My Little Rant on Vinyl: Time for Turntables
Have you noticed? It's nearly summer but the season of vinyl is back! Yes yes...amidst all the long touted hype about CDs being the best audio format...and the fact that we usually listen to inferior sub compressed Mp3s via Itunes or Spotify...the best sonic warmth, clarity and fidelity has always been Vinyl. And guess what, Vinyl sales have been exploding.
Ever hear Pink Floyd's "Darkside of the Moon" on 160 Gram vinly? Or Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails or _________ (insert your favorite cool band here). It's pretty amazing and if you're 100% into music and have grown up more or less with Mp3s....you're probably missing out on what music really "sounds" like.
Because remember, when you're listening to Mp3s or online services like Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, Bandcamp...you're hearing a "compressed" music file. That means to make that song transmittable to you via the internet ... all the fidelity is squashed....mostly taken from the high ends and low ends.
And even though Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records are mostly releasing trash on their record label...at least they have a good idea going with trying to improve fidelity. The other thing is (and Jimmy's point as well) is that most of us are listening via headphone outputs which is like a $1.50 crappy audio card from China.
Solution...try looking into vinyl. I think you'll have some fun...It's not that expensive (really...compared to your tab last night at the bar) and most new cool releases are readily also available on vinyl. The artwork is amazing, great to display and beyond all...instead of digital "ones" and "zeroes" coming to you eardrums ... you get actual analogue warmth that surrounds your little indie or electro heart.
Here are some of my favorite turntables that you might want to check out.
Crosley CR6002A-BK Revolution Portable USB Turntable (Black)
Rega - RP1 Turntable - White
Marantz TT42P Fully Automatic Belt Drive Turntable with On-Board Phono EQ
Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Professional Direct-Drive Turntable
And there you have it! Thanks for checking out our rant on vinyl and turntables...I'm going to go now listen to Bjork's "Debut" on my 160 gram weighted vinyl...Bjork will be in my apartment whispering sweet nothings in my ear...oh in just about 5 minutes.
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