Is the Vinyl Revival well and growing?

I would like vinyl to continue at a sufficient level of popularity to maintain production, but don't really care if it continues to increase in popularity. There are a ton of used albums available - enough to supply needs for any foreseeable future.

I once lucked out and bought around 100 classical albums from an elderly lady whose grandson had worked at a classical college radio station, that had unloaded their vinyl and gone to digital. She never played them and while some had been played a few times for on air play, many were sealed promotional copies (which I promptly unsealed and listened to).

But that's classical - good luck trying to find an Iron Butterfly album that doesn't sound like it spent a year as the bottom of a hamster cage.

All my old albums spent years stacked on record changers. Probably nothing worse for condition or playback. I remember having so many stacked on there that when the last album fell it would slip on top of the other ones and effectively slow the rpms. 

Looking for great vinyl at cheap prices? Look for them in the wild, i.e. thrift stores. I found about 3 dozen in the last week. $1 to 1.50. Amazing stuff. Doesn't happen all the time but they show up all together in one place at the same time as a donation. Takes patience. Also you'll find stuff so rare you never see it anywhere else. Lots of mono stuff as well.

terry1229

Hm...What advertising will do to the young and impressionable! All this vinyl rage is the latest fad and advertising scam.

That is merely naive cynicism masquerading as insight.  And it already puts you as out of touch.  Cynics were yelling "fad, it won't last" 10 years ago.  And it has only grown for 12 years straight, often by double digits, with still more pressing plants opening up, and planned to open.
The time is long past to be able to call it a mere "fad."  

I have used digital as my main delivery system since CDs came along, and continue to use a digital server, so I'm quite familiar with digital sound quality.  I also have a great turntable and a lot of old and new vinyl, and vinyl can offer not only superb sound but also a different ownership and interaction experience that many find valuable.   
When I receive a vinyl album, beautifully designed in terms of feel and artwork, and which produces sound quality that I absolutely love, that is hardly being "scammed."  It's actually getting something I value for my money.


To think that the only options are your view on sound reproduction...or that someone is falling for a "scam" is to say the least, blinkered and unreflective thinking.   

But I know many people like to think this way as it is ego-stroking; it casts themselves as "seeing behind the veil" and others as mere sheep being fleeced.

 

Well, I sold my SOTA Sapphire vacuum TT several months ago and it now resides in an all analogue system and the owners is over the top with it.  My audio pal gets all the new Blue Note LP reissues and they sound very nice on his new Technics 1200, but to my ears, no better than the sound from his Modwright-modified Oppo CDP. 

My most valuable upgrade was to an Ayre QB-9 DAC, through I play my digitized music from an external HD, plus I stream Tidal Hifi.  The music now sounds analogue to my ears.  

I personally think this resurgence of interest in analogue is a passing fad.  20 years ago, I would not have said that, but the new DAC's are incredible.  Buy what you want is my best advice, there is no wrong path to audio nirvana.