2. analog
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Would vinyl even be invented today?

Records, cartridges and tonearms seem like such an unlikely method to play music--a bit of Rube Goldberg. Would anyone even dream of this today? It's like the typewriter keyboard--the version we have may not be the best, but it stays due to the path dependence effect. If vinyl evolved from some crude wax cylinder to a piece of rock careening off walls of vinyl, hasn't it reached the limits of the approach? Not trying to be critical--just trying to get my head around it.
128x128jafreeman
zachteich
8 posts
 
Well, let's look at the market for sound reproduction and make an educated, clean-sheet-of-paper guess. Hi-res digital, available as either download, stream, or SACD/DVD audio is out there already. It offers the essentially "perfect sound forever" promised, but not delivered, by CD. Hardware is expensive, but quite good examples may be had for non-stratospheric prices. IMHO, the combination of high quality sonics plus convenience plus affordability would doom the LP record to instant obsolescence should it come to market brand new today. Sad but in all probability true. Think back: remember the El cassette? How about digital audiotape? Those didn't work out so good, as I recall. LPs wouldn't either if brought to market now for the first time.
scvan
99 posts
 
i imagine he has hottter GF than most of us do know, but that is what happens with money, power, and inviting the internet ;)
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
That's right Scvan - He invited internet as a great invention, but people twisted his words.... :)
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Well, let's look at the market for sound reproduction and make an educated, clean-sheet-of-paper guess. Hi-res digital, available as either download, stream, or SACD/DVD audio is out there already. It offers the essentially "perfect sound forever" promised, but not delivered, by CD. Hardware is expensive, but quite good examples may be had for non-stratospheric prices. IMHO, the combination of high quality sonics plus convenience plus affordability would doom the LP record to instant obsolescence should it come to market brand new today. Sad but in all probability true."

Actually, high res formats brought vinyl back from the dead. When Sony disscontued support for SACD, and DVD-A didn't really go anywhere, they couldn't make TT's fast enough. What happened with those 2 formats is a direct cause as to why vinyl is doing so well today.
scvan
99 posts
 
Actually, high res formats brought vinyl back from the dead. When Sony disscontued support for SACD, and DVD-A didn't really go anywhere, they couldn't make TT's fast enough. What happened with those 2 formats is a direct cause as to why vinyl is doing so well today.

I'm not sure about that. From what I see at record stores it seems about 95% of record sales are people who have systems that would be better used for CD playback. A cheap CD player will almost always outperform a cheap TT with built in phono pre (numark/crosley).
The resurgence of vinyl is not about sound quality it is about hipsters being ironically cool.
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