Does anyone still use or like vinyl?

[mangerton]

Many thanks Gradus, I think mangerton should take the plunge (of course, I am supposing he has seven hundred quid to spare) because I think this would be not only a great buy for now, but an investment for the future.

OK, I know, spending other people's money is very easy ...

It certainly is, and great fun, too! Much as I would love a Nakamichi, I fear that price is rather more than the mangertonian pocket can bear at the moment.

[Dave2002]

I was quite recently in Dundee, and wandered into HMV. To my surprise they had more racks devoted to vinyl LPs than to classical CDs - though perhaps I shouldn't be surprised at the lack of space for classical - even the Scottish section seemed bigger. What was an additional surprise is that people (mostly youngish) were browsing through the LPs. Some of these were older, dating from the analogue age, but quite a few were recent (e.g. Taylor Swift)and made from digital masters. Mostly they also seemed to come with a "free" mp3 deal - "buy the LP and we'll give you an mp3 as well".

Don't younger people notice the problems with LPs - scratches, clicks, hiss, rumble etc. , or do they all have very good equipment which renders these problems insignificant? I also noticed accessories - such as record cleaning brushes, and maybe even cleaning fluid!

I have heard very good results from vinyl on expensive kit, with good LPs, but surely the faff to get to that is just not worth the bother.

[umslopogaas]

This is very odd, as previously discussed: why is today's youth keen on LPs, when CDs are so obviously superior? To be fair to vinyl, if it is a new disc, it shouldnt have any scratches, clicks, hiss or rumble, but secondhand old ones will very likely have the first two, probably the third, and the fourth if the turntable is cheap (or worn). However, with good equipment all these problems are minimised and, indeed, you can get very good results. It seems unlikely to me that most of younger listeners are keen on the audiophile qualities of LPs, I think they must just like the objects themselves, possibly for the cover art as well as the music.

[Dave2002]

Indeed - for £9.99 the HMV shop was selling frames like picture frames which could take an LP cover. Perhaps that's what the young people really want. More "image" stuff.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It isn't just "young people" - there are plenty of sales of new LPs of repertoire not readily associated with "young" people, and my most "local" "Classical Specialist" shop now has a shelf devoted to new release "Classical" LPs (and brand-new vinyl reissues of LPs from the '60s and '70s).

Enough buyers prefer the sound of vinyl to that of CD for it to be financially productive to the record companies and suppliers - it doesn't have to demonstrate the superficiality of "young people".

[MrGongGong]

All my cassettes sound shit.

No accounting for taste eh

(Skrewdriver always were crap)

https://www.studiospares.com/Accessories/Cassettes/Cassette-Ferric-90min-TDK-Maxell_142240.htm

[umslopogaas]

Indeed, I regretted the term "young people" as soon as I'd used it, it sounds patronising. However, from the perspective of my late sixties its hard to view teens and twentysomethings as anything else. The interesting thing is that for them, vinyl is a relic of their grandparents' (ie the likes of me) age; they and their parents would only have known CDs and they are probably most interested in downloads. And yet, there is a flourishing market for vinyl, as you say; both reissues of classic items from the vinyl era and brand new albums. For example, you can get a Speakers Corner reissue of Espana (SXL 2020) for twenty five quid; an original would cost close on ten times that, if you could find one. My local hifi shop sells a good selection of those, and also a rack full of brand new albums.

Interestingly, their brand new stuff is all rock and folk, none of it is classical. If as you say your local shop carries new release "classical" LPs, for some reason my shop doesnt. And certainly the majority of customers, as far as I have observed, are not "young people", though that may just be a reflection of the fact that its a very expensive shop and probably not many younger people have enough money to afford most of the stuff on sale. But whoever is buying it, vinyl still sells.

Do you think that younger buyers actually prefer the sound of vinyl to CDs? I wonder if their enthusiasm is for the object, rather than the sound quality. In fact, with good equipment, you'd need very good ears to tell the difference, because these days I believe both are produced using digital recording techniques - someone who knows about this correct me if I'm wrong.

Another rather random thought. I know older LPs were recorded and cut using valve equipment, and there are those who claim the sound is superior. Presumably if a new LP was made of a 1960s valve recording, the superior qualities would still be preserved, even though the new LP would be digitally produced?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Do you think that younger buyers actually prefer the sound of vinyl to CDs?

I know that some do - including the Jazz/Rock Combo who called themselves "Surface Noise" in honour of John Peel's comment in favour of vinyl, analogue sound.

I wonder if their enthusiasm is for the object, rather than the sound quality. In fact, with good equipment, you'd need very good ears to tell the difference, because these days I believe both are produced using digital recording techniques - someone who knows about this correct me if I'm wrong.

Again, the younger people that I know who have expressed a preference have based their judgement purely on rigorously tested (by my CD-loving self) aural grounds. You are right - the vinyl LPs used in the test were all analogue; I haven't tested anyone with digital-digital sources, and am highly unlikely to do so now. Nonetheless, there are intelligent people out there in their teens and twenties, who prefer the sound of vinyl. There well be contemporaries of theirs who just want the "image" and who are following some "trend" - but that's probably equally true of all age groups: the blanket term "younger people" isn't necessary

[pastoralguy]

'Katholnigg', the premiere classical cd/record shop in Salzburg, had an extensive selection of brand new classical and jazz lps when I was there a couple of years ago. They were, iirc, between £25 and £30 each. The woman who owned the shop told me that there was a steady demand for these albums from all ages. I did lust after a limited edition set of Karajan's 1970's recordings of the Beethoven symphonies that had been signed by the maestro himself. There were only 50 of this edition ever made, each signed by Herbie, and were as rare as hens teeth. Again, iirc, it was about £300. Mrs PG told me to buy them but common sense kicked in and I passed.

I did, however, buy a DECCA Lp of Oistrakh playing the Bruch 'Scottish Fantasy' and the Hindemith concerto which I had framed! It's produced by 'Speakers Corner Records'. Maybe one day it'll be worth something!

[umslopogaas]

pg, that Bruch/Hindemith disc is SXL 6035, which in its original, first-label issue would cost you at least a hundred quid, if you could ever find one. I never have, and lust after one, but I fear it is now out of reach, I'm not prepared to pay that sort of money. I dont think the Speakers Corner reissue will ever be worth more than the twenty five quid it cost new, unless (unworthy thought) you can convince some innocent collector it is an original. This is something that worries me, as a collector, because I have carefully examined some SC discs and I cant find any difference from the originals, so one day I may be tempted to fork out a lot for a disc, only to find (if I can ever discover the differences) that it is a SC reproduction.

[visualnickmos]

Great thread, this one. Just an aside; I'm surprised at just how many CDs seem to achieved collector's and 'hen's teeth' status. All in a relatively short timescale.....

Discuss and evaluate!

[umslopogaas]

visualnickmos, that is interesting to me. I have collected classical LPs for many years. I regularly buy CDs and have done since they first appeared, but I dont "collect" them in the sense of wanting to acquire them in any methodical way, I simply buy a few each month on the strength of reviews in Gramophone magazine. I have often wondered about their value as collectors items - the oldest must be over thirty years old - but have never investigated their ebay value (for instance). Can you provide a few examples of what CDs have collector's status? I may have to up my contents insurance ...

It would not be surprising to learn that some are now rare, and therefore valuable. I suspect some were only ever issued in small initial batches, and probably never reissued, particularly if they didnt sell well.

[richardfinegold]

I fancy my self an Audiophile (Audiofool), but I never understood the fetish of "Vinyl Is Better" until recently. I says this as someone who has invested in a fairly upscale turntable and phono preamp but while I can hear a difference between most vinyl and CDs, i wouldn't say that one is superior to the other.
However, I listen to Classical Music. It has recently come to my attention that Pop Music is horribly remastered in the digital era, and that many "Classic Rock" CDs sound just awful compared to the original lps. So yes, I do think that the younger generation (or at least a discerning subset of it) prefers vinyl, but I don't think they listen to Classical to the extent that forumites do.

[visualnickmos]

visualnickmos, that is interesting to me. I have collected classical LPs for many years. I regularly buy CDs and have done since they first appeared, but I dont "collect" them in the sense of wanting to acquire them in any methodical way, I simply buy a few each month on the strength of reviews in Gramophone magazine. I have often wondered about their value as collectors items - the oldest must be over thirty years old - but have never investigated their ebay value (for instance). Can you provide a few examples of what CDs have collector's status? I may have to up my contents insurance ...

It would not be surprising to learn that some are now rare, and therefore valuable. I suspect some were only ever issued in small initial batches, and probably never reissued, particularly if they didnt sell well.

Two that come straight to mind are (both EMI)

1) artist profile series (2 CD set) Leonid Kogan

2) Rostropovich - 'complete' EMI recordings 20+ CDs

[pastoralguy]

Two that come straight to mind are (both EMI)

1) artist profile series (2 CD set) Leonid Kogan

2) Rostropovich - 'complete' EMI recordings 20+ CDs

Both of which I'm lucky enough to own! I've made a hobby of collecting rare and old CDs and Mrs. PG is under strict instructions to sell mine asap and have a good holiday if I drop dead tomorrow!