Could be your speakers, amp/receiver, mixer, needles, the record. So many variables.

All recordings are not identical so it's not as simple as a yes or no answer. Certain analog recordings from the past were less compressed than newer or remastered recordings.

Too many variables here.

Original recording/mastering
Pressing
needles

to name a few and the most important ones.

It is most likely the stylus type that you are using (in addition to the special needs of mastering/cutting a lacquer for vinyl).

In almost all cases, DJs use spherical (also called 'conical') styli and those cannot trace very well the tight modulations of the groove for audio in the higher frequency range. They also have a smaller contact area with the groove resulting is less retrieval of the audio.

Also, mastering engineers will attenuate the higher frequency sounds as the grooves get tighter (closer to the middle of the vinyl)... and they'll sometimes reduce the output of the inner tracks as well. Mastering for vinyl also generally requires de-essing to reduce sibilance - this is usually done in the 5-7 kHz range, but can be lower (even down to 2 kHz) or higher (10 kHz or more) depending on the specific audio in question.

If someone is thinking of ripping vinyl, the best advice I can give is to NEVER use a DJ cartridge/stylus combo. You'd want something with higher fidelity and a better stylus profile (at the very least, an elliptical stylus).

Thanks for the input so far guys. So I understand that it could be something in my setup that is causing my vinyl to sound muffled (Needles, the pressing, speakers etc)

But what i'm saying is that I can't help but notice that "most" audio from vinyl tends to sound muffled (low mids and highs), weather its in the club, vinyl rips, my own vinyl setup etc. So I'm not just talking about my own setup, but all other vinyl out there played by other people.

It's almost like there's this characteristic in vinyl where the higher frequencies tend to sound kinda muffled? While audio from CDs tends to be more crisp in the higher frequencies?

Still a million variables.

Did you catch the part where we said the mastering, the era of the recording and so on?

There are a lot of CDs that sound better than wax though. It's on a case by case basis often times. But still many variables.

CD can inherently reproduce more frequencies. Vinyl's frequency response is much more limited.

And your needle and the mastering of the pressing are the first places you should check.

The type of sound you are looking for is not normally reproduced by a DJ needle if you're truly looking for high fidelity.

Makes sense. So why do many people normally say that vinyl sounds better than CD??

Some people have a specific sound they like. Analog vs. Digital. Once again, variables, and most importantly subjective. You're looking for a simple answer to a question that has many parts to it and at the very end becomes subjective.

Most people are referring to the "Warmness" associated with Vinyl recordings vs. the cold hard digital Zero's and Ones, used to reproduce the sound from a CD.

Just the idea of using Analog to Digital converters and vice versa when using / listening to CD's, (depending on the music source of course), turns some people off because they know they're loosing something in the conversion.

However, if you're listening to "Music" that was digitally created in the first place, you're not really missing anything....

Thank you for this!! I was actually about to ask if the natural sound of vinyl was indeed the "warmness" that people would often refer to that they preferred.

I think i see it now; There's that "natural warm sound" of vinyl vs the "rigid digital production" on CD i guess.

Yeah i think i can now see how it can be subjective and indeed boil down to personal preference. And yeah there's many variables in comparing both elements as well :-)

Looks like the comparison is more of subjective preference between the 2 mediums, rather than an empirical comparison of quality?

if you are playing vinyl with a good pressing it does sound great on the bottom end and probably better than cd to most.

for the most part thats why its best to listen to the record before you buy it. this article shows the lengths and prices people will pay for a good quality pressing(however some say its bs)
www.wired.com

in general though: 12 inch singles will sound better( research the tom moulton and the 12 inch single)

full length lps (theyre all full length actually) can sound good or bad depending on pressing.

7'' records should be more punch and mid-ey with less bass(physical limitations of the pressing size)

you may have represses or records that were poorly taken care of.

to me thats the inherent problem with vinyl, is the inconsistency. digital sounds the same everytime. its perfect duplication of the stereo master. so the recording could still sound weak, thin or distorted, but its gonna sound like that across the board

in your case, you dont really know enough about vinyl or its culture to really figure out whats wrong. which isnt an insult, it takes a few years of playing and researching to really know what sounds good and what doesnt and why.

i personally like cds since you can only get many lossless rips from cds and see the vinyl trend as a fad like baseball cards. id say it will move back into obscurity in the 2020s

if you want more hi quality digital files from more pop sources, id say look here.

www.ponomusic.com

No one's yet mentioned the fact that the more you play a record, the more the highs get diminished. If you're ripping records that have been played frequently (or maybe even not so frequently, depending on the shape of your needles as that can affect how quickly the record wears down too), you're already starting off at a significant high frequency disadvantage.

Like it's been stated, lots of variables here.

most djs were more active on the hi freqs eq'ing with records to.

mp3s rarely need it or sound harsh, so i think most people dont even really do much with them. more than a few old house djs still brighten those hi's like they are eqing vinyl and its just too much.

And distorted. One play with a misaligned/worn-out/tracking-too-light cartridge/stylus is all it takes to destroy the record forever. I don't miss that aspect of vinyl at all.

en.wikipedia.org

Hi!, I'm not an expert, I've been transferring vinyl to cd for approximately 25 yrs. I removed all the background noise, ie. ticks, hiss, crackles and pops. If you crank up one of my cds, the music will never distort, it will always sounds clean with no background noise. On the other hand, vinyl will never sound like a cd, Cd has a wider dynamic range than a vinyl record, however, that's the reason you can hear more on a cd than a vinyl record. A vinyl record will never sounds like a cd because of the dynamic range of both medium.
Vinyl is analog and cd is digital(o and 1s). The digital converter changes a signal into zeros and 1s for the vinyl to be digitized. Finally, its about choice, some folks love vinyl, some love cd.

DjMcClaren

You were sounding pretty good until you substituted the letter "o" for a "0".

lol...

Also, I think a better comparison is based on where the music originates from.

If the music is DIGITALLY created, (i.e. drum machines, etc), CD's can replicate whatever sound is created across a broader spectrum.

However if you take an analogue recording, (i.e. a live band, etc), usually vinyl (depending on the pressing quality and a good stylus), will give you a more "Warm" response.

Hi!, I'm not an expert, but here is my two cents. Vinyl vocal will always sound a little muffled than a cd. It's known as a warm medium. No one can make a vinyl sound like a cd, virtually impossible. Vinyl is an analog medium and cd is a digital medium. Analog mediums are cassette tapes, 45s records, 33s, vcr tapes, the more they are played, the worst they sound. Analog is a signal that love to pick up outside interference i.e hums etc. You can Eq a vinly all you can, becareful of making the sound harsh. You only can stretch a rubber band so far. Cd is a digital medium that use 0 and 1, zero is off and one is on. Both have a different dynamic range, its apple vs orange. Cd has a wider dynamic range than a vinyl record, it's the reason you can hear more on that medium. A dvd has a wider dynamic range than both of them, it's the reason you can hear more on a dvd. I hope this little information helps. Thank.

Its prob mentioned already, but CD is damn near source quality too, since vinyl is limited via frequencies, as mentioned above.

As mentioned way to many factors.this debate has been raging for years....not sure if your making a direct comparison between the tracks you mentioned on wax compared to the cd version? and not just a general comparison,which is impossible..cd reissues can sound great,even from vinyl rip depending on who is doing the conversion..sometimes there is no choice as the masters are lost or damaged..a guy in the uk does it very well he did the re master for the emotions album,and he does conversions for people with rare vinyl so they can have a digital file..donald cleaveland in the states is another good engineer who re masters at decent quality..dont expect hi fi sound on a technics though ..thats just a work horse for djs..all records sound different..12s sound great because of the space in between the grooves..but albums can sound as good..i've got enough 12s that sound rubbish..bit like this thread many variables from source..frankford wayne sterling bell sound all those old studios had different ways to record..with a full album reissue..esp the early ones they can be hit and miss..but they are from the orginal masters that the record came from

Agreed. I am just using the most popular content for an example i guess. Let's say for capital records, they have the masters since they own the music ya know, they would just have someone remaster from there and put it to cd, or even directly to aiff/wav/raw, or however the process is done now and days.

But year, the input from this forum pretty much hits the nail on the head when it comes to quality output.. too many factors. Same stuff in the video world too!

Maybe comparing new cds & vinyl pressed,which i think is mostly virgin vinyl 180grm might be nearer.i dont buy new vinyl anymore,hardly anything released in the genres i'm interested in..in the uk it seems more retro style soul and funk getting pressed on vinyl..so i wouldnt really know what the quality is like

Bingo!

I started collecting LPs in 1978 and closed the 200 album collection in 2000 when I caved to the CD craze. It is 2016 and I brought my LPs out of the closet and lit up my old Technics SLQ3 turntable. I got a new Shure Cartridge and pre-amp and started listing to my old tunes. I had cheap equipment as a teen... so, as an adult I can afford some decent equipment along with a nice cartridge. Wow, the sound is so much nicer with $3000 speakers than by $300 junk I had....I now actually marvel at he sound I missed due to poor equipment back in the 70's - 80's - 90's Yes, the sound is not as crisp and sterile as a CD but as they say more visceral and warmer.....

Such an awesome community, nice to hear people talk about their opinions and no insult others. Great read people. Sooooo....
I've collected Thousands of cds in my lifetime, and one day(reasons for another topic) i decided to research vinyl equipment and records. My focus was audiophile sound and like many others stated that can also be influenced by our own subjective preferences.
A few things learned is how equipment, players, amps, preamps, speakers, all produce different sounds. Like how European vs Japanese amps approach sound and delivery punch and they are not close to the same. Japanes equipment is huge in the US, and US musical preference tends to be very bassy. Some genres records are mastered as such too.
I listen to so any genres from thrash metal, rock, hard rock, classical rock. Classical music, Symphony, hip hop, rap, pop, and the sub genres of those and more... The reason i think thats important is i have found that some genres and based on the production of sound instruments like piano or guitar vs digital sound source commonly found in hip hop or techno have a huge impact on an album.
Example, Michael Jacksons Thriller or Jay Zs original blueprint, both first pressings have nice vocals more so then the cd versions i own, but the digit parts of the album really leave more to be desired.
That being said. Beastie Boys license to ill is very rewarding in both vocals and instruments as they play many real instruments.
From my own subjective and bias opinion, i prefer the sound of vinyl overall, its not a perfect ends to the question as some cds i own play better then my vinyl but thats rare. I have two preamps that i interchange depending on which record i play and that right there tells me not all records are created equally. You ask why vocals in general at different venues from vinyl source don't sound as clear or is muffled? I'd add i always thought even before i bought my own vinyl that the records playing at a party by a dj sound so nice, better them my cd source. I guess in the end alot of it is personal taste.
When i got into the audiophile world i was told not to buy dj equipment for the record player, i think thats mentioned a few times throughout the comments of others, so what i would suggest is to find a high end audio dealer that specializes in music equipment but not dj equipment and have them demonstrate in a sound room what audiophile vinyl and record player sounds like then see if you still come to the same conclusion. If you have an opportunity, try European equipment, its a completely different experience.

CD certainly has better technical specs