Time for the Vinyl Revival to GET REAL

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by AudioAddict, Oct 5, 2019.

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  1. jtw

    jtw Forum Resident

    I'd guess that the overwhelming majority of today's vinyl buyers are playing their albums on crappy gear that, in no way approaches the sound quality they would get from a digital player. They just don't care or they've been duped. So, there's no incentive out there to spend $ on improving these mass marketed products.
     
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  2. Bart

    Bart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    So sadly -- this is me. We re-entered vinyl land about 7 months ago. While I have about 1800 albums on my home server, "all" I want on vinyl is the most of the classic rock I grew up with (Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Floyd, some Yes, Supertramp. Dire Straits . . . .) and some representative great jazz (Miles, Thelonius, Coltrane, Ornette....). Finding very good vintage copies is not that hard. The prices are hard to swallow.

    Honestly the best prices are from sellers here on the vinyl [for sale] forum.

    We've hit about 80 lp's in total now and have stopped. It could spiral further, but there is no reason for it. It would stop being fun.
     
  3. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Wow just answered every Hoffman vinyl question thread in one post! Congrats but I snoozed half way through it. :)
     
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  4. Kevin j

    Kevin j The 5th 99

    Location:
    Seattle Area
     
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  5. Jeffreylee

    Jeffreylee Rock 'n' Roll Typist

    Location:
    Louisville
    There is more new music being released now than at any point in history. You're not trying hard enough.
     
  6. Boltman92124

    Boltman92124 Go Padres!!

    Location:
    San Diego
    Their Santana Moonflower is pretty good too. Hit and miss with them. More miss.
     
  7. Jeffreylee

    Jeffreylee Rock 'n' Roll Typist

    Location:
    Louisville
    Vinyl Passion is a public domain label that takes advantage of lenient EU copyright laws. They are essentially high-class bootlegs.

    They do not release all-analog LPs by any stretch of the imagination. While VP may try harder than DOL or Waxtime, which often use a redbook CD as their master, they are still releasing digitally-sourced vinyl. Others in this thread have already at least alluded to this but you haven't commented. Has this Avro Part record changed your opinion or are you still willing to die on the hill of all-analog?
     
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  8. Soundsense

    Soundsense Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado USA
    The music scene now, even compared to the '60s, '70s and all that great music, is fantastic. The quality of musicianship is high, the production values are high, the creative spirit is alive and well in young and old musicians. I'm buying lots of vinyl from new young artists (I'm in my late sixties), and swapping finds with my young son-in-law who only listens to vinyl. Additionally, the opportunity to audition and discover music through Youtube, Spotify and Amazon is a joy.
     
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  9. btltez

    btltez Forum Resident

    Location:
    I'm From Detroit
    THIS ^
     
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  10. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    You want to compare Taylor Swift to this?

    Robert Christgau and David Fricke on 50 Essential Albums of 1967
     
  11. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

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  12. LakeMountain

    LakeMountain Vinyl surfer

    Location:
    Netherlands
    I nominate this for the contribution of the year award (if there is one )!

    The only thing I would add is the master tape issue. If possible check, whether a master tape was used to cut the vinyl.

    This applies to the analog era; if the recording was done in one continent and it says “record printed” in another continent or even state, it is very much possible that a copy of the master tape was used to cut the record. It might even be copy of a copy and then you are loosing dynamics, etc. Record companies did not like to ship master tapes around the world in the non-digital era.

    That is an advantage of digital nowadays, but I absolutely love those well recorded, master tape cut vinyl records.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2019
  13. Jeffreylee

    Jeffreylee Rock 'n' Roll Typist

    Location:
    Louisville
    This is an unbelievably lame comment. Lazy, too. There are many tens of thousands of records released every single year. Taylor Swift releases one every two or three years.

    Were there not any clouds to yell at today?
     
  14. sberger

    sberger Dream Baby Dream

    Actually, no(see attached). Record stores are opening and thriving in areas populated by younger buyers with money who are looking for both old and new titles on vinyl. Old buyers like you(and me) might like vinyl, but a lot of our generation have led to the resurgence by selling off collections built over the years in an attempt to downsize in retirement, or help meet financial needs.

    Vinyl buyers in the U.S. by age 2018 | Statista
     
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  15. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    On vinyl?
     
  16. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Vinyl releases for new albums are pretty standard now in my observation.
     
  17. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    I think it is pretty difficult to accurately assess what people are buying on LP among different age groups for a couple reasons: one, I'm not sure the stats take account of used vinyl sales, which are considerable. Two, though I'm sure there are plenty of young people that make up the market for new vinyl sales, I don't think they are limited to 'classic rock'-- based on various discussions I have with younger people here (hardly definitive), their interest is wide ranging- jazz, blues, folk as well as hard psych, a smattering of classical.
    I'm still a buyer just shy of age 65- but it's largely obscure stuff at this point. The 'classic rock' LPs were already pretty well represented in what I owned since the 1970s. (I'm not sure I have many copies that I bought in the '60s-- too much time has passed and too many moves since then). I did make an effort in 2006 to fill in some gaps and buy better pressings of some of the records I cared about, but the vast majority of those upgrades were older copies.
    If and when the youth fad part dies off (and every fad dies off- right now, it's common for trendy hotels to have cheap little turntables in guest rooms--kind of the last thing I want to do when i'm travelling is to 'spin vinyl'), it may bring down prices on some stuff. I see common records listed for far more than they are worth- is this a reflection of scarcity or simply an attempt to capitalize on an overheated market? (I suspect for the common records it's the latter).
    If you look at market prices for different records using Popsike or other sources, you'll also see some volatility in price of given records over time. I acquired a really strange proto-rock record that had sold for close to 2 grand within the last ten years. I found a 'sealed' copy and it is a rare record. Valuations the last time I checked were about 1/2 of what the peak was; on the other hand, some relatively rare jazz records that sold for $60 a decade ago are going for high three figures now. I'm not sure if these prices will drop if the 'trendy' part of the market flattens, because these are presumably being purchased by well-heeled collectors, not youngsters new to vinyl.
    But, give young people credit- they have taste and interests they develop over time just as we did. I don't think, even in the heyday of the LP, that the 'average' consumer had thousands of records. Those of us who are into this are a bit off the deep end. Which is why we are called enthusiasts, audiophiles, collectors, etc. So, even if the trendiness of 'vinyl' dies, there will still be 'deep' buyers. And I think those will include a younger generation that has been taken in by the allure of the LP.
     
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  18. Jeffreylee

    Jeffreylee Rock 'n' Roll Typist

    Location:
    Louisville
    Yes. All you need do is check Amazon’s weekly new music releases and note which titles are available on vinyl. Young bands especially wouldn’t be caught dead without an LP.
     
  19. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    Got it. I'm surprised!
     
  20. Kurt RUhlin

    Kurt RUhlin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I don’t understand this. If you are buying new records from a brick and mortar store and they won’t accept returns on defective product you need to find a new store. I buy most new vinyl from a local store because I know they will take it back without question -always -if it’s defective. If I don’t do my homework and pick up a record by some cheap label pressed from cd, that’s on me. But if the pressing is noisy or otherwise defective, they will replace it or refund me. The owner of my local store understands this and knows this is the reason I pay a few extra dollars to buy from them versus a major online retailer.

    They provide a listening station for any used vinyl, you can play the album through a technics turntable connected to a classic pioneer receiver and headphones and make sure it fits.

    By the way, this local store also provides a web site that will allow me to preorder any release at a 20% discount (including premium labels as mofi and one step, box sets).. they will replace any of these that are defective also. I preordered one of each of the four MoFi Dire Straits due out later this month (hopefully) and saved $40 on standard retail price. My choice to pick up at store or free delivery.

    Find a good local store if you have one nearby. Mine does care about both quality and customer satisfaction.

    The customer service from this store beats any other I know, regardless of the product. Good retailers are out there.
     
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  21. Kevin j

    Kevin j The 5th 99

    Location:
    Seattle Area
    As a vinyl lover, it’s pretty damn great these days.
     
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  22. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    They screwed the artwork by not reproducing the original inners with track info. I'm on the fence on that one v my original Holland pressing. They either add extra artwork or omit essential artwork. Both sleeves and pressings all over the place.
     
  23. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    The amount of titles now available on vinyl has got to be a positive especially with the pricing and quality of original pressings available. Many originals are great but I think the vast majority are overrated both in terms of sound and availability in acceptable condition. So many are dull and muddy with obvious frequency range cuts or thin and bright sounding. Often a hi-res file masterd well to vinyl is better. Depends on source availability - lost or damaged tapes or masters lost forever in the Universal fire. For instance if you want decent sounding Carpenters the original pressings are the only way. In some cases we are likely stuck with CD. However there are so many instances were an all analogue cut is not being done for convenience as most popular artists get archived to hi-res digital. Sending a file attachment to pressing plants such as GZ is now just too easy. They even master it for vinyl for you.

    Should have mentioned that most new titles now come out on vinyl (maybe more than CD) but digital source of course. Usually better mastered than the CD version which is probably driving the market for younger buyers as much as the 'cool' factor. Standards would improve if many didn't expect crackles and pops to be part of the experience. On the other hand I have heard sellers complain of the opposite, in buyers expecting CD like backgrounds. The vinyl revival has been very real for about 10 years now.
     
  24. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    And a lot of LPs are getting vinyl and digital release, no CD. Which, for someone who prefers a £10 CD to a £25 LP, is annoying.
     
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  25. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Well, there's certainly not more music being release on vinyl in 2019 than there was in, say, 1977 when pretty much every new record released was being released on vinyl and there were 345 million net LP shipments in the US and 534 million singles. That's not at all the case today. In fact in the last two weeks I've bought a couple of new albums -- the Tomeka Reid Quartet album Old New, the Tyshawn Sorey/Marilyn Crispell duet album The Adornment of Time, Kris Davis' Diatom Ribbons. These titles are available for download, on CD, and in on case, via streaming, but there's no vinyl on any of them (which is OK by me, I still listen to my old vinyl, but I'm not in the market for new vinyl).

    Vinyl net unit shipments in the US last year were like 17 million units. That's a huge increase from 900K in 2006, but it's still a marginal part of the overall music universe. There may be more music being released across all formats on an annual basis now that ever before, that I think is almost certainly true. But, no way there are more more titles on vinyl annually than there was back when vinyl was the dominant music format.
     
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