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Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

Fucking fun police is what I call it. :p

Ha! I'm having fun with a used TT from the late '70s, bought recently. Sounds fun to me. So sue me, @Newman ;)

I even measured it, and it is indeed, objectively much worse than a $200 DAC. And yet, I enjoy it. I bought it because I grew up listening to records and wanted to recall some of the memories from my childhood. Does that answer the OP question (for me, at least)?

I'm not a hippy, not anti-scicence nor anti-tech, never was into fads, and never wanted to be one of the "cool kids". I always went my own way. So sue me, @Newman, if I don't fit in to your profile of a typical LP user. From the purchase statistics posted upstream, I firmly fit into that last, large 55 and over category of purchasers.

My new rig sounds great to me, it's good enough to give me pleasure. What's more, my wife has come out of the kitchen to listen to LPs and even bought some herself (just kidding about the kitchen). Guess what? I also grew up listening to RTR tapes. Who knows, I may enjoy listening to these again, too. The horror!
 
Yea yea, kids should be driving Model T's so they learn how to fire up a crank start car.


That hits the arguments nail on the head
" I don't say it sounds better, I just enjoy listening to music with it more." :facepalm:


Then why do you and others here continue to debate us. ???

That's what we're asking, what is listening to it that makes it so appealing to you sonicly?
Surface Noise
Pop & clicks
Wow and flutter
Mono'd bass
Inner groove distortion
Managed high frequencies
????


Easy, The most transparent, true to the master tape/file, source and gear I can afford.
Again as I said before, I think some, AND NO NOT GIVING EXAMPLES OF WHO OR WHERE, simply are able to ignore the shortcomings to a better degree, than others!

All it takes, is one listen for me on my decent headphones and the illusion all collapses with vinyl.
It is not that it sound horrible or totally sub par to me, but that I simply can easily detect a few of the vinyl shortcomings.

It is not that I think CD quality sound far more impressive or drastically better as far as the actual sound, but that I can hear that stuff on vinyl brewing under the surface, and honestly many times, I just THINK about it being there even when it was not for the most part, and it takes me OUT of the experience.

It if often more the "Idea" that I know the shortcomings are there, even if not easily heard or in the foreground.
 
Yea yea, kids should be driving Model T's so they learn how to fire up a crank start car.
Went to a gathering and amongst other nice cars was a 1963 Jaguar E-type.
The youth there went crazy about it,like it was the only nice car there!
You never know with people when it comes to fun and that thing was shouting "FUN"!
 
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"Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?"...​


yes... with effective marketing and ample b.s. - you can sell sand in a desert...
 
I've made my point, guess that it's time for me to leave the thread: thank you for some enlightenment on the matter at hand.
Yes, one should only participate as long as you enjoy it. I found your contributions mostly well thought out.

I have also left entire forums because I was bored. Here in the thread I had also already considered whether I should put a pain in the ass on my ignore list.
 
That is totally understandable but a little sad. The question is totally valid....
And here I am failing.

The thread is ludicrous** not (as Mr Newmans final poorly constructed straw-man stated) because I feel I am "above" the topic, but because it has reached 150+ pages, 3000+ posts, and 16 months old.

There is nothing left to say that hasn't been said...oh...about 3000 times before.

This is also the reason it is not sad. If people are wondering or genuinely curious, they can just read the first 30 pages or so (or perhaps 20, or 10). I'm pretty certain every point was made at least once by then.


**I'm of the opinion that any thread here once it has reached around 30 pages is probably well past the point of absurdity.
 
Ha! I'm having fun with a used TT from the late '70s, bought recently. Sounds fun to me. So sue me, @Newman ;)

I even measured it, and it is indeed, objectively much worse than a $200 DAC. And yet, I enjoy it. I bought it because I grew up listening to records and wanted to recall some of the memories from my childhood. Does that answer the OP question (for me, at least)?

I'm not a hippy, not anti-scicence nor anti-tech, never was into fads, and never wanted to be one of the "cool kids". I always went my own way. So sue me, @Newman, if I don't fit in to your profile of a typical LP user. From the purchase statistics posted upstream, I firmly fit into that last, large 55 and over category of purchasers.

My new rig sounds great to me, it's good enough to give me pleasure. What's more, my wife has come out of the kitchen to listen to LPs and even bought some herself (just kidding about the kitchen). Guess what? I also grew up listening to RTR tapes. Who knows, I may enjoy listening to these again, too. The horror!


So basically Nostalgia.
 
And here I am failing.

The thread is ludicrous** not (as Mr Newmans final poorly constructed straw-man stated) because I feel I am "above" the topic, but because it has reached 150+ pages, 3000+ posts, and 16 months old.

There is nothing left to say that hasn't been said...oh...about 3000 times before.

This is also the reason it is not sad. If people are wondering or genuinely curious, they can just read the first 30 pages or so (or perhaps 20, or 10). I'm pretty certain every point was made at least once by then.


**I'm of the opinion that any thread here once it has reached around 30 pages is probably well past the point of absurdity.
All true. A lively participation and long duration, however, also shows that many people enjoy a topic. Otherwise they would stay away from it. But I know from the past that some do not like long threads in principle. They become confusing and are no longer readable for latecomers.
 
Ha! I'm having fun with a used TT from the late '70s, bought recently. Sounds fun to me. So sue me, @Newman ;)
You’ll be hearing from my lawyers ;)
I even measured it, and it is indeed, objectively much worse than a $200 DAC. And yet, I enjoy it. I bought it because I grew up listening to records and wanted to recall some of the memories from my childhood. Does that answer the OP question (for me, at least)?
No, because the question is about a renaissance, not long term loyalists. Either everyone went away then came back, or lots of new vinyl buyers came into the frame. The stat that half of vinyl buyers don’t own a TT says it’s more the latter than the former.
I'm not a hippy, not anti-scicence nor anti-tech, never was into fads, and never wanted to be one of the "cool kids". I always went my own way. So sue me, @Newman, if I don't fit in to your profile of a typical LP user.
That was not a profile of one user. That was a list of factors covering a range of reasons for entry or re-entry. The list would cover the bulk of the sales growth. Having always had records certainly wouldn’t.
From the purchase statistics posted upstream, I firmly fit into that last, large 55 and over category of purchasers.
As would anyone who was even in their 20s when the DJs made hip hop mainstream-cool in the 90s. So, even the hip retro reasons will pick up lots of people over 55.

cheers
 
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This chart show a LOT. Yes there is a mini renaissance of vinyl, but overall sales figures of both CD and VINYL, are honestly next to nothing percentage wise as far as all music consumed or purchased.
 

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Pretty much. Is that bad?
Of course not. Nor is it anything unusual. And it does fit into my list, under love of old things.
 
No, because the question is about a renaissance, not long term loyalists. Either everyone went away then came back, or lots of new vinyl buyers came into the frame. The stat that half of vinyl buyers don’t own a TT says it’s more the latter than the former.

And yet, that statistic, upstream, shows a large number of 55 and over purchasers that has increased year over year. I suspect, like me, most of these have experienced records at one time or another in their life, so at least part of the renaissance are what you call "long term loyalists"... which I'm not one of, by the way. Have not played records in about 45 years or so, until recently, so I'd certainly not call myself long term anything, although nostalgia does explain my recent interest.
 
And here I am failing.

The thread is ludicrous** not (as Mr Newmans final poorly constructed straw-man stated) because I feel I am "above" the topic, but because it has reached 150+ pages, 3000+ posts, and 16 months old.

There is nothing left to say that hasn't been said...oh...about 3000 times before.

This is also the reason it is not sad. If people are wondering or genuinely curious, they can just read the first 30 pages or so (or perhaps 20, or 10). I'm pretty certain every point was made at least once by then.


**I'm of the opinion that any thread here once it has reached around 30 pages is probably well past the point of absurdity.
I agree with you that most threads, quite early on, cover things well. There seems to be a common descent into a fair amount of “sniping” that generally creeps in at some point. If it gets too bad the moderator will usually issue a warning before closing. If it bothers me enough, the un-watch or ignore options are there. The most useful threads are the reviews, many are just good conversations, with some being not so good at times.
 
Denying that it sounds worse is much like asserting that it is better. After all, "exactly equal" is pretty unlikely; most people can tell them apart.
Some of us can see though an argument that goes, "I never said it's any better! I just want to argue that all its deficiencies don't matter!"
You may be seeing patterns where there are none. Either way, the second sentence does not imply the first.
That hits the arguments nail on the head
" I don't say it sounds better, I just enjoy listening to music with it more." :facepalm:
Also no. "I can cope with the noise in an airplane" does not imply that "I want more"
This is very close to the heart of the matter.
It doesn't just measure better, but do to the very significant improvement in measurable performance, it sounds better in all areas. Loudness wars or not, even a badly compressed CD that's minus all of the LP's crippling audible performance issues, is still the superior listen..
Citation needed.
I'd go with no on this one but we may index on different metrics. For example Aretha Franklin clipped the mics on every album that I am aware of. Her albums are still some of my favorites.
Yea yea, kids should be driving Model T's so they learn how to fire up a crank start car.
To me, knowing/teaching the operation of a crank is probably a good thing. You don't need a model T, nor do you need to drive an engined-powered veihicle for everyday tasks..
...
Easy, The most transparent, true to the master tape/file, source and gear I can afford.
+1
 
This is very close to the heart of the matter.
It doesn't just measure better, but do to the very significant improvement in measurable performance, it sounds better in all areas. Loudness wars or not, even a badly compressed CD that's minus all of the LP's crippling audible performance issues, is still the superior listen..
Oops, your "heart of the matter" assertion that digital "always" sounds better is obviously false. Thousands of recording have been made from "needle drops" and as good as digital is it cannot record something superior to the source. Beyond that there are a large number of recordings where due to damaged tape sources and or incompetent mastering, an LP has measurable better FR. Beyond that there are literally millions of recordings where the LP's and CD's sound different enough due to mastering and re-mastering choices (which can easily swamp the audibility of the technical superiority of digital) that some people could prefer the LP version. So I guess the "heart of the matter" isn't so clear. Of course sound quality alone is not what the vinyl renaissance is about.
 
My new rig sounds great to me, it's good enough to give me pleasure.

I find it a lot more fun than another dB of SINAD when thresholds of audibility were passed long ago. I think part of the problem in this thread is the extreme nature of the anecdotes on either side which make the conversation rather far removed from practicality and therefore, in a lot of respects, pointless.
 
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