Vinyl vs. Digital Music: A Battle for Superior Quality

Vinyl vs. Digital Music: find out which format reigns supreme in sound quality, durability, and overall listening pleasure and how that might change your release strategy.

Vinyl vs. Digital Music: A Battle for Superior Quality

by Chris Huff of Disc Makers Blog

For most of the existence of the recording industry, vinyl records have been the dominant format that people have used to experience music. With the advent of the digital age, CDs outpaced vinyl, then downloads outpaced them all. Since the late 2000s, though, sales of vinyl have grown significantly every year, which begs the question: Are vinyl records coming back? In 2023, vinyl sales topped 43 million for the first time since the late 80s and surpassed CD sales for the first time since 1987. While nowhere near the sales numbers of its heyday, it’s clear that vinyl records are not just here to stay, but still widely popular.

The vinyl vs. digital debate has raged for decades. Digital formats have the advantage of no stylus and no extraneous noise from the pressing material itself. Vinyl enthusiasts claim that digital sound files don’t capture the complete sonic waveform and are, therefore, inferior for experiencing the analog phenomenon of sound. Ultimately it is a subjective question and thus a matter of personal taste, but we’re here to shed a little bit of light on some of the criteria that one might use to evaluate the difference between vinyl and digital audio. 

The analog warmth of vinyl

Many who love the sound of vinyl records vs. digital describe the former as having more warmth. What does this mean? It’s a bit of a misnomer to describe sound in terms of temperature, adding another layer of subjectivity to an already subjective phenomenon. What most people seem to mean is that the sound quality has more presence and seems more lifelike and realistic on vinyl as opposed to digital audio formats. Part of what people might be hearing is the record noise and the natural distortion of certain parts of the sound that happens when a recording is pressed onto vinyl. Learning about how vinyl records are made sheds more light on this discussion. The added “warmth” to the sound because of this is a pleasing effect for many. Vinyl advocates would also argue that the more lifelike sound is because more of the actual waveform is captured in the vinyl process than when converting the waveform to 1s and 0s for the digital recording domain. There is much disagreement among audiophiles as to whether that last point is something the human ear can actually hear. 

Vinyl vs. digital music: A technical dive

Vinyl is capable of accurately reproducing a wide range of frequencies from 7 Hz to 50 kHz, covering the entire audible spectrum, which sits between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. The entire process of capturing sound is an analog process, cutting the information onto vinyl. Digital formats operate using a bit depth and a sample rate:

• Bit Depth: The number of bits of information in each sample.
• Red Book Standard: Developed for CDs, uses a 44.1 kHz sample rate at 16 bits as a basic standard.
• Current Encoding Capabilities: It’s possible to encode audio at 32 bits with a sample rate of 384 kHz; higher bit depth and sample rates sound clearer and better to most people.

In the creation of the digital file, though, the sound waveform is not being captured with 100% accuracy; it is literally being chopped up and reconstituted as digital information. There is great debate as to whether this matters and whether the human ear is even capable of hearing the difference. Vinyl advocates insist that, especially for analog instruments like drums and cymbals, the sound captured on vinyl more accurately represents that of the instrument being played live. Digital format advocates will point to the reduced bass on vinyl due to the nature of the medium (bass has to be reduced in order for LPs to be playable) as an indication of vinyl’s deficiency. 

Two crucial terms in the discussion of vinyl vs. digital are dynamic range and compression. Dynamic range refers to the difference in volume between the quietest and loudest parts of the recording. Compression is a music production tool that reduces these differences in volume. Many feel that those who press vinyl have a better sense of dynamic range than digital, largely due to the “loudness wars” of the ‘90s where artists and engineers realized that it was possible to greatly compress their recordings and make them stand out by being louder than everyone else’s. Digital audio does have a larger possible dynamic range than vinyl, however, and this is one of the reasons classical CDs have such amazing sound. That’s why digital music’s audio quality has a bad reputation for dynamics when it comes to rock music due to the loudness wars. 

Why is vinyl better than digital?

One common refrain among vinyl advocates is the joy of the tactile experience of holding a record. For those of us who came of age when vinyl was still the dominant format, our formative experiences of music involved holding a record cover, studying it, reading the liner notes, getting a satisfying feeling from dropping the needle, and associating the sounds with an actual physical item. If you grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, you probably remember a time when people would sit around listening to albums in their living rooms the way that people now watch TV or movies (or play on their phones). There is great nostalgia in vinyl for these folks, but those who weren’t alive at this time also seem to find great value in the experience of a physical interface with music. 

With vinyl, the album cover and packaging become a significant part of the whole listening experience. Albums like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Dark Side of the Moon were packaged in such a way as to make them interesting to open and examine, and they contained bonus items like posters and cutouts. When evaluating vinyl vs. digital as it relates to your own music, keep in mind the value of artwork to listeners in shaping the whole experience. It is true that CDs can also give the best of both worlds — clean digital sound with the tangible experience of artwork you can hold and peruse. 

Collectability and value of vinyl

Another factor in the vinyl vs. digital debate is the collectability of vinyl. Not all vinyl is collectible, but anything in a limited release or special edition, especially if signed by the artist, does have the potential to increase in value. Original pressings of classic records from the ‘60s and ‘70s can be quite valuable, as can out-of-print audiophile pressings. 

Releasing music on vinyl can be beneficial for artists in many ways, but the main benefit is that the profit margin is quite large. You can sell vinyl records for $25 or more these days; if the price per unit is $10, you could make at least $15 profit on each one (less if you deduct total costs, but you get the idea). There’s also a great deal of cachet in having vinyl; it can give you the air of legitimacy in your own mind and others’ minds. Limited-release vinyl pressings in different colors can also be a nice collectible thing for your audience; vinyl box sets can be sold for much higher prices than their CD/digital counterparts.

Sustainability and longevity

Vinyl degrades over time, but so do CDs. Vinyl will degrade more quickly, obviously, due to the nature of the material and grooves, but a well-kept vinyl record can also last many decades. CDs will degrade as well but can also last for a long time with proper care. Some say centuries, although this has not been tested, as the oldest CDs are only about 46 years old. Only digital files are impervious to the ravages of time, but this assumes the longevity of the internet and the hard drive which the file is stored on. With no physical copy, a digital file is one crash away from disappearing forever (assuming you have no backup). 

Making your mark with custom vinyl pressings

The nice part about the vinyl vs. digital debate is that, ultimately, you don’t have to choose! Like the classic meme of “Why not both?” suggests, it’s good to press your music in as many formats as you can afford. If you can only afford one physical format, you’ll need to figure out which your audience would prefer. While the jury is still out as to which sounds better, it’s hard to go wrong with the enduring popularity and classic sound of vinyl. That being said, you may have a crowd that prefers CDs or digital files for their convenience; often it will depend on your demographic and what style of music you create. 

Disc Makers can handle all your CD and vinyl pressing needs. Currently we have some of the lowest per-unit custom vinyl record prices in the industry, with packages starting at $999 for 100 vinyl records in Euro jackets. Consult with a product specialist to get your order started today.

Chris Huff has been a professional singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer for over 25 years. He has worked as a sideman with Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul, and Mary), Echo and the Bunnymen, Chuck Hammer (David Bowie, Lou Reed), and Tom Kitt (Broadway composer of Next To Normal). Chris also wrote liner notes for David Bowie’s Live And WellCD, and his full-length album, ’bout Time is available on iTunes.