Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

[antcollinet]

Yes, I remember exactly that.....

And just for fun. Here is a picture of the exact copy of the album I listened to “that first time”

 

[Newman]

Listen to the intro to this song, the scratches and the warmth:

Some people really like that warm analog sound

When it's in the music that's different to wanting to add it to music that doesn't have it.

 

[Cote Dazur]

The previous night I'd been listening to my (ripped/streamed) CD of the YES album "90125." It really sounded glorious. It has the typical Trevor Horn production

Thank you for reminding me about that album, glorious indeed. I had forgotten how great this album sounded.
I listened to the digital file this afternoon, tomorrow I will play the record, just for fun.

 

[MattHooper]

Thank you for reminding me about that album, glorious indeed. I had forgotten how great this album sounded.
I listened to the digital file this afternoon, tomorrow I will play the record, just for fun.

I sheepishly admit I just ordered another vinyl copy - supposedly a very good pressing. I'll have to do the comparison again once I get it.

I find that when I have a clean, good sounding LP I get the best of both worlds - that timbral clarity and the added sense of density I tend to hear on vinyl. That's when everything really comes together for me. I was just listening to a really nice recording on an old LP it sounded every bit as spectacular as the YES CD in terms of the "endless" sense of clarity and detail. So I'll see if this other copy of 90125 gets closer to what I was hoping for.

 

[levimax]

I sheepishly admit I just ordered another vinyl copy - supposedly a very good pressing.

I have an original Robert Ludwig mastered pressing and it is one of my best sounding LP's. Robert Ludwig does a good job in general.... he has a way with electric guitars that sounds good to me. Probably not 100% true to the master tape but it works more often than not. Hope you get a good copy and enjoy.

 

[MattHooper]

I have an original Robert Ludwig mastered pressing and it is one of my best sounding LP's. Robert Ludwig does a good job in general.... he has a way with electric guitars that sounds good to me. Probably not 100% true to the master tape but it works more often than not. Hope you get a good copy and enjoy.

As it happens, that's just the copy I'm getting - it's the German pressing but apparently uses the Ludwig lacquers. I'm glad it gets a good review from you, levimax! I can't wait for this one!

Speaking of 80's recordings, I was just spinning this record:

Talk Talk - It's My Mix

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1985 Vinyl release of "It's My Mix" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

It's great collection for Talk Talk fans, classic 80's style re-mixes. The sound is simply massive - huge, punchy kick drum and bass guitar, and a giant spacious presentation with synths swirling in and out all around, super clear and detailed (especially on my newly upgraded Joseph Perspective speakers!). It just kicks ass all around.

 

[levimax]

it's the German pressing but apparently uses the Ludwig lacquers.

German pressing with their precision manufacturing capabilities and quieter vinyl formulations and US mastering including access to the original master tapes (Apparently record companies would only send tape copies overseas). Supposedly the best of all vinyl worlds. I have a couple of records like that and they sound good and are nice and quiet. The sleeves are usually not so good and the label on the record is not water proof at all (I ruined one getting it wet while cleaning the record... it would have been no problem for a US record). Anyway good luck and let us know how it sounds.

 

[MattHooper]

German pressing with their precision manufacturing capabilities and quieter vinyl formulations and US mastering including access to the original master tapes (Apparently record companies would only send tape copies overseas). Supposedly the best of all vinyl worlds. I have a couple of records like that and they sound good and are nice and quiet. The sleeves are usually not so good and the label on the record is not water proof at all (I ruined one getting it wet while cleaning the record... it would have been no problem for a US record). Anyway good luck and let us know how it sounds.

I still think of myself as something of a "newbie" compared to so many who have long experience in vinyl, even though I've been somewhat immersed over the last several years. This is why I so often purchase from discogs. The fact the various pressings often come with reviews and info on the pressings is really helpful. Occasionally I'll look at a Steve Hoffman forum thread on certain pressings, but that can be a rabbit hole. I don't fuss a lot and usually make a quick decision.

 

[charleski]

One thing that popped out at me from the latest Luminate year-end report:

Hmmm ... Well, at least people who buy vinyl are substantially more likely to be able to play it.

 

[levimax]

I still think of myself as something of a "newbie" compared to so many who have long experience in vinyl, even though I've been somewhat immersed over the last several years. This is why I so often purchase from discogs. The fact the various pressings often come with reviews and info on the pressings is really helpful. Occasionally I'll look at a Steve Hoffman forum thread on certain pressings, but that can be a rabbit hole. I don't fuss a lot and usually make a quick decision.

Anything to do with Vinyl can be a rabbit hole.... the only thing you can say with certainty is that buying a used record of any kind is hit or miss.

 

[levimax]

One thing that popped out at me from the latest Luminate year-end report:
View attachment 259634
Hmmm ... Well, at least people who buy vinyl are substantially more likely to be able to play it.

That still means 50% of people that buy vinyl can't play it ?! I guess there is more to the vinyl renaissance than sound quality or even the music and certainly more to it than I understand.

 

[egellings]

Why would anyone buy a vinyl record without the capability to play it?

 

[MattHooper]

One thing that popped out at me from the latest Luminate year-end report:
View attachment 259634
Hmmm ... Well, at least people who buy vinyl are substantially more likely to be able to play it.

I'm a bit suspicious of such polls. I guess first of all because I know plenty of people who purchase records ('normal folk' not just audiophiles) and all have a turntable. Many of my kid's friends who when visiting spot my turntable say they or their parents have one too, and they play records some times.

There's also those who might be buying for someone else (e.g. many buying Christmas gifts for others). But another thing is that when this question has been asked on forums like the Reddit vinyl threads, which have tons of vinyl "newbies" the answer very often is that plenty of people were buying records anticipating buying a turntable at some point. And those newer to vinyl who now own a turntable also said they'd started collecting records before buying their turntable.
So I wouldn't doubt a bunch of such factors influence the numbers in those surveys.

 

[MattHooper]

Anything to do with Vinyl can be a rabbit hole.... the only thing you can say with certainty is that buying a used record of any kind is hit or miss.

"Help, I've fallen and can't get out..."

I went through a period (or periods) of record-purchasing mania. It can be amazingly addictive as many find out. Fortunately the frenzy broke at some point (uh...finances had a little help there...) and for quite a while I've been sane and only occaisionally purchase a record. I have so many that I own that I need to catch up on listening to them all, so that's keeping me busy.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

GENERAL OPEN QUESTION TO EVERYONE:

What kind of care did you take with records in the hey-day of vinyl? Or for that matter, how much care did audiophiles tend to take with their records?

The reason I ask is I feel a bit out of the loop in knowing the answer.

My dad was something of an audiophile, but not obsessive, just "read the mags, make the choice, move on." So we had a really nice system, Kef 105.2 speakers, Carver amplification, a good Techniques turntable.

But growing up, even as a teen using an excellent hi-fi system, I don't recall thinking much about the care of records. It was just buy the record...play it a hell of a lot..with I guess the expectation it will eventually sort of wear out somewhat. I think I'd maybe take a brush to the record if it got really dusty but that was about it.

These days in the "vinyl revival" there seems to be way more talk about and concern with the care of records than I every remembered growing up. The amount of youtube videos on cleaning regimes is wild, in the vinyl forums which have lots of newbies, there's lots of talk about how to store records properly, cleaning, good sleeves, general good record hygiene, care and cleaning of cartridges etc. (And of course the record cleaning business seems to be proliferating, ultra sonic cleaning machines being the new darling).

I use an ultra sonic record cleaner, something that never would have crossed my mind to bother with, even if I new they existed, during the hey-day of vinyl.

So, please, get me up to speed: Were people - or audiophiles - anywhere near as obsessive about this stuff back when records were the main medium?

Most used something like dishwasher, D4, a wooden handle with soft velvet pillow and some liquid that removed debris. I felt it added static. Many also had a static gun. The d4 was 10 bux and the static gun was 25 or 35? Other cheap ones, like the current audioquest one, were also around with their own liquid. Brushes with liquid for the stylus were also around.

Many just used a soft cloth. Keep in mind, few used any of this unless they owned a dedicated record player. Those who stacked records didn't clean them. My stepfather built his own speaker (three way mono) and had a tone arm like a hammer with a nail, didn't clean his records.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

That still means 50% of people that buy vinyl can't play it ?! I guess there is more to the vinyl renaissance than sound quality or even the music and certainly more to it than I understand.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the concept of giving a gift.

 

[JP]

It's great collection for Talk Talk fans, classic 80's style re-mixes. The sound is simply massive - huge, punchy kick drum and bass guitar, and a giant spacious presentation with synths swirling in and out all around, super clear and detailed (especially on my newly upgraded Joseph Perspective speakers!). It just kicks ass all around.

Lot's of interesting stuff from the 80's around.

 

[luft262]

I'm a member of a couple of reddit audiophile threads where people post pictures of their rigs and most of the time they include turntables and every time I see one my mind is blown because I outgrew vinyl only a few years after buying my first CD player in the '80's. Back then I had a tape deck, a turntable and a CD player but once I heard digital I knew they was no going back yet people en mass are and I find it baffling given all the benefits of youtube. The first and most obvious benefit is, it's free. Secondly, youtube has an almost endless catalog of music, with the original music video, the karaoke versions of songs, live versions and videos that include the lyrics. Thirdly, the convenience of simply clicking my mouse a few times and opening up a world of music is pretty alluring. I always wondered about the sound quality though so I bought a CD a few years ago to compare youtube to CD and couldn't hear any difference. LP's on the other hand can only be played one at a time, require time, money and effort to obtain and play and also require money and effort to maintain and as your collection of LP's grows it obviously becomes more expensive and takes up space-something youtube doesn't yet most reddit audiophiles are flocking to them

Does the vinyl renaissance make sense to you because it sure doesn't to me

It's for
#1 older folks who are nostalgic for the sound
#2 younger folks who want to look trendy
#3 people who like to collect things

 

[IPunchCholla]

Lot's of interesting stuff from the 80's around.
View attachment 259746

That’s something I’d like to stumble across!

 

[JP]

That’s something I’d like to stumble across!

Me too! At least, more like that. Crazy prices these days.