I Tried Going Back to Vinyl

[Anonymous]

I'm old enough to have had an actual record player in my house when I was a kid. We weren't allowed to touch it, but it was there, sitting in the corner, but even then, rarely if ever used. I grew up on cassettes and CDs, and then as we all know, everything after. So why vinyl? Why now?

In truth, I bought the cheapest record player I could find on Amazon for an upcoming 70's themed retro photoshoot I'm collaborating with a fellow photographer on. We needed some retro items, and understandably, couldn't find a record player or most outdated tech anymore in thrift stores that wasn't in shambles, so I figured, why not buy it, and maybe get some use out of it after the shoot. So, an Amazon purchase and several eBAY vinyl purchases later, I set out to discover, if you can ever really go backwards again.

I'll be honest, I had to Google how you are actually use a record player. I'd never gotten to touch the one of my youth, so I had no clue. I fell down a youtube rabbit hole with a bunch of music geeks warning me about touching the records with my oily hands, and making sure to use record cleaner and brushes designed for the surface, and storing the records upright to prevent warping. I was starting to feel like this was a hassle already.

When the record player arrived, I must admit, the suitcase it came in, in a retro color blue was awesome. I was getting kind of excited to see what, if any, the hype was about. Those music geeks were all piping up about how records were pure sound, and the tangible beauty of holding the vinyl in your hand. Was it all of that?

I had ordered two, two record special records, and 1 solidary one, all 2 sided. The thing I loved most was opening them up and seeing the full album art and lyrics. I grew up mainly on CDs, so I remember the cover inserts and booklets that could fan out, but THIS, this was cool seeing these big nearly 14 inch booklets, some coming with additional bits and bobs inside.

Having learned what I learned, I put on some white gloves to carefully place my new records in the player and began what I thought was going to be a transformative experience and a a bit of time travel in memory. I was transported for a few seconds, but eight minutes later, after belting out one of my favorite songs of all time, I was ANNOYED!!! The record stopped after just two songs. TWO. I had to then get up, walk all the way across the room to then put the gloves back on to then flip the record over to play...just TWO more songs.

Now I thought, now I have realized the error of my ways. I work from home except when I'm on photo jobs, and am always listening to endless playlists on all manner of streaming services that go on for hours as I get work done. They build my mood and help me get through long days, but this was a reminder, a huge one in fact, that maybe you shouldn't go back again. Don't get me wrong, the sound was wonderful, I enjoyed seeing the records spinning, the suitcase was cool, the booklet artwork, was definitely a plus, but I could not abide by just being able to hear two songs and then needing to do a whole production to continue my listening experience.

My thoughts on the overall experience are thus. If you're a music geek and you just want to go back again or experience what it was like to use a record player for the first time, by all means, I'll not stop you, but streaming is basically free these days and I need a lot of music in my day, and this did not satisfy, not even a bit. This is something I'll pull out of a dusty closet for future shoots or maybe display if I can ever find a legit space for it, but I'm glad I only bought the three records, because Vinyl isn't cheap. Brand new, per record, it's about $25-$30 (hence why I bought them off ebay), which if you want 10 of these, you may be looking at a $300 price tag. Insane! You can also forget the thrift on these. All I found there were Christian Tabernacle Bands, and vintage Children's records and anything else was already cracked and broken and overpriced at about $10-$15/record.

All in all, I'm leaving the record player in the past. I enjoy the fact that we have music at our fingertips in the 21st century and that I don't need to haul out a suitcase to listen to one song. I'm not ready to give up the diversity of sound, or the ability to listen anywhere, any time, for as long as I want and to anything and everything all at once.

[WindAtMyBack]

There is a reason why other media took over. Some audiophiles claim vinyl sounds better, but I'm not convinced. For one thing, it's subjective.

I had hundreds of vinyl records, probably well over a thousand. I honestly don't remember what happened to them all. I still have a very small number, probably less than 50. But they are mostly the left overs from garage sales after being picked through, and all the good ones selling.

After getting my first computer with a CD drive, someone told me you could play music CDs on it. I wasn't sure if it was true, but just to find out I went out and bought a used music CD to try it out. It worked. Then next day I bought a bunch more CDs. I started scouring the used CD stores and buying about 10-15 per month.

It was great. The CDs were mostly CDs I used to own on vinyl since I was already familiar with them. I heard things in the music that I'd never heard before. I heard a lot of nuances that I'd missed on vinyl. Sure, I wasn't listening to vinyl on a high end stereo. But with a cheap CD drive in my computer I could hear the music anew.

[Shiprex]

If quantity is what your after then streaming is for you. Quality though will not be as perfect as the analogue (real actual electrical signal not a number sequence) sound quality of the vinyl and the streaming service which is like the stepped interpretation of the smooth curve shown below.

Streaming is even more blocky than CD format above fyi.

[DeeDeeDeVour]

There was a time (many years ago) when my husband & I were die hard audiophiles.

Out of the 6 record players we bought together, we kept 4 manual direct-drive & semi-automatic direct-drive turntables.

We still have a very large, well-mainted collection of vinyl albums & singles.

Unfortunately, we haven't paid attention to our record collection lately.

I think I'll revive our passion for vinyl records appreciation.

Thanks for giving me the idea.

[purplepoppy]

The real reason people say vinyl sounded better was people were young back then, their hearing was a lot better. Now the only people who remember vinyl are over 50 so when they hear the same songs today through modern equipment even though the sound is good they don't hear it the same way.

[Shiprex]

I disagree and have seen (heard) the comparison between true analogue and digital music on a high quality sound system (this was back in uni before you were born) but it was comparing a CD with a vinyl recording and one could hear "more" with the analogue than the CD (this was music before streaming which was about 1400 kbps. Modern streaming is about 250kbps so it's lower and therefore less quality than in your hand CD. Speakers or headphones though today are probably the key component that determines how good it sounds.
Hearing can distinguish between the two and it's subtle but the analogue sound seems to have more body which is a difficult concept to grasp or explain. Like hearing an instrument live versus hearing it through your phone almost.

[Nikki1989]

False. I started collecting big time in 2001-2002 when CDs were king, Vinyl was even superior especially back then. CDs have improved since, though.

[Shiprex]

@Nikki1989 CD bit rate hasn't changed one bit because it's a 16-bit depth as standard. DVD may have higher depth based on the format used

[FreyaRed]

Some vinyl sound better but not because they are technically better than CD or other digital format, but those vinyls are better up-mixed. I have heard an ABBA CD from 1985, vinyl version from 1985 and new remastered CD from 2010 on High quality headphones connected to hifi A/B-Class amplifier. My personal opinion CD from 1985 and vinyl was way better than CD from 2010. Newer CD was loud and I would said as music noob over normalized and had unnatural loudness. However CD from 1985 was better than vinyl because there was no cracks and sound was more dynamic. I have no clue why music studios do such unprofessional remastering that sound worse than the original but I guess they want to sell 10 years later normally remastered content again.

[myTake Owner]

With vinyl though, there is a lot of work long term to maintain crisp quality. You can't just toss these things around even in the cover. If you're not cleaning them and conditioning them after a while, you hear those horrible crackles. Cds had the hard case at least, and to me, the sound was definitely superior to the cassette before it, but I think in the modern era, they're just churning them out (when I say modern, I mean when CD's were it) to make the buck with far less discerning fans of pure sound as it were.

[exitseven]

Usually vinyl record albums have 5 or 6 songs per side. It holds between 30-45 minutes of music. I never used gloves to handle records. I just hold them by the edges. I always liked reading the liner notes and the album itself was often very interesting. Vinyl recording is an analog process and has a more natural sound.

I must have over a hundred record albums and still have my Technics direct drive turntable. I listen to records once in a while but there are a few records that I always play at Christmas.

I could tell you the technical reasons why vinyl records sound better than digital but you might be bored. If you DM me I will give you the lesson I give my students.

I was brought up with vinyl and was sort of an audiophile. I still have an old stereo receiver and a pair of KLH 6 speakers.

H. H. Scott 342-c Made in USA

[contentious]

Gloves? You're crazy. Just slide it out of the sleeve, put it on the stage, turn it on, raise the needle and put it on the song you want to listen to. Full albums usually have 6-7 songs per side. You can keep a stack of records or a milk crate of them by your record player. Being anal is never fun. You bought the music to listen to it, so do that rather than acting like you're handling the original copy of the constitution.

[myTake Owner]

They are mine so I can do what I want with them if that's okay with you, LOL

[contentious]

I guess you're not happy unless you're unhappy.

[Nikki1989]

My husband and I are both audiophiles, and we have high-end stereo equipment, so vinyl sounds spectacular. We would buy all our music on vinyl if it was possible.

Streaming sucks ass. Why stream when you lose at least 50% of the original recorded product?

[MisterWack]

I have some vinyls, really love the aesthetic also seeing the large Album front Art.
Physically holding an album is a magical experience to me ngl.

[myTake Owner]

That really is the part I really loved. I could see why back, people would spend hours in a record store. CD's were really my era, and I can't remember ever spending real time looking at racks of cds or having deep discussions about music over them.

[MisterWack]

Yeah exactly, CDs were ‘convenient’(still are).
Like you pickup and leave. Vinyl Albums you looked through all them since you can’t take a lot home with you since they take up a lot of space / you really wanted to make it count. You engaged with people that know music, love music, and all which they would share new album releases / bands you never heard of / advice on what is worth a listen.
There were even copies of albums for record stores to use as ‘promos’ for new audiences to give a listen before deciding to buy it. Record Stores were amazing! CDs, Cassettes, etc. could never give that kind of experience. I am from CD era too.

[wynn-ing]

Vinyls now are like buying physical copies of games (well, the ones you own outright lol) - cool as collectibles but not... alll that worth it. Maybe I'm too young.

[myTake Owner]

I think it's worth it to people who are really REALLY into it. I have old game systems that I've held on to, and they are fun to dust off every once in a century, but then you run into the reasons why you're glad we've collectively moved on.

[fonduegirl]

Record players made you realise the importance of songs as artwork.

Nowadays, in Spotify age, people listen to 500 different songs and can't memorize ten of them without looking it up

[LiamJHayden]

I still have some vinyl and my dad's old linear tracking turntable, but I have only really used it so that I could digitize some albums that are unavailable on CD. Then I have to use various tools to clean up any pops or clicks, etc.

[myTake Owner]

Yeah, its definitely something I am not used to having to do in this era. Cassettes were a pain, especially if they got stuck and you had to wind them, but other than skipping, and cracking them on accident, CD's were pretty good, but now, definitely I feel spoiled having "gone back in time with vinyl," that there isn't anything tangible to really have to deal with.

[NicholasRedone]

Everyone has their moment of weakness or where they fall short - Asker, lady, don't blame yourself for going back to - pauses - vinyl ( weeps)

[Sal_Monella]

I have 75# of vinyl in the cabinet. Back to the mid 60s

[myTake Owner]

Wow, pretty awesome.

[Anonymous]

I like vinyl too, very interesting myTake.

[strateguy632]

helpful