Anyone who listens to music or reads books more closely when they're physical, if that works better for you you're doing the right thing, and more power to you. Personally for me its made no odds whether its digital or physical, but whatever works for you.
That being said, I have noticed the snobbishness that comes with physical versions of things doesn't always reflect more enjoyment of the actual content. I've tried talking to certain people about specific books, and all they want to talk about is the format the words are written on. I try to move onto the actual content itself and they're disinterested, almost as if the content of the book is secondary compared to the paper it comes on.
It's even stranger with vinyl, as there is an objective loss of quality. As I said, if you enjoy it more despite (or even because) of this, more power to you. But its not higher quality than digital, its just more work to operate.
Whatever gets you closer to the content is what I'm trying to say, but remember, it's what works for you, its not a universal solution.
Edit: Didn't expect this to be controversial much, but judging by the downvotes maybe so. Most of the time when I've spoken to people about this previously it hasn't been so much because they've sworn they're not this kind of person, so maybe some of you are just more self aware about being a bit of a snob. Kudos to you, I suppose.
Or maybe people are thinking I'm talking about anyone who enjoys physical media, in which case remember the age old rule; if it doesn't sound like I'm talking about you, I'm not talking about you.
But its not higher quality than digital, its just more work to operate.
There are desirable differences aside from "more work". Many people listen to vinyl rips because the original mastering had greater dynamic range. Here's a decent looking article on the subject:
That seems to be more about the actual music than the method of delivery. It may be true a lot of the time, but I think it says more about someones music taste than the format.
Of course, there are reasons to listen to vinyl beyond "more work", that was bad wording on my part. The point I was trying to make there was the myth that vinyl was of a higher measurable quality than other formats.
Raw measurable quality isn't everything, thats certainly not my point, but there will be those that believe the myth and use it to inflate their ego. No doubt people do this with FLAC as well, and thats no better, but at least its true to some degree.
It's probably somewhat like classic cars - they're objectively worse in most ways (slower, less comfortable, less reliable, less safe) but people enjoy the experience.
It's probably somewhat like classic cars - they're objectively worse in most ways (slower, less comfortable, less reliable, less safe
At least for me, there is an element of "I preserved this myself" that would make an older car a point of pride. Eg if I had owned a car for many decades and worked on it myself, it maybe objectively worse than a new one but it's something I had a part in.
I feel this way about parts of my house that I worked on , versus hiring someone.
I am not sure if this is the factor for most collectors (perhaps "I own this" is enough for them) but just throwing this out.
Oh absolutely, as I say I have no problem with people enjoying them more, I would if I could put up with the lesser reliability, but within the large circle of people that like classic cars, there is still that smaller circle that don't actually really ever drive them, but will talk endlessly about how good the driving experience is versus disgusting modern cars.
I guess people like to be a part of an exclusive group, even if they don't particularly enjoy what the group does. I'm probably guilty of it somewhere, though I still don't think its right
We could perhaps even collect people and personalities. And, much like with physical objects, the rarest and most unusual ones tend to be the ones that we most enjoy bringing up in conversation.
I should have said that the main distinction in the article was less physical v. electronic than "organized by me" v. "arranged by what the provider thinks suits me." That his examples of owner-organized are books and records might derive from the much longer history of physical libraries, personal or not.
As for the actual topic at hand, I think again its whatever floats your boat. I personally like to organise everything myself, but I know many people who use software or services specifically because the providers works that out for them. I can see the logic in that, and kind of wish I could be a bit more like that, it'd certainly make things easier.
Off onto another tangent but somewhat related, it reminds me of the ipad update that came in last week. I was furious about it, it ruined my neatly arranged homescreen and I had to go in again and rethink everything. I asked my younger brother about it, who also owns an ipad, hoping for someone to share in my frustration, but he just thought it was funny. As it turns out, he brought an ipad specifically so he wouldn't have to worry about things like organising his home screen and trying to maintain order. I am who I am, but I do envy that attitude a bit.
Comments
Anyone who listens to music or reads books more closely when they're physical, if that works better for you you're doing the right thing, and more power to you. Personally for me its made no odds whether its digital or physical, but whatever works for you.
That being said, I have noticed the snobbishness that comes with physical versions of things doesn't always reflect more enjoyment of the actual content. I've tried talking to certain people about specific books, and all they want to talk about is the format the words are written on. I try to move onto the actual content itself and they're disinterested, almost as if the content of the book is secondary compared to the paper it comes on.
It's even stranger with vinyl, as there is an objective loss of quality. As I said, if you enjoy it more despite (or even because) of this, more power to you. But its not higher quality than digital, its just more work to operate.
Whatever gets you closer to the content is what I'm trying to say, but remember, it's what works for you, its not a universal solution.
Edit: Didn't expect this to be controversial much, but judging by the downvotes maybe so. Most of the time when I've spoken to people about this previously it hasn't been so much because they've sworn they're not this kind of person, so maybe some of you are just more self aware about being a bit of a snob. Kudos to you, I suppose.
Or maybe people are thinking I'm talking about anyone who enjoys physical media, in which case remember the age old rule; if it doesn't sound like I'm talking about you, I'm not talking about you.
There are desirable differences aside from "more work". Many people listen to vinyl rips because the original mastering had greater dynamic range. Here's a decent looking article on the subject:
https://www.yoursoundmatters.com/vinyl-vs-cd-in-the-loudness...
That seems to be more about the actual music than the method of delivery. It may be true a lot of the time, but I think it says more about someones music taste than the format.
Of course, there are reasons to listen to vinyl beyond "more work", that was bad wording on my part. The point I was trying to make there was the myth that vinyl was of a higher measurable quality than other formats.
Raw measurable quality isn't everything, thats certainly not my point, but there will be those that believe the myth and use it to inflate their ego. No doubt people do this with FLAC as well, and thats no better, but at least its true to some degree.
Just make sure you don't get a re-release from a made-for-streaming mix that will sound even worse on vinyl.
It's probably somewhat like classic cars - they're objectively worse in most ways (slower, less comfortable, less reliable, less safe) but people enjoy the experience.
At least for me, there is an element of "I preserved this myself" that would make an older car a point of pride. Eg if I had owned a car for many decades and worked on it myself, it maybe objectively worse than a new one but it's something I had a part in.
I feel this way about parts of my house that I worked on , versus hiring someone.
I am not sure if this is the factor for most collectors (perhaps "I own this" is enough for them) but just throwing this out.
Oh absolutely, as I say I have no problem with people enjoying them more, I would if I could put up with the lesser reliability, but within the large circle of people that like classic cars, there is still that smaller circle that don't actually really ever drive them, but will talk endlessly about how good the driving experience is versus disgusting modern cars.
I guess people like to be a part of an exclusive group, even if they don't particularly enjoy what the group does. I'm probably guilty of it somewhere, though I still don't think its right
It's a classic Veblen status thing. Bookshelves and vinyl collections are a class marker.
You can't impress visitors if your book and music collection is on a NAS in your office, no matter how many tens of thousands of media items you own.
Assuming your visitors are the type to be impressed by that.
To me it looks either like trying too hard or just hoarding.
Empty space is the real Veblen these days!
We could perhaps even collect people and personalities. And, much like with physical objects, the rarest and most unusual ones tend to be the ones that we most enjoy bringing up in conversation.
I should have said that the main distinction in the article was less physical v. electronic than "organized by me" v. "arranged by what the provider thinks suits me." That his examples of owner-organized are books and records might derive from the much longer history of physical libraries, personal or not.
Apologies, I did go a bit off topic.
As for the actual topic at hand, I think again its whatever floats your boat. I personally like to organise everything myself, but I know many people who use software or services specifically because the providers works that out for them. I can see the logic in that, and kind of wish I could be a bit more like that, it'd certainly make things easier.
Off onto another tangent but somewhat related, it reminds me of the ipad update that came in last week. I was furious about it, it ruined my neatly arranged homescreen and I had to go in again and rethink everything. I asked my younger brother about it, who also owns an ipad, hoping for someone to share in my frustration, but he just thought it was funny. As it turns out, he brought an ipad specifically so he wouldn't have to worry about things like organising his home screen and trying to maintain order. I am who I am, but I do envy that attitude a bit.