Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

[Mart68]

Nothing new in here, but this article by a young person as to what she has discovered in getting into vinyl ties together a lot of the explanation for the vinyl Renaissance:

The Pull Of The Needle: Why I'm Obsessed With Vinyl Records

In today’s world of instant streaming and digital playlists, you might wonder why anyone would still choose to listen to music on vinyl. But for me, the answer is simple: vinyl offers an experience that goes far beyond just hearing the music.

www.hercampus.com

Of course, the description also includes some dubious beliefs about how analog/vinyl sound works versus digital. But of course, even misunderstandings like that are part of the vinyl revival.

But overall, it’s a nice tally of how vinyl records impact the experience of morning and listening to music for many young people.

Agree. Personally I find I get those aspects from using CD - selecting a disc and putting it in the tray isn't far off the 'mindfulness' experience she describes when putting a record on a turntable. And it comes without the hassle, the expense and the sonic imperfections of vinyl.

You can still go crate digging for them too.

This is why I think there will be a CD revival once all these youngsters get bored or irritated with all the problems inherent in vinyl.

 

[MatrixS2000]

Having a beer is old. Does that mean that I should only drink Scotch? Oh, damn, I think that is old, too. Maybe only drink the NEW:

Pimped-up Water​

Water has never had so much flavor and sparkle. Whether it’s infused with natural botanical extracts, boosted with probiotics or other nutritional ingredients, sparkling water is getting tastier and trendier.

Does preferring digital files mean you cannot use CD or vinyl (which is even older)? Not in my book...

 

[MatrixS2000]

the description also includes some dubious beliefs about how analog/vinyl sound works versus digital.

No kidding! Overall and even though many of the rituals associated with vinyl playback are not for me, I can understand why some do enjoy it.

 

[WaveCollapser]

Wow, what a thread. I collect vinyl records, though for me it's more about the actual collection and the experience (a thing is spinning = me happy) than the sound quality. That's why I have a cheap phono preamp that goes to ADC stage of my DAC

 

[DanielT]

Wow, what a thread. I collect vinyl records, though for me it's more about the actual collection and the experience (a thing is spinning = me happy) than the sound quality. That's why I have a cheap phono preamp that goes to ADC stage of my DAC

You are not the only ASR member with that attitude.

Check here, and feel free to contribute your turntable if you haven't already:

Nice turntables. Attached picture is an absolute requirement.

Post a picture of a vinyl lathe that you think looks good.:D Performance information, optional. I am most interested in some nice pictures. How vinyl sounds is of secondary importance. For me anyway.:) Feel free to tell us about your youth's vinyl player. Take a trip down memory lane...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[DanielT]

Not only us middle-aged (and older) men and young people who are into vinyl, even mature women can like it. In combination with HiFi interest too, but it's not that common. Here's one such woman though.

She got that vintage Sansui AU-555A amplifier you see in the video for free via Freecycle (I think you get stuff for free through that). She sent it in for service which cost around $250. Now it works as it should.

By the way, she have a Fosi VU meter among her HiFi stuff.
(because she needed a switcher)


She talks about her HiFi gear plus her recent purchase of some vinyl records in the video:

 

[MattHooper]

Wow, what a thread. I collect vinyl records, though for me it's more about the actual collection and the experience (a thing is spinning = me happy) than the sound quality. That's why I have a cheap phono preamp that goes to ADC stage of my DAC

But think about all the inner detail you’re missing.

How can you bear it?

 

[Robin L]

But think about all the inner detail you’re missing.

How can you bear it?

Somehow I suspect that someone with the handle of "WaveCollapser" would survive that.

 

[Jaxjax]

Anyone .?

 

[Snoopy]

But think about all the inner detail you’re missing.

How can you bear it?

I received 14 LPs (old stuff from the 70s) last Thursday and listened to all of them from beginning to end and some multiple times already. Loving the experience of playing LPs over the weekend to „relax“.

And discovered some new artists that I have never seen on streaming services.

Holding a 50 year old LP from another continent that was probably played by several people before I was born .. and spinning that today.. (are the previous owners still alive ?) with a cartridge that has been around since the LP was made the first time by a manufacturer that has been around for a 100 years ? I mean that is something isn’t it ?

maybe some people already lost some of the joy this hobby provides and it’s more of a competition about winning a argument.

 

[MatrixS2000]

Anyone .?
View attachment 440272

Looks similar to an experiment I ran to test the effectiveness of my record cleaning process.

I took an old record that I did not care about and purposely packed the gooves full of all kinds of junk.


Then put it through my process to check how effective it was.

For those who care, it does a great job.


In your case, is that an old shellac album? If so, I would say that is damage done by chemicals such as rubbing alcohol in an attempt to clean it, but because it is shellac, it basically dissolved the grooves away instead.

 

[MatrixS2000]

Saw this on another thread on ASR, the article describes how the soundtrack was done. Credit to @Juhazi for originally linking to the article.

Restoring Led Zeppelin

A hit movie about the world’s greatest rock band turns conventional ideas of audio restoration on their head.

www.soundonsound.com

 

[Robin L]

 

[MatrixS2000]

View attachment 441363

a full 4 minutes per side! lol

 

[JimmyBuckets]

infinite resolution...****** noise floor

 

[HalSF]

Agree. Personally I find I get those aspects from using CD - selecting a disc and putting it in the tray isn't far off the 'mindfulness' experience she describes when putting a record on a turntable. And it comes without the hassle, the expense and the sonic imperfections of vinyl.

You can still go crate digging for them too.

This is why I think there will be a CD revival once all these youngsters get bored or irritated with all the problems inherent in vinyl.

Adding your closing prediction to the collection of “vinyl is but a passing fad and soon everybody will snap out of it” prognostication that I’ve been amassing for nearly two decades. Which includes a large subset of “streaming’tis but a scratch, CDs will soon boom again” projections as well.

This thread tickles me for its obsessive Sisyphean insistence that the manifest and obvious imperfections of vinyl are disqualifying flaws, rather than drawbacks that don’t detract from a rich and deep high-fidelity experience of music for millions of non-Luddite people.

 

[Deleted member 20765]

Adding your closing prediction to the collection of “vinyl is but a passing fad and soon everybody will snap out of it” prognostication that I’ve been amassing for nearly two decades. Which includes a large subset of “streaming’tis but a scratch, CDs will soon boom again” projections as well.

This thread tickles me for its obsessive Sisyphean insistence that the manifest and obvious imperfections of vinyl are disqualifying flaws, rather than drawbacks that don’t detract from a rich and deep high-fidelity experience of music for millions of non-Luddite people.

Yea verily! Well said.

 

[EJ3]

a full 4 minutes per side! lol

That's to help those of us that "NEED" more exercise! (according to others, at least).

 

[Mart68]

Adding your closing prediction to the collection of “vinyl is but a passing fad and soon everybody will snap out of it” prognostication that I’ve been amassing for nearly two decades. Which includes a large subset of “streaming’tis but a scratch, CDs will soon boom again” projections as well.

This thread tickles me for its obsessive Sisyphean insistence that the manifest and obvious imperfections of vinyl are disqualifying flaws, rather than drawbacks that don’t detract from a rich and deep high-fidelity experience of music for millions of non-Luddite people.

For the record I don't think vinyl is a passing fad - indeed 15 years ago I predicted its resurgence and even stockpiled Technics SL1200 turntables when they discontinued them in 2010. Nor did I sell my vinyl. Around 2012-2014 I toured the country buying hundreds of classic albums at giveaway prices while that was still possible. Vinyl will always be with us at some level of popularity.

Clearly the mass market now streams and that won't change.

From the tiny subset of music lovers who still use physical media of any description I believe a subset of that will move to compact disc as their physical media of choice so there will be a resurgence of CD, I'd suggest that's already happening. A resurgence doesn't mean mass adoption.

Many will copy the CD to hard drive and stream it locally but they will still buy the CD to guarantee access in the future and to guarantee access to the mastering of their choice in a format that, unlike vinyl, offers 'pure, perfect sound forever'.

Some of those people will be people who, like me, are fussy enough to have become disenchanted with the SQ issues of vinyl. Again, that's a subset of a subset.

Hope that clarifies.

 

[HalSF]

For the record I don't think vinyl is a passing fad - indeed 15 years ago I predicted its resurgence and even stockpiled Technics SL1200 turntables when they discontinued them in 2010. Nor did I sell my vinyl. Around 2012-2014 I toured the country buying hundreds of classic albums at giveaway prices while that was still possible. Vinyl will always be with us at some level of popularity.

Clearly the mass market now streams and that won't change.

From the tiny subset of music lovers who still use physical media of any description I believe a subset of that will move to compact disc as their physical media of choice so there will be a resurgence of CD, I'd suggest that's already happening. A resurgence doesn't mean mass adoption.

Many will copy the CD to hard drive and stream it locally but they will still buy the CD to guarantee access in the future and to guarantee access to the mastering of their choice in a format that, unlike vinyl, offers 'pure, perfect sound forever'.

Some of those people will be people who, like me, are fussy enough to have become disenchanted with the SQ issues of vinyl. Again, that's a subset of a subset.

Hope that clarifies.

Good stuff here! Thanks for responding.

To a certain degree I was unfairly using your post as a scapegoat for this threads’s neurotic inability to give it a rest, accept that vinyl, as you say, will always be with us and is not an inexplicable affront to the things this website stands for, and move on from an endless reiteration of reflexive digital-cult hostility.

11,380 posts!