Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

[Doodski]

Vinyl sales are increasing because people like me, and not like me, are buying them for similar/different reasons from me. Her is my latest:
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Man alive do I remember those Technics P-mount turntables and of course the linear trackers. We sold them daily like hotcakes because the older crowd with poor eyesight and fumbling hands wanted easy easy easy! Great turntables. I ran a Technics model a couple down from top of the line in a S arm and it was so nice. I appreciated it very much.

 

[MattHooper]

Oh, I thought your response was directed to me poking fun. Hence, I thought you were on your toes.

I guess I'm not on my toes, by whatever metric you are using.

I was just scrolling the Reddit vinyl forum and that thread seemed pertinent to the question of this one, hence my post.

 

[IPunchCholla]

Man alive do I remember those Technics P-mount turntables and of course the linear trackers. We sold them daily like hotcakes because the older crowd with poor eyesight and fumbling hands wanted easy easy easy! Great turntables. I ran a Technics model a couple down from top of the line in a S arm and it was so nice. I appreciated it very much.

I picked this one up at a thrift store. I cleaned it up (smoking owner I think), replaced the needle, soldered the grounding wire (the needle for the ground plug was messed up), and used some aluminum foil to lift/rebalance the platter. It seems rock solid now. No complaints about P Mount.

 

[deweydm]

Sales volume by format.

New EP/LP unit sales growth is really decelerating if I’m reading that right. 43.6% year over year unit growth in 2021. 10.3% for 2022. 6.6% last year, for 2023.

From Record Stores Have Stopped Reporting Vinyl Sales For Billboard Charts:

”On its face, such a precipitous drop might appear troubling — and puzzling — given the surge of vinyl sales since the pandemic. In actuality, the decline is mostly a result of Luminate changing the decades-old methodology it had used since Billboard adopted SoundScan’s measurement system in 1991 to count sales at indie retail outlets — a change that Luminate had warned last year would make 2024’s vinyl sales numbers appear significantly lower. But some of the drop reflects a move by independent retailers to voice their opposition to Luminate’s decision.”

I think the RIAA relies on a different data source. Maybe.

Watching the continued revived interest in LPs like this:

 

[Multicore]

Okay, now back to the Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance? thread.

Yes. I can. I did. Lots of us can and did. What difference did it make?

 

[beagleman]

Yes. I can. I did. Lots of us can and did. What difference did it make?

I think he means, explain it in a way that "Makes sense" to most of us in here. Not saying you did not, but so much has been said, its all lost in the numerous posts.

My thoughts as someone that was very into vinyl for many years, owned numerous tables and still have maybe a couple in storage, it was great for the time, nothing horrible at all, but it simply is mostly nostalgia now for many.

I see 3 camps:


1. Those that seem to almost adore it, despite numerous minor to moderate flaws and limitations, that at times audibly impact the sound, and other times not so much... They ignore the flaws or downplay them, or argue, "But its VINYL or analog!!"

2. Those that are buying into the retro nostalgia or collectable element or those finding a "Fad" type appeal from a mostly vanished medium that came back to a small degree. Younger people and many middle aged or older guys just wanting to "Relive" an era...

3. Those like me that did vinyl forwards and backwards, have no hostility to it, nor any real love, but see it as something that "Was"......just like my Open Reel and 8 Track and Cassette days. It was fun for the time, it invokes nostalgia, but we found a way to literally fix the flaws and limitations of all the above things listed, and I simply do not see the reason for Camp Number one, but can totally understand camp Two.

 

[stringer]

I listen to vinyl to learn about new artists. And by new artists, I mean new to me. I have plenty of sources of new new music. Sometimes I need new old music. And it is a relatively inexpensive hobby. My budget when shopping for vinyl is typically around $40. Sometimes that gets me 1 record. Sometimes it gets me a dozen or more. For me, streaming is nostalgic and familiar. Records and turntables are new and exciting.

 

[drmevo]

For me, streaming is nostalgic and familiar. Records and turntables are new and exciting.

Yes, nostalgia gets thrown around a lot, but I think it is novelty for many getting into records. I grew up as records were fading out. We had some sort of cheap turntable hooked up and I had a little Sesame Street record player as a little kid, on which I played some old 7” DC comic book stories and my parent’s copy of Thriller (probably thrashed it up pretty good, thinking back). However, vinyl is not nostalgic for me, it is probably closer to novelty. Cassette was the main medium for most of my childhood, with CD coming in later as it became more affordable.

I still remember the tape noise coming through my headphones as soon I pressed play on my Walkman. Dolby Noise Reduction helped somewhat, but not entirely. It’s not something I personally wish to return to, so I understand why folks feel the same way about vinyl. Many probably remember dropping the stylus into the groove and being instantly greeted with Rice Krispies. I’m sure there are quieter types of tape just like there are quieter records, (although vinyl is still technically capable of higher fidelity, if I’m not mistaken), but the impression is burned in.

CD is good, CD is fine, I won’t get rid of my CDs, they’re just…a bit boring? You pop the CD in, then it’s gone and the machine takes over. Mastering differences aside, not much reason to use them over digital/streaming for me. There’s a bit of a “been there, done that” feeling. Again, I assume many that came up with vinyl feel the same about records.

Streaming/digital, I use all the time. It will always be there, pretty much any album or song I could want, in basically perfect quality (again, mastering differences aside). So, why bother with vinyl at all?

Vinyl uniquely combines a few of my interests in one. Of course, there is music listening and appreciation, common to all formats. Then there is collecting, common to physical formats, but not streaming/digital so much. Finally, there is the tinkering aspect of vinyl, which I enjoy, and I don’t get as much of or at all with other formats. I know it will never be a near-perfect fidelity representation - I always have streaming for that - but I find it very satisfying to get everything just right to where the sound is really high quality and enjoyable. Maybe even slightly colored, in some cases. Different cartridges, different loading settings, different mats and headshells…there are endless combinations to play around with.

I don’t deny there is probably some fad/bandwagon effect at play as well, but that’s true of many things in life. As long as one goes into it with both eyes open and appropriate expectations, there’s a lot of fun to be had.

 

[Multicore]

I think he means, explain it in a way that "Makes sense" to most of us in here.

Ok. In that case the answer is plain and simple: no.

We're on page 375. The point of the thread is not to find that kind of consensus. It is to have fun disagreeing over something that doesn't matter very much but we can maybe feel some emotion about and maybe seem clever or funny with what we say. It's a bonding exercise.

For my own part I'll quote Brock Sampson: "Oh man shut up already! Why do you sword guys always gotta talk about how cool your swords are?"

Swords, LPs, speakers, amps, ... it's all just stuff. Music isn't just stuff. And I don't mean commercial recordings when I say music.

 

[egellings]

Ok.

I view that as a self-gratifying form of delusion.

I would agree that lots of audiophiles could justifiably conclude that listening to music is more important to them than many people they know. I can certainly think of people I know who aren't as deeply in to music as I am or many audiophiles I know. I think an "audiophile system" deliberately and carefully selected is, generally speaking, a sign of how important music is in someone's life.

However, it is far from necessary to have the enthusiasm we do for audio equipment in order to be just as passionate or more about listening to music. I find the idea of my saying I'm more passionate about the music I love than a passionate Taylor Swift fan to be just silly. Or that having an audiophile set up means we are more passionate about the music we love vs countless music fans through the years...like all those Beatles fans listening on subpar turntables weren't "really" in to the music like we are? Gimme a break.

I have a buddy with expensive gear for which music is but a test signal, and little more. He has a super expensive phono setup, and will do needle drops on certain parts of a record just so I can hear the sound of a tizz or a boom from some recorded instrument or other. He seldom lets a song play all the way through. Each time I visit, I'll often notice a different piece of equipment in his setup.

 

[pderousse]

I have a buddy with expensive gear for which music is but a test signal, and little more. He has a super expensive phono setup, and will do needle drops on certain parts of a record just so I can hear the sound of a tizz or a boom from some recorded instrument or other. He seldom lets a song play all the way through. Each time I visit, I'll often notice a different piece of equipment in his setup.

In cycling we used to call this person a Fred. Its all the same, whether skiing, golf, audio, cycling, cars, etc, there are endless upgrade rabbit holes that men (mostly) tend to fall into, instead of logging time in the actual sport/hobby itself.

 

[stringer]

I picked this one up at a thrift store. I cleaned it up (smoking owner I think), replaced the needle, soldered the grounding wire (the needle for the ground plug was messed up), and used some aluminum foil to lift/rebalance the platter. It seems rock solid now. No complaints about P Mount.

I have two MCS (JC Penneys) rebranded Technics p-mounts. They are cheap and plastic-y but perfectly functional and I have less than $100 invested between the two.

 

[Techman99]

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

I think making judgements about the absolute primacy of vinyl vs digital misses the point. Music is a personal experience. How its created and listened to have quantifiable measurements that impact level of quality for sure but ultimately the experience of it how good it sounds and what it does for you is each person's unique qualitative experience. Above a certain level of minimum quaility in source material and playback system its to each their own. For myself analogue has always been king. But I'm happy for those whose greatest joy is from digital. And I don't judge other's rituals involved in enjoying music. That seems narcissitic to me.

 

[MattHooper]

I have a buddy with expensive gear for which music is but a test signal, and little more. He has a super expensive phono setup, and will do needle drops on certain parts of a record just so I can hear the sound of a tizz or a boom from some recorded instrument or other. He seldom lets a song play all the way through. Each time I visit, I'll often notice a different piece of equipment in his setup.

It can be fun to have the obsessive friend: you can check out new stuff and it’s not you buying it. I’m lucky to have some friends who review audio gear so I get to hear tons of stuff under relaxed conditions.

 

[Axo1989]

Ok. In that case the answer is plain and simple: no.

We're on page 375. The point of the thread is not to find that kind of consensus. It is to have fun disagreeing over something that doesn't matter very much but we can maybe feel some emotion about and maybe seem clever or funny with what we say. It's a bonding exercise.

For my own part I'll quote Brock Sampson: "Oh man shut up already! Why do you sword guys always gotta talk about how cool your swords are?"

Haha, great description of the thread, and the raison d'être of posting herein.

 

[Victor Martell]

IBut I'm happy for those whose greatest joy is from digital. And I don't judge other's rituals involved in enjoying music. That seems narcissistic to me.

That's the impression that I get - why else the inability to understand something as simple as "I just like do it"? Tried to avoid triggering words, so I am glad someone else brought it up.

 

[egellings]

It can be fun to have the obsessive friend: you can check out new stuff and it’s not you buying it. I’m lucky to have some friends who review audio gear so I get to hear tons of stuff under relaxed conditions.

True. I did hear a bunch of different equipment, none of which I could afford to buy, that way.

 

[Angsty]

It can be fun to have the obsessive friend: you can check out new stuff and it’s not you buying it. I’m lucky to have some friends who review audio gear so I get to hear tons of stuff under relaxed conditions.

I bought a barely used turntable about a year ago that displaced my reliable 10-year old workhorse to my office system. After the initial oooh’s and aaa’s, I find that I enjoy both equally today.

The equipment upgrade is sometimes more about the dopamine than the acoustics.

 

[Robin L]

Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?​

 

[Angsty]

“… nobody does it quite like [Taylor] Swift …”

Taylor Swift Sells a Rainbow of Vinyl Albums. Fans Keep Buying Them.

Artists across pop genres are finding success with colored vinyl and different variants of their releases. For Swifties, the urge to collect them all is strong.

www.nytimes.com