i use MP3 files is when I'm told to or sending a sample mix.

MP3s win for it's cheapness, i don't mind paying £30 for a vinyl when it's worth it. I only buy second hand dated records like my original American release of Jimi Hendrix or second pressing of pink floyd.

Yes because I don't feel like spending thousands of dollars on a vinyl music system, and then hunting down obscure releases.

I don't think anyone really prefers the sound of mp3s over vinyl, it's more of a convenience thing...but I guess it depends on both the person and the type of music.

Like HD / 35mm film, it will never match it's quality.

Ok, give me a portable record player that fits into my pocket... no? I can't even bring mine to uni with me, as it doesn't have anywhere to go.
Everyone would probably prefer records, but alot of people don't buy them anymore, and it is way more convenient to just put a cd on, or switch on your computer. No one can argue with that (apart from my dad, who cannot switch on the computer). Its pointless saying it though, its like comparing a real painting to the poster you have at home. Of course you would rather the proper one, but you just make do. Hey, its nearly as good.
I don't think its competely untrue, but i don't think it really matters, people will do what they do anyway.

I think I prefer my MP3 because of the convenience. I listen to it everywhere and the music is right in my ear so it blocks out any background noise if your on the tube or doing household chores like vacuuming. I can just easily slip into a world of my own and also no one else can usually hear what I'm listening to so I don't get embaressed over my weird taste in music.

Maybe if I was a DJ I'd think different because they have a different way of interpreting music.

Additionally, mp3s are 'squared' bytes of sound where vinyl produce a natural curve, thus a more true-to-life sound. There are many different formats that out do mp3s, flac is among one of my lossless favorites.

Although, I don't have flac files for all my music (some music really doesn't need to be 'perfect' in order to be appreciated) but my modern jazz collection, like Dave Weckl, deserve to have their sound on flac.

If you are looking for lossless, I'd say research your different file types, mp3 is definitely one of the worst. It was designed in an age where file size was key and USB thumb drives weren't even created. It was 4GB hard drives, Omega ZIP drives, and the ol' 2x2x4 burner.

No way. I use my ipod for convenience only. If I could, I'd carry around a stack of vinyl and massive quality speakers everywhere I go. No crappy digital music file will ever sound as good as a quality record.