Vinyl records making a comeback?

[Gbnf]

I have never stopped listening to vinyl; but I will admit, the clicks and pops so many find 'charming' simply annoy me.
I remember there was a turntable that had a laser instead of a stylus, and it would read the grooves of the LP, so no noise.
The cost was extremely expensive, and I wonder if any exist today?

I'm very engaged in Vinyl since 1980..You can influence the sound by changing the player and/oder Tonearm /Cartridge combination. Make most fun but-can be stressing ! BTW tubes rules !

[spitalhouse]

Vinyl will only ever be the medium of choice of those for whom quality and purity of sound is paramount.

For the vast majority, however, convenience and the ability to access music on demand will always be the priority - irrespective of quality. Therefore I'm sad to say that no, the playing of music on vinyl will henceforth remain a minority persuit.

Having said all that, it's worth making the point that convenience wasn't necessarily people's only consideration when they began choosing CDs in preference to vinyl. Even when vinyl did rule most people had only crappy systems on which to play it. When CDs arrived the average person found they were able to achieve a better quality of sound from a low-end CD player (although initially still not cheap) than was possible from a mid-range HiFi system.

Regards.

[edgarcasey]

The LP still represents just a sliver of music sales. But last year, according to Nielson Soundscan data, while CD sales fell by more than 5%, vinyl record sales grew more than 36%.

The majority of vinyl sells in independent record stores, but now big-box stores such as Best Buy are carrying vinyl. Amazon has a "Vinyl Store" and recently introduced shipping boxes designed to coddle LP records in transit.

Not just the sales of records are growing, but the equipment to play them, too. (For example, Target is selling turntables.)

Hipster-centric indie genres skew vinyl-heavy (alt rock, garage, punk, etc.) The list of last year's best-selling LPs includes discs from the Black Keys, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Radiohead. Classic jazz does pretty well, and then there is classic rock: For several years running, the Beatles' "Abbey Road" has been the top-selling vinyl LP, which is one more clue to vinyl's appeal. "Abbey Road" is an essential recording, but it also features what may be the most recognizable image in rock: The fab four crossing the street on a bright summer day. Such album artwork just isn't quite the same shrank down for CDs or iPods.

Then, of course, there is the sound: Those who collect LPs swear by the virtues of analog. For decades a vinyl-dedicated subset of hard-core audiophiles have resisted the digital onslaught. They've rightly derided the brittle compression of CDs and given the cold shoulder to even the more robust digital formats, such as super-audio CDs. And don't even get them started on the hopeless degradation of MP3s!

Now, that narrow niche of audiophiles with their world-class sound systems isn't necessarily what's kept LPs alive. I mean, people in the music industry pay attention to just the sort of sales statistics that Nielsen collects. For example, the general manager for the San Francisco Symphony released a 22-LP Mahler box (all of Gustav's orchestral works) in part because "vinyl is the only hard format that has seen any growth." There were 500 box sets in the initial run, substantial both in price and heft - $750 and more than 30 pounds. One month after the official release, there were only one or two left. (The Mahler box features heavy weight 180-gram discs. That sort of luxury LP makes up about a quarter of the vinyl market.)

The embrace of vinyl isn't just some retro fad, but a push-back against the techno-triumphalism that insists there is no future for physical artifacts like books and newspapers. It's a small declaration of independence, a refusal to let the march of progress stomp on one's pleasures.

Vinyl is decidedly inconvenient, which is actually another reason why it's so appealing. I mean, to play records, you have to be relatively engaged in the activity: The disc has to be taken off the shelf and out of its sleeve. It has to be placed on the platter. The needle has to be lowered just so, in fact, I believe there's nothing quite so reverential as this. How different that is from the way we've been encouraged to consume music - as a sort of automated aural wallpaper best achieved by a digital playlist in shuffle mode. Vinyl simply demands and encourages more attention. I believe vinyl is for whoever is left who actually sits down deliberately to listen to music. I suspect that many of us here on VEF (myself included) would be included in that group. The other night, I had my 17-year-old nephew over (an aspiring musician), and he was blown away by the sound of Flora Purim, Diana Krall, Stan Getz, Jaco Pastorius and Sade coming through my Wharfdales on vinyl. "Best vinyl I ever heard in my life", he said. Of course, if you look up the term "old-school" in the dictionary, there's a picture of me (probably of you, too). I have four turntables in my apartment. I think I purchased the last remaining dual cassette deck there in Curcuit City before they went belly-up. I still wear my hair long (what's left of it anyway), and I have about six or seven wood racquets in the trunk of my car.

[Sirch]

Ironically Vinyl may outlast the CD format. Apple plans to get rid of the optical drive altogether. I am sure others will follow suite. They want to force you into downloading only, (no production costs for them) but that will make way to streaming only. (So the customer never actually owns a copy)

[karloschaos]

After years of lusting I managed to get hold of a second-hand Linn LP12 (Sondek) last year for £400. Thank God I never got rid of my vinyl. Yes, it's inconvenient but playing it involves you in the "ritual" without you even realising it & you end up stopping what you were doing & actually sitting down, properly listening to the music & above all enjoying it. A couple of my mates now actually say "Can we go back to your flat & listen to some music?" When I asked them why they wanted to do that the reply was "Because it sounds fucking great on your set-up". I've now reached the point where I don't need to buy any more equipment as beyond what I've got at the moment I would have to spend a lot of money for not much improvement in sound quality so I'm a happy bunny at last.
Turntable - Linn Sondek.
CD Player - Rega Planet.
Amp - Naim Nait 3 (God Damn you 5-pin DIN connectors!!)
Speakers - Kelly KT3
Music - Hawkwind, Zappa, Roy Harper & more.

[NIN]

I'm not going to state what's already been said, and I don't really think that some of my opinions regarding CD Vs Vinyl would be welcome here - so they are kept to myself

But I did find this gif elsewhere & this seems to be the place to share it..

It shows a breakdown of the Music Format sales from 1980 - 2010 and quite dramatic rise & (the beginnings) of the fall of CD sales
The most recent years would certainly show the continued rise of downloading, decline in CDs & increase in vinyl, esp in this last year. I had forgotten what a large proportion of sales was made-up by the trusty old Cassette tape.

[flashming]

With the easy to use and accessability of digital formats, music seems to have become a background to other things people do, to listen to vinyl you have to settle down and make the commitment to worship the big round sound god for the 20 minutes pleasure it offers.
Cd's amd Mp3's loud in the car, Lp's listened carefully to at home!

[billybunter]

You have to be of a certain age to appreciate the vinyl ritual. Plus the sleeves are important. Sometimes you got a gatefold sleeve and a poster

[rlg118]

Originally Posted by billybunter

You have to be of a certain age to appreciate the vinyl ritual. Plus the sleeves are important. Sometimes you got a gatefold sleeve and a poster

Plus you could use the record cover to clean the seeds out of your bag of weed. Try doing that with a CD case.