
The Secrets of a High-Quality Vinyl Record (2012) - evo_9
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/technology/personaltech/the-secrets-of-a-high-quality-vinyl-record.html?_r=0
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intopieces
It's a good guide for the gift buyer, but aspiring audiophiles beware: not
every vinyl pressing was mastered better than, or even different from, the
digital release. If you just get a kick out of vinyl's ritual and crack 'n'
pop you'll be fine. If you're hoping for better dynamic range, however, a
little research will save you a ton of disappointment.

~~~
mattdotc
I feel this is more true now than ever. Now that the vinyl resurgence has
hipsters everywhere picking up cheap turntables and their favorite albums at
Urban Outfitters, there's tons of companies out there trying to make a quick
buck off the fad.

There's no guarantee that the repress of your favorite album is sourced from
the original masters. I have found that the process of finding information on
the lineage of a given pressing to be hit or miss. Sometimes the only surefire
way is to wait a while and see what the community thinks of a given new
release.

~~~
cname
I feel like turntables never went away. It's always been cool/fun to have one.
I don't know what it has to do with "hipsters". Is my uncle a hipster? I doubt
it. And I'm pretty sure Real Hipsters don't shop at Urban Outfitters.

Edit: In case the point of my comment wasn't clear, it was that I think broad-
brush comments painting people as "hipsters" don't add any value. It's such a
meaningless thing to say. Associating "hipsters" with Urban Outfitters is
proof of that IMO, because that's where "normal" people shop. So, "hipster"
just seems like a way to say "someone I don't like for vague reasons" without
actually coming out and saying it.

For the record, I don't have a turntable and have no interest in vinyl.

~~~
qzxvwt
mattdotc's idea of a Real Hipster in the actual fringe, trend-setting-in-2016
sense may or may not be accurate, but that's not necessarily critical to
his/her intention behind using "hipster" — that people are buying into vinyl
culture for superficial reasons.

A point which I think wrongly implies that there is no substance to the
upsurge in record sales beyond profits. I feel like it also has a lot to do
with our increasing involvement in digital media / computer fatigue[1].
People's 200gb iTunes libraries have made them numb.

[1] [http://www.tokafi.com/news/computer-fatigue-and-rise-
human/](http://www.tokafi.com/news/computer-fatigue-and-rise-human/)

~~~
mattdotc
I actually agree with most of what you're saying, with the exception of the
interpreted implication.

I am ~30 years old with the collector's gene. I've always had an interest in
collecting things: from backyard rocks to bugs and frogs, to stamps, coins,
and books, to videogames, cassette tapes and CDs, and eventually - like you
said - MP3s (and TV, movies, and more games).

Getting into vinyl was my escape from the ridiculous cache of music and media
I had acquired from the likes of Napster, Kazaa, Soulseek, DirectConnect, and
torrent sites like Oink. It _was_ a numb feeling to have all that music and no
possible way to really appreciate it all. And even though I frequently
attended local acts' shows and some larger concerts, I did feel a bit guilty
that I wasn't paying for any significant part of my collection.

In 2006, I was among this new wave of vinyl hipsters. Yes, I had recently
learned about the loudness wars, and I had known about the claims of warmth
and other less-than-scientific reasons for why 'vinyl is better.' I have
always been a skeptic, and although I was curious to see for myself, I never
bought into any of that stuff beyond that _maybe_ there _were_ some album
releases that had crappy digital mastering for CD but much better vinyl
mastering.

I got out my dad's old Pioneer table and whatever good music I could rescue
from his collection. I replaced its belt. I was buying used vinyl at the last
record store in my area and chatting with the regulars, learning about new
bands from personal recommendations rather than a shotgun approach of
downloading whatever was in the top 10 for that day on a torrent site.

I liked having big artwork and big liner notes to read.

This new popularity has been great for someone like me who enjoys new music
and old. Someone who has a certain affinity to _owning stuff_. But it also
sucks sometimes to preorder a record and then get a flimsy record that sounds
terrible. I still maintain my digital collection which is a superset of my
vinyl collection, but that doesn't mean I still don't like to _listen_ to my
vinyl on the weekends. I buy it because I do like spinning it.

I do have my own opinions about certain new interested parties in the medium.
I also realize that this makes _me_ a hipster. I didn't mean to imply that
there is no substance behind it, but I can understand that interpretation
without the above details. I do, however, agree that there is now a not-
insignificant superficial element to this current wave of buyers and I think
this is why there are companies out there trying to take advantage of these
less-informed buyers.

It is only my opinion, but I think anyone that gets into vinyl because they
happened to see it at Urban Outfitters is probably among this uninformed set.
I mean, look at this thing[1]. A hardcore music fan would never want to listen
to their music on those built in speakers, and an informed shopper would never
spend $170 on that garbage, because they would realize that they could get a
much better entry level table for near the same price. The people that are
buying that gear are doing so because they want to project a cool image. And
right now, vinyl is cool.

[1][http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.j...](http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=37269347&category=A_MUSIC_TURNTABLE)

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steven2012
It's funny how on sites like HN, much of the herd will emote over how superior
vacuum tube amps and vinyl records are "better" than current technology,
despite the fact that science and math proves them wrong. It just goes to show
that there will always be a subset of people in all fields, regardless of the
level of technology or sophistication, that think they know better than
science and math. It's as absurd as a surgeon who is a deep believer in
astrology and who goes to visit psychics for life advice.

I actually lived through the vinyl era as well as ferric oxide and CrO2
cassettes, etc, and the advance from that to CDs you just can't even compare.
If you say you prefer the sound of vinyl records with its pops and fading
dynamic range, then that's your choice, but it's in no way superior to digital
audio.

~~~
have_faith
People like vinyl because of the whole experience. It is very ritualistic.
It's a slow and mindful process. The large physical artwork, the imperfect
"warm" sound, etc.

Mathematically perfect sound is not the goal for most. It's a certain
aesthetic and state of mind.

~~~
steven2012
If it's a preference, then that's perfectly reasonable as I already noted.
People prefer Subway to French Laundry but you can't argue that Subway is
"better".

And I believe you are wrong, in that most people, > 90% I would wager, WOULD
prefer mathematically perfect sound quality. Are you too young to have
witnessed how quickly records and cassettes died once CD technology became
available to the masses? We went from always having to hear a humming from the
background noise of the cassettes and records to almost perfect silence when
the music wasn't playing. I wager most people if they listened to every single
one of their songs played over record would prefer the sound quality that a CD
brings to the table.

~~~
korethr
I don't think people so much prefer mathematically perfect sound quality;
people want convenient music. MP3s are less than the "mathematically perfect"
quality of CDs, but far more convenient. A few hundred bucks spent on quality
speakers and the quality difference between an MP3 file and a CD/WAV/FLAC will
start to become apparent. But quality speakers aren't anywhere nearly as
convenient as earbuds.

Don't get me wrong, I love the bright sparkling highs and powerful rich lows a
CD through a quality set of speakers can bring, which vinyl can't. But I can't
take all my CDs and a pair of 3-way drivers and a subwoofer with me in my car,
on the bus, on my bike, at work, while grocery shopping, etc. But I _can_
conveniently achieve a reasonably good listening experience in those
environments with my phone, a collection of MP3s and an aux cable or a pair of
earbuds.

------
golergka
No mention of DJs and electronic music scene in the article at all? Just a big
blind spot instead?

~~~
ddingus
Huge blind spot.

