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Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

I am fully aware I have as much nostalgia as your typical brick does. I guess I missed that memo.

As I mentioned earlier: For me, the vinyl renaissance meant something more like: vinyl had broken out of being mere nostalgia. It felt fresh and new again.
There's no way I would have as many records as I do now out of mere nostalgia. Well before the vinyl revival I had some old records left over (that I very rarely played) and there were still old record stores around if I wanted vinyl. If my listening pleasure was nostalgia fueled then digital wouldn't have been by far my main choice for listening to music for so many decades.

Once tons of new records were being produced, and it didn't feel simply like some stroll down memory lane but a new product, then my enthusiasm got going.
 
Well targeted marketing..

That's the thing though - the TAS, Stereophile, whatever stuff has been there for decades. Mainstream I've only seen reactionary placements - a 'table in a move or series, etc. Granted I'm not really following it, but I can't say that I've seen much of commercial interest actually driving this.
 
That's the thing though - the TAS, Stereophile, whatever stuff has been there for decades. Mainstream I've only seen reactionary placements - a 'table in a move or series, etc. Granted I'm not really following it, but I can't say that I've seen much of commercial interest actually driving this.
These types of simple systems combining old and new tech appear to be popular and fairly heavily promoted (I’ve seen this and similar systems all over social media).


It’s worth noting that GenZ spend by far the most on music per person, which is being driven by their interest in vinyl. According to Luminate, they discover new music on TikTok and then buy the music on vinyl. Of course, in the big scheme this is still a tiny fraction of the revenues generated by streaming subscriptions.
 
If you were young at the time of CDs you also likely remember a lot of skips. I always took good care of my own and HATED the idea of lending them to friends.
 
Interesting. What was the marketing behind that though?
Speaking of, here’s the new WiiM Pro Plus streamer ad that came up in my feed this morning. Notice the obligatory turntable in the photo.

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These types of simple systems combining old and new tech appear to be popular and fairly heavily promoted (I’ve seen this and similar systems all over social media).


It’s worth noting that GenZ spend by far the most on music per person, which is being driven by their interest in vinyl. According to Luminate, they discover new music on TikTok and then buy the music on vinyl. Of course, in the big scheme this is still a tiny fraction of the revenues generated by streaming subscriptions.
Not so long ago I purchased a similar set-up for my mother-in-law, who decided to upgrade her old minisystem. A few Sonos speakers and a Denon DP-400. I told her I'd happily purchase her a Tidal subscription to use with her Sonos instead but, yeah, good luck convincing your mother-in-law of anything. The big day comes and she takes out one of her old queen records, it is so scratched up that the sound was truly awful. To rub it in I stream for her the same album. She hasn't touched it since. I have to admit, it is a really cool way to use a turntable, having it stream throughout the house.

I do want to take the turntable and play around with it to see how well I can make it sound...(and re-measure)
 
The clicks and pops just take me back to the days of my youth, when I wished vinyl had no clicks or pops.
It doesn’t have to have clicks or pops. I remove those. Digitally.
 
It doesn’t have to have clicks or pops. I remove those. Digitally.
What really annoys me about the cynical criticism here is that they force onto us 1970s use so they can maximize their arguments. (They are always using the latest and multiple versions of digital media themselves.) You hate clicks and pops? Get a Puffin. Use a real-time de-clicker. It's 2023, turntable use is not the same.
 
And as mentioned nostalgic fun. When I drop a needle on an LP not only the music but the clicks and pops take me back to happy(ier) days. Odd I know. Plus I love working with my hands and vinyl like my reel to reel let's me become part of the music.
And in spite of its limitations, it's got no right to sound that good.
 
If you were young at the time of CDs you also likely remember a lot of skips.
Not really. Early Philips players (bought mine in 1985) apparently had a very robust error correction. I can remember perhaps one or two skipping cds in my 1000+ collection.
 
Since we’re talking about the marketing of vinyl, I thought I’d point out that the Qobuz logo is a turntable. This seems counterintuitive for a streaming platform. I’m only guessing, but it seems to imply that their target audience is an older age group that intuitively associates turntables with high quality music consumption.

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To me it looks like a rotating hard disk. ;)
 
Not really. Early Philips players (bought mine in 1985) apparently had a very robust error correction. I can remember perhaps one or two skipping cds in my 1000+ collection.
My gear wasn't the best and my friends were animals, lol
 
And in spite of its limitations, it's got no right to sound that good.
And it doesn't of course - for well understood reasons. It would take a lot of willing suspension of disbelief to get accustomed to the sound of vinyl.
 
I've started buying some of these new Deutsche Grammophon The Original Source LP releases. Basically 4 track master tapes downmixed to 2 track and cut in real time all analog. Intriguing.

Oh my. A disservice to recorded music as an art form (I actually saw Gilels & Amadeus Qt live when I was young). Now, the may shout 'pure analog' 'til their face is blue, but there still is not any special purity in analog - only accumulating layers of noise, distortion, wow and flutter. If you have a historically important recording to preserve you release it on digital. Anything elese is cultural barbarism.
 
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