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[antenna]

The RIAA says vinyl revenue hit $1.4 billion in the US last year, the highest figure in four decades.

https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/vinyl-record-sales-continue-to-rise-amid-music-streamings-dominance-142131328.html

[antenna]

Wow.

 

[zybex]

I'm waaay ahead, I've gone back to cassette tapes 

Edit: I was joking, but there's also nostalgia for it:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-cassette-tapes-are-making-a-comeback-and-its-not-just-a-fad-e5b2c190

I believe this always happens with old tech and it won't get further than a niche market for older generations due to nostalgia, the belief that "everything was better in the good ol'days". Same with old cars, old books and new women.

[Outlaw Audio]

I'm waaay ahead, I've gone back to cassette tapes 

Edit: I was joking, but there's also nostalgia for it:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-cassette-tapes-are-making-a-comeback-and-its-not-just-a-fad-e5b2c190

I believe this always happens with old tech and it won't get further than a niche market for older generations due to nostalgia, the belief that "everything was better in the good ol'days". Same with old cars, old books and new women.

For the most part I side with your sentiment however, I'm not sure this is just a "niche market for older generations" whether due to nostalgia or whatever.  I've run across a lot of 20-30's somethings that swear up and down that vinyl "sounds better" to them.  I'm not going to attempt to resurrect the argument of which format is better, is higher fidelity, or more accurate.  Were all different and the enjoyment of listening to music is not just an aural phenomenon.  There are many aspects of our senses that add (or detract) from the experience. that cannot be measured or quantified. 

I'm not even going to touch the "new women" topic

[antenna]

I'm waaay ahead, I've gone back to cassette tapes 

Edit: I was joking, but there's also nostalgia for it: ...

Yeah, I knew you were joking.

I had a high-quality cassette deck that used constant current for the recording heads, instead of the usual constant voltage  (Harman Kardan CD491). The result was a smooth response down to 17Hz or so, none of the usual bumps in the bass range.  And that response extended up to beyond 20kHz. But I digress ...

I have to add, the radio station I now enjoy is now promoting a package (in honor of St Pat's Day, apparently) a collection of vinyl albums by Irish bands.

And when I view the current target.com weekly ad, I see a lot of space given to vinyl in the music area of the ad.

So, there does seem to be a new attention to vinyl.

One of the main reasons that I have read about is that, when a person buys a vinyl album, there is something to hold and read.

Purchasing a song via streaming does not seem to enable that physical contact with the music.

 
But for me, I'm about half-way through digitizing my vinyl.

I've taken a break, but eventually I plan to start up again.

 

[Scobie]

Yeah having the album cover in your hands, reading the notes, absorning the images while listening was absolutely part of the experience. I remember getting about 6 Beatles LPs one Christmas decades ago and poured over every inch of the sleeves. Even now when I hear one of the tracks I am transported to the album cover.

[syndromeofadown]

Most of my coworkers are into vinyl. They are all bit hipster doofusy. I have given them hundreds of vinyl albums.

At the dumps here there are free stores. In the past they were unmanned dumps, so there was no staff to steal anything good. I got boxes upon boxes of records. Mostly Rock and Metal, some country. I also have quite a few records that came with deluxe versions of albums I purchased. I haven't played a record more than a couple times. I actually gave away my phono preamp too.

I have no problem with vinyl, except for the price. Anything over 30 dollars CAD is nuts. I see a lot of records for 80 dollars or more.

My coworkers say that vinyl sounds better. Most of them have 100 to 150 dollar turntables with build in phono amp, but they use bluetooth. They sent it to 100 dollar bluetooth speakers, or use 100 dollar headphones. So they have an analog record made from a digital master, converted to digital bluetooth, then output as analog through speakers.

I get the dynamic range argument for old recordings, but the typical situation I feel they are just adding clicks and pops. Or increasing their hipster cred.

What's wrong with them you ask? They grew up right after CD's died so all they have known is digital. But they all used youtube for music. I believe there was a thing with youtube rippers to get audio. The quality of this music is as bad as it gets, so maybe vinyl does sound better.

They seem happy, so who am i to rain on their parade. An interesting thing I noticed with my very young coworkers is that they do not own or know how to use a computer (our jobs require heavy use of computers). They can do gaming and they can figure out how to listen to music on youtube through their headphones of questionable quality.

Older people I know that would have grown up with vinyl have no interest in it. The one exception is if they want to play an existing collection, but with an existing collection comes an existing turntable. I do not know any older people buying vinyl.

I see SMSL and FIIO are releasing cassette players, and CD players. The cassette thing I find very strange. The CD player thing I suppose I understand. They are not too expensive. Just pointless. But you can't rip a disc with a phone.

There seems to be a return to physical media since streaming sucks now. I welcome this. If the hipsters acquire a taste for CDs, DVD, or bluray I will be a rich man. The return to physical should be good for business because sooner or later people will rip their collection.