The joys of vinyl still lives on despite the music download boom
Posted on 11/03/06 02:41 by Seán Byrne                             
The joys of vinyl still lives on despite the music download boom

Since the first Gramophones became available, the vinyl record has so far survived the longest and is unlikely going to disappear completely anytime soon.  Apparently, LP sales still accounts for 0.5% of all music sales despite the majority of retail and online stores only selling CDs and music downloads only.  The reason is that club DJ's, older generation of audiophiles and interestingly, some college students still insist on sticking with the vinyl, even though many also buy CDs and use online music download services.

There are several independent record labels that continue to release new LPs each year and many of the larger electronics stores still stock turntables.  The main reason some stick with vinyl is that they claim that the sound reproduction with the proper equipment cannot be matched by CD, such as certain harmonics lost on CD that records preserve, which gives records a warmer sound.

Besides the sound quality, vinyl has a few other advantages that CDs and particularly digital music downloads lack.  First comes the availably of a lot of early music that was released on vinyl, which never got re-released on CD or as music downloads.  Next comes the cover art, particularly with 12" LPs.  Finally, comes the actual playing of a record where one places the record on the table and then carefully moves the needle on to the record.

But why buy vinyl records? They must be handled with kid gloves, they're not nearly as portable as an iPod or a compact disc and they require audio equipment that many of us threw out years ago.

There are four main reasons to love vinyl, in this order: sound quality, availability, aesthetics and nostalgia.

That analog sound

First, there's the sound quality, and this presents a bone of contention among audio enthusiasts. Some argue that vinyl records sound better, that with the right equipment they produce a warmer, richer tone than their computerized counterparts.

Just listen to that baritone voice of Johnny Cash on one of those early Columbia LPs, Rhoden suggests: 'That's a natural sound. The CD just sounds thin in comparison."

The full article can be read here.

In theory, a vinyl record can potentially hold a higher quality recording than a CD due to its continuous waveform analogue nature, particularly when played back with a very high quality turntable.  So far, despite DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD promising to offer better sound quality than Audio CDs, these discs have failed to sell well and in their early days some leading record producers were disappointed with these claiming that they could hear the supposedly 'inaudible" watermarks.  As a result, with each media format properly prepared, the vinyl record may have held the highest quality, followed by the CD and finally followed by the downloadable compressed tracks from iTunes and most other music download stores, which will likely take over CD sales in the future.

Finally, while there may still be concerns about the watermarks in DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD, Vinyl Records don't use watermarks, never mind any other form of copy protection technology!  In my opinion, the one great advantage the vinyl record had like the cassette tape was the inability to support any form of restrictive DRM that causes compatibility issues, something the record labels have succeeded in applying to pretty much every digital medium sold, including CDs and downloadable tracks.  Unfortunately, the record's main drawback is portability, since it is technically not possible to develop a turntable that plays 7" to 12" vinyl that fits in one's pocket! 

Source: Citizen-Times

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By Mordorr, Saturday 11 March 2006 04:53
MordorrAgree. The problem is that a decent turntable coasts a small fortune, to get some decent sound.. Not to talk a valve Amplifier, Eloctromagnetic speakers.. Too much $$$ envolved....loveit
By FidelC, Saturday 11 March 2006 06:22
FidelCI suppose the more people get fed up with all these new smart ass DRM schemes, the stronger interest they will show to the good old vinyl. Records gave in to CD IMHO mostly because of scratching which made it difficult and frustrating for archiving. However things may be coming back. There are turntables you can buy Now that use a laser beam to reproduce analog sound wave off the record without making any physical contact. They look more a mix of a steam engine with a solar panel, having a huge cd-rom like tray that rails out. They are work of engineering art and use five or so lasers to read a vinyl therefore being expensive and bought only by the elite audiophiles. I hope the technology will eventually become mainstream and when mass produced by Sony and such can make a comeback. The interest is there,vinyl still gathering dust- too heavy to throw out and next thing you know may be discovered in the loft and considered "hip", sorry, "cool", or "steep" or whatever the modern term is by a stray i-podder. Cheers
By Autopenguin, Saturday 11 March 2006 06:53
"certain harmonics lost on CD that records preserve, which gives records a warmer sound" Rubbish. Those harmonics are otherwise known as DISTORTION. Musicians for years have known that introducing distortion to your audio gives a "warmer" sound. But it's NOT an accurate reproduction of the original. All those vinyl record on sale today - guess what the master tape source was for them. Yep, that's right - DIGITAL.
By nwg, Saturday 11 March 2006 13:42
"The problem is that a decent turntable coasts a small fortune, to get some decent sound.." No it doesn't. Sure, a valve amp will make it sound the best it can (and beat CD everytime) but, I can get perfectly decent sound from a second hand Technics SL 1700, a Technics solid state amp and a pair of nice B&W speakers. I even had a valve amp for a while and still went back to solid state.
By Mordorr, Saturday 11 March 2006 14:40
Mordorr"certain harmonics lost on CD that records preserve, which gives records a warmer sound" Rubbish. Those harmonics are otherwise known as DISTORTION. Musicians for years have known that introducing distortion to your audio gives a "warmer" sound. But it's NOT an accurate reproduction of the original." Dude, you never ear a turntable of €1000 up! Sorry. I did and didn`t ear that normal "creep" sound, normal on normal sub-systems, that we all still have at our homes.. Forget that crash.. And yes, vinly has up 24Kz up of frequency, than 16Kz on a CD..( someone help me here on the numbers and specifications..). Dont believe? Try ear music classic with the best system on a CD, tham go to the best system on a Vinly..loveit I assure you, you will change ideas very fast... Quote: "I can get perfectly decent sound from a second hand Technics SL 1700, a Technics solid state amp and a pair of nice B&W speakers." technics? Nahh That is used for DJ`s!clown Real audiophiles use stuff like Linn at same price, and other exotic models, that i have forget with time...but same price... Who can say, - i have already ear this stuff! Stuff: http://www.soundscapehifi.com/eurolab.htm - I assure, after return to our home, you can turn on your system sound..Stick Out Tongue I now because i did happen to me!cry
By Rich86, Saturday 11 March 2006 17:03
Rich86As much as I still treasure and carefully store my old LP's, the hassle of cleaning them, caring for the stylus, looking for half speed mastered/virgin vinyl products, etc. is not missed at all. Do vinyl lp's sound better than cd's. Compare a well done half-speed mastered virgin vinyl LP to a poorly mastered cd - and the lp will sound better when played on high quality equipment. But compare a properly recorded and mastered cd to the average everyday vinyl lp - and there is no comparison - the cd wins every time. And after repeated playing, the cd sounds the same and the vinyl lp slowly heads downhill. Then there is always the snap/crackle and pop that vinyl LP's eventually starts displaying. No thanks - LP's are dead. . . .
By Bobverens, Saturday 11 March 2006 17:25
But that snap, crackle & pop were all part of that "warmth" and charm of vinyl. Especially when you get to the inner grooves, then the fun really begins! LPs are pure nostalgia (and Ebay fodder), and all the wishful thinking can't bring 'em back, except for a dedicated few hobbyists who's hearing exceeds that of mere mortals WinkWinkWink
By nwg, Saturday 11 March 2006 21:44
"That is used for DJ`s" Then, that is your loss. They were making decks a lot longer than the SL 1200 (which I also have). Many of them use the same direct drive mechanism. There is nothing wrong with a Technics deck for music with a decent cartridge such as Shure. Also, makes like linn is overpriced rubbish.
By DJ Specs, Saturday 11 March 2006 22:16
You have to listen to records that were recorded prior to the 90's to hear how good they sound. If you have the chance, pick one of these up and then find the same album on cd, playit on a good system, and you will hear the difference, even if you ARE tone deaf. The click and pop can't be added to comparison, since that is damage done by use, the same thing if we scratch a cd, it will skip and screw up much similar to a record.
By neo1918, Sunday 12 March 2006 00:30
"Apparently, LP sales still accounts for 0.5% of all music sales despite the majority of retail and online stores only selling CDs" That's not it! LP sales are down because of piracy! We gotta act now to save the industry!
By FidelC, Sunday 12 March 2006 01:23
FidelC"Then there is always the snap/crackle and pop that vinyl LP's eventually starts displaying. No thanks - LP's are dead." No there isnt. Once again, if u use it carefully and fortunate enough to spend more on a lazer pickup turntable than on your car, there is no snap\cracle and not much more of wear\tear than a CD. The price is still too hight to really sell them though. "That's not it! LP sales are down because of piracy! " Huh? I think Lp sales can only go up because of "piracy", unless u mean unofficial LP production. Cos those who buy LPs cannot be satisfied with shitty compressed downloads. But they probably use them as samples before buying the Real thing. "We gotta act now to save the industry!" Are you for real or is it your dark sarcastic side speaking?
[edited by FidelC on 12.03.2006 01:28]
By ddrew2u, Sunday 12 March 2006 17:30
Back in the "good old days" (about 1975) I bought 6 LPs from a downtown New York store -- right around the corner from city hall -- and when I got them home, they all sounded like AM radio -- every one a counterfeit! The more things change; the more they stay the same. supergrin
By NexusHelm, Sunday 12 March 2006 23:52
I'm pretty sure it was the joy of dark sarcasm Big Grin
[edited by NexusHelm on 12.03.2006 23:54]
By themushroom, Monday 13 March 2006 01:57
> That's not it! LP sales are down because of piracy! We gotta act now to save the industry! Heh, no, LP sales are down because most labels aren't making them. Can't buy what you can't find. Ergo the popularity of used record stores and indie music shops that still get new vinyl in. I praise any artist who still releases on vinyl because I'm still buying the wax.
By StarGhost, Monday 13 March 2006 06:35
StarGhostThe only reason LP is still going is because it's the prefered format for DJ's and anyone with decks who likes to have a mix now and again. CDs tried to push LPs out but like myself most DJs prefer LP as it's a more physical form of mixing and not just pushing buttons and sliding channels. As for all these other reason regarding warmth of sound etc, I personally think that's just waffle.
By Chilledoutuk, Monday 13 March 2006 16:24
CD's are 44.1khz and 16bit which is very good quality. The problem with cd's released today is that the dynamic range of the music is compressed too much so that it volume in cd players will seem louder. If you listen to some cds where the producer didnt compress the dynamic range the music sounds much better but recently a lot of producers compress the crap out of the music so that the perceived loudness of the cd is higher this does the music absolutely no favors. I noticed this when i was listening to some early chilli peppers cd's the other day where the synmaic range was much better and sounded less compressed. The truth is there is a massive difference between a well produced cd and one thats made for people with 2 bob cd players with crap volume.
By stvastva, Tuesday 14 March 2006 08:38
Vinyl has a higher frequency range than CD. It is not so much heard as it sensed. It is called Tenure. Many frequencies happen when playing a violin that the ear only senses. Vinyl uses audio compression to engrave playable grooves. Try any cd thru winamp & use the SQRSoft DSP ;imiter & you'll hear a simlar phenomenon. The RIAA eq curve does not allow the bass you hear to be recorded on vinyl so the eq in the playback system of magnetic phono cartiges make up for that with eq. That's a big reason for warmth. Of course the is a lot of physical things happening when a recorded is made & played back so that explains the nature part of it. Our ears ARE analogue. But the biggest fun of records, especially once you vaccuum them with a record vacuum or clean them even with windex or soap & water & a good rinse is just the fun of spending $20 bux on 20 records that just look cool or sound interesting from liner notes & having 5 or 6 excellent listening experiences. A lot of older records were made with a ton of expensive state of the art at the time gear that works with heat - like vacuum tubes which excite the music. Even most plug-ins are digitally modeling analogue recording equipment. There is nothing cool about scratchs is except that one can tolerate if one loves the music on the vinyl. As an vinyl lover - I love DVD-Audio!! The nasty part of vinyl is the rumble factor that hinders bass & the inability to clearly represent frequencies like 5hz which suggests that music such as techno or hip-hop greatly benefits from digital Cd's. I am still ever so greatful for the return of the 45 r.p.m. single through the medium of Mp3. Some of my friends like to clips of thier favorite songs as a ring tone thru a tiny 1" speaker in a cell phone. So in a sense digital technology has taken us back to the AM transitor radio days of the 1950's & 60's & 70's! Eek. I love Rio 300 original mp3 player & greatly look forward to i-pods being wireless to listen & watch Podcasts on demand. What I don;t like is the sound of XM radio.
By RavemasterMR2, Tuesday 14 March 2006 12:35
Mordorr said: "Dude, you never ear a turntable of €1000 up! Sorry. I did and didn`t ear that normal "creep" sound, normal on normal sub-systems, that we all still have at our homes.. Forget that crash.. And yes, vinly has up 24Kz up of frequency, than 16Kz on a CD..( someone help me here on the numbers and specifications..)." Sorry, but no way. The ultimate limit of the frequency range on vinyl is the size of the stylus and the linear velocity of the groove. The outer grooves of a 12" record at 33 1/3rpm have a linear velocity of about .5m/s; the peak to peak size of a 20KHz wave recorded to the record would be about 25 microns. The very finest elliptical styli with a width of <10 microns might just be able to track that- but only at the very edge of the record. On the inner grooves they have no chance. In realistic conditions I'd not expect to see much more than 15KHz out of a turntable. A CD can theoretically manage up to 22KHz, although to avoid ringing effects from 'brick wall' filters the frequency range of the recording is rolled off at the top end before it hits the ADC. Still, 20KHz should be achievable. "Try ear music classic with the best system on a CD, tham go to the best system on a Vinly.. I assure you, you will change ideas very fast..." You're making the classic audiophile mistake of trusting your ears. However much faith you have in your own abilities I can assure you that your ears are not more sensitive than an oscilloscope. As well as poorer frequency response than CD, LPs also have very poor phase linearity and introduce quite a lot of harmonic distortion. And before anyone asks- I have a Linn LP12 and I used to listen to it with Sennheiser HD600s. I have collected hundreds and hundreds of records since I started buying them in 1997. I would always prefer to listen to an album on vinyl rather than CD. The fact is though, vinyl sounds good because of the distortions, not because it doesn't have any. stvastva said: "Vinyl has a higher frequency range than CD. It is not so much heard as it sensed. It is called Tenure. Many frequencies happen when playing a violin that the ear only senses." Again, vinyl simply cannot reproduce higher frequencies than CD- anyone with an oscilloscope can prove that conclusively. As for whether the ear can sense frequencies higher than 20KHz, and whether this affects the percieved sound- as far as I know the jury is still out. Has anyone done blind testing? "The RIAA eq curve does not allow the bass you hear to be recorded on vinyl so the eq in the playback system of magnetic phono cartiges make up for that with eq." You've got it back to front. The RIAA eq curve is used because the physical limitations of vinyl would mean that a stylus could not track the groove if the signal was not equalised. The bass is reduced and the treble amplified, so that the amplitude of all the frequencies in the record grooves becomes more similar. The phono stage of the amplifier applies the same eq in reverse- boosting the bass and reducing the treble to return the sound as close as possible to its original form. "like vacuum tubes which excite the music." Excite the music? What does that mean? What vacuum tubes actually do is add odd-order harmonic distortion, which sounds pleasing to our ears. Again it's the distortions which 'improve' the sound, not the fidelity.
By StarGhost, Thursday 16 March 2006 06:43
StarGhostI love it when someone corrects another person's waffle! LOL. Told you all this is technical crap. Does anyone really believe the average joe gives a damn about warmth etc..?? The only people I know buying vinyl are DJs.
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