Master Index of Archived Threads


Is Vinyl stil viable?

What the heck is "vinyl?"

2 votes

Haven't bought one since CDs/8 Tracks

6 votes

Occasionally I'll pick up for nostalgia or novelty with recent albums being on vinyl

4 votes

It's still my preferred way of listening to music!

2 votes

SteveJRogers Dec 08 2011 10:40 AM

A podcast that I listen to is trying to do a project where an episode of their show is going to be available only on a vinyl record. Which sounds like it should no longer be called a "PODcast" considering the term is to describe an internet only broadcast, but be that as it may... Apparently the co-host that suggested it still collects vinyls at sales and vintage record shops and whatnot, so there still is a market for vinyl still out there. But I'm wondering just how popular vinyl is? Okay, I know new albums are getting vinyl treatment these days, and I've seen re-releases of classic albums at Best Buy, but I wonder if they are being bought for nostalgic collecting sakes or a sort of "keeping it real/old school" sort of "status symbol." Kind of like owning a particular movie or book just to have it displayed prominently (see Scarface DVDs on MTV's Cribs for example). Are record players actually still being produced? And are newer models actually streamlined like newer generation players of many different audio and visual product players? I mean is this actually a thing? Is Vinyl actually making THIS BIG of a comeback? Or is this just a guy completely misreading why he still see vinyl out in the mainstream marketplaces?

TransMonk Dec 08 2011 10:44 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Vinyl is most definitely a thing and turntables are still being produced. Typically, turntables are part of a very high-end stereo system. It is still my preferred media medium and I think most analog recordings sound superior on vinyl.

seawolf17 Dec 08 2011 10:45 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I haven't bought one in years because it's not my bag, but Transmonk is right.

metirish Dec 08 2011 10:47 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Tom Dunne( singer with Something Happens, now Irish radio presenter) recently had a competition where basically you guessed from snippets of a song which was vinyl, CD and mp3, like TM he's a huge vinyl fan and as the competition progressed you really could here the difference , vinyl did sound better with mp3 the worst.

SteveJRogers Dec 08 2011 10:59 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

TransMonk wrote: Vinyl is most definitely a thing and turntables are still being produced. Typically, turntables are part of a very high-end stereo system. It is still my preferred media medium and I think most analog recordings sound superior on vinyl. So it sounds like unless I was in the music/recording/radio business in one form or another it probably would not be worth my while to purchase a record player just for this one episode of a podcast? I do hear you about the better sound quality being the records as opposed to the digital formats. It may have become cheaper, compact and manageable on the consumer side of the business, but yeah, the actual quality of the product is not the same as it was.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 08 2011 11:48 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Loved records in the day, was very slow to move onto CDs but just not practical for my lifestyle anymore. My neighbor John is a vinyl freak and there is literally no room for his family in their family room. When he moves I'm going to be sure to be on vacation.

Mets – Willets Point Dec 08 2011 11:55 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I appreciate the positive attributes of vinyl but do not have the space to store them or otherwise keep them in good shape. I grew up in the cassette tape era and still feel a lot of novelty toward them and was very slow to move to CDs and then to digital. Still, I have good memories of playing old records inherited from my uncle (on my father's side) and aunt (on my mother's side) when I was a kid.

Mets – Willets Point Dec 08 2011 11:57 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: My neighbor John is a vinyl freak and there is literally no room for his family in their family room. When he moves I'm going to be sure to be on vacation. Good plan. I had a housemate who had a box of vinyl that I helped carry down the stairs when he moved out. With a piece of furniture, it's heavy but at least you got people at opposite ends of the thing. The box of vinyl weighed a ton and me and this other friend were basically face to face carrying it down the stairs.

Edgy DC Dec 08 2011 11:59 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Is it the vynil output that sounds so superior, the analog input, or the combination of the two? Isn't it funny that in the digital revolution, the race to invest your money in high quality sound was all but abandoned? It all became about who had the highest volume of music, but so many folks were listening to it through desktop computer speakers without woofers.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 08 2011 12:07 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

As I recall it the move to CD/digital was sold as a superior audio experience and it is in the sense that they are harder to skip and scratch, etc. But there's artificial limits on the sound quality. You needed to change your stylus every six months and play every record only a few times to get the kinda sound they talked about. I'm almost completely streaming now, and am looking at improving the sound there with the Sonos thingy, which replaces your crappy computer speakers and allows you to broadcast away from the computer.

TransMonk Dec 08 2011 12:19 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

You really have to be nutty about your music to appreciate and strive for hearing the difference. I know some guys that spend hundreds of dollars on a stylus alone. I my experience, how the music is recorded makes a big difference. In the 70's, new recordings were mixed and mastered for turntables. In the 80's, for cassette players and boomboxes. The 90's had CDs and now we have MP3s...so It does depend on when and how it was recorded. There is a certain trend nowadays to find a happy medium...but some bands and artists are going back to mastering for vinyl again when they release new stuff. There is also a difference based on whether the original tracks were recorded with analog technology (tape) or digitally (hard drive, pro tools). I have found there is also a nostalgia factor. If you spend a lot of time listening to R.E.M.'s Murmur on cassette tape in the 80's, then that medium still may sounds superior to you.

metsguyinmichigan Dec 09 2011 02:59 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I still have my LPs from my youth through college, though I don't remember the last time I've played any of them. I have most on CD or the iPod. But, my son likes to to through them to decorate his room. He has them framed. I know he's got Rush's Moving Pictures, Don McLean's American Pie, Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic, AC/DC's For Those About to Rock and a few more. I tried to convince him to put Kiss' Destroyer or Rock and Roll Over on the wall -- two of my fave covers.

Vic Sage Dec 09 2011 03:12 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I've kept my vinyl, because i'm a packrat with a collector's mentality. I don't buy new ones, though i do pick one up now and then at garage sales. But I rarely listen... and generally just to stuff that's not on CD or otherwise available for download at a reasonable price. A few years ago i bought a new turntable that also burned the vinyl (and cassettes) to CDs but the transfer was of really crappy quality; it was all but unlistenable. Is there a preferred (and reasonably priced) technology for the transfer? Anyway, i find the snap, pop and hiss, though nostalgic, to be annoying (as is the need to flip the album), and so don't really listen to my vinyl much anymore. Still, i can't get myself to dump them.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 09 2011 04:57 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I got me an office called Records on the Wall. Just leave a message, maybe I'll call.

sharpie Dec 09 2011 05:07 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I have some of the vinyl I used to have (a flood destroyed some of my best stuff). I listen sometimes and, like Ralph, will pick up the occasional record at a garage sale. The records, however, are at a remove from the record player so it's kind of a hassle to play them but there are days I do and I enjoy those days.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 09 2011 05:19 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I got me an office called Records on the Wall. Just leave a message, maybe I'll call. those are cool shit. i read somewhere that vinyl sales surged for the first time in nearly 2 decades (yeah, thereabouts: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industrie ... 5_ST_N.htm )... I'd never argue the sound's better or anything, but it is warmer and it's nostalgic for sure. I have a crapload of vinyl and just designed a new record shelf I"m gonna build to hold em all. definitely a bitch come moving time, but i love having em. My listening breakdown is something like this nowadays: Rdio: 74.2% Sirius: 17.6% iTunes/Mp3s: 4.1% CDs: 2.4% Records: 1.7% * *99.899% of this 1.7% is spent in the dark with a girl drinking wine listening to Sade or some shit like that. #slamdunk

Ashie62 Dec 09 2011 08:52 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Vinyl sounds warm compared to digital as tube amplifiers sound warm next to transitor ones.

MFS62 Dec 10 2011 08:36 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Is Vinyl still viable? It depends on who's wearing it. But if you're talking about records, yes. I still have many, from Nat "King" Cole to the Platters to jazz to folk. But my record player broke and I've been looking for one that fits in my entertainment center. Later

Edgy DC Dec 10 2011 10:40 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Ashie62 wrote: Vinyl sounds warm compared to digital as tube amplifiers sound warm next to transitor ones. Good Steve Trachsel post.

Rockin' Doc Dec 10 2011 03:48 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

Edgy DC wrote: Ashie62 wrote: Vinyl sounds warm compared to digital as tube amplifiers sound warm next to transitor ones. Good Steve Trachsel post. It must have taken Ashie a long time to type that post. I damn near fell asleep waiting for it.

TheOldMole Dec 11 2011 08:02 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I love vinyl, and if I were still collecting, I'd still be collecting it.

vtmet Jan 11 2012 10:06 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 11 2012 10:15 PM

TransMonk wrote: Vinyl is most definitely a thing and turntables are still being produced. Typically, turntables are part of a very high-end stereo system. It is still my preferred media medium and I think most analog recordings sound superior on vinyl. Agreed... I've got 6 working turntables in my house (not all in use at the moment): 2 Technics, 1 Audio-Technica (which was a freebie from Circuit City because of a service contract that I had on a Sony Turntable that needed a new stylus. They determined that it was cheaper to give me a brand new turntable instead of replacing the stylus), 1 Stanton, 1 JVC, and one of those ION USB turntables that can hook up both to your stereo and to your computer (burns your vinyl from Analog to Digital MP3 so it can put be put onto a hard drive, onto a CD and/or onto my MP3 player)... I have over 300 vinyl albums that I still have in good shape that IMO, still sound better than a CD...Some of them that I would never find in CD form, plus the cost of replacing them is crazy... Deep Discount has 1339 different choices of "rock" VINYL albums available thru their website...from older stuff like the Beatles, to modern stuff like Adele (not sure how that made it into their rock category however): http://www.deepdiscount.com/index.cfm/f ... 3b240bba49 On edit: correction, DD has 1339 "pages" of choices of rock vinyl albums...which amounts to 16,058 varieties of vinyl rock albums they currently have for sale...

vtmet Jan 11 2012 10:11 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

TheOldMole wrote: I love vinyl, and if I were still collecting, I'd still be collecting it. I've reached the age where I have a hard time reading the writing inside of a CD sleeve, but I've never had a hard time reading what's inside a vinyl album jacket and the art work just isn't the same on a little cd case...

Frayed Knot Jan 12 2012 07:03 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I read the other day about how sales were up somewhat in the music industry in 2011, reversing a trend that had been going on for a while due to many obvious reasons. Factors cited for the turnaround included both a reduction in the price of individual CDs as well as an uptick in vinyl sales.

Edgy DC Jan 12 2012 07:19 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

It seems to me that in current times, at any given moment, only three artists are making any money selling music.

TransMonk Jan 12 2012 07:26 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

In my limited experience, selling albums doesn't net the artist much money anymore. But, selling albums increases exposure, which sells concert tickets, which does make the artist more money. Ah, showbiz. As a WAG, with CD sales declining and online sales on the rise, it's freeing up some extra production cash that record companies and distributors can use to manufacture vinyl that they know they can sell to a niche market...which I think is a good thing for everyone.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 12 2012 07:42 AM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

The all-you-can-eat streaming has been a boon to *my* contributions to the music industry, not because I'm buying rekkids but because I'm seeing shows, investing in new equipment and paying monthly fees (which eventually goes to pay the artists I stream). I can't emphasize enough what a bargain it is. Seems to me the stream is where an artist would want to be today, seeing as he'd get paid once for a CD or record no matter how many times I play or don't play it; but get paid *every time* I stream the album.

vtmet Jan 12 2012 12:00 PM Re: Is Vinyl stil viable?

I can see the appeal of streaming, but I like something tangible that I can hold in my hands knowing that I'm not going to lose track of it...Hard drives get corrupted, MP3 players get lost, computers get replaced, CD's get skips or misplaced, etc...One time when my kids were younger, loading the car up to go on a trip, had a CD sleeve with at least 30 CD's in it, I must have set it on top of the roof and forgot about it and drove off, never to find them again...but if i take care of an album, very few have gotten damaged/lost over the past 30+ years...I'll listen to music on something like Spotify, Playlist, Pandora, etc; but it's nothing permanent...