2. analog
  3. 1326644927

Analog is the new pink

I work with a lot of "kids" in their 20's who seem to think analog is cool, so they are buying cheap turntables and used vinyl and acting like they know the difference between the sound of records vs. CDs. I think it is great that they are discovering analog in an age that has gone digital, but in my experience CDs actually sound better when using lower end equipment. I didn't truly fall in love with analog until I was able to afford a serious system costing thousands of dollars. My ears are older now so I understand that I am not as able to hear certain frequencies, but my old ears can definitely hear the difference between good and bad sounding systems.
I am not complaining, just making an observation here. I also enjoy the fashion side of vinyl, but I wouldn't be listening to vinyl if I didn't have the great system that I own. It would not be worth the trouble. Thoughts?
128x128snackeyp
spinaker01
491 posts
 
There seems to be two discussions going on here. 1:Are the kids listening to vinyl because they hear an inherant improvement over digital sources available (They don't and aren't-its a cool factor as mentioned) and 2: Would they appreciate a system that was high performing and well matched. (possibly, but there is no guarantee. Afterall most of our significant others listen to the systems we have and still could care less, why assume mere expoisure will create interest? In some small cases it might-that 1/10 of 1% again. But hearing a difference and actually caring about it are two different things. Face it, we are a obscure sector of an already niche market...
jwglista
206 posts
 
The thing I don't like about this trend is that it's driving up the cost of used vinyl. The Half-Price Books in my area used to have very good prices on used vinyl about 3-4 years ago. But in the last 1-2 years, their pricing has become ridiculous. This one retailer of course does not represent the entire market, but it seems this may be related.
sarcher30
596 posts
 
Ditto on Half-Price Books. Their prices are ridiculous now. They don't clean the vinyl or put new outer sleeves on. They just slap a price on the jacket. The condition of their records are usually poor as well.
c1ferrari
464 posts
 
@ 01-16-12: Frogman

Right On! :-)
dmgrant1
55 posts
 
Yo,
My son is a junior in college. He has heard my system for years and wanted a turntable. So I got him some old gear 2 years ago and now he has a collection of 100 albums. Over New Years he had 6 college friends over to stay and party. I invited them into my stereo room and they all said it sounded a lot better than digital. 3 of the kids also had turntables. One kid asked her parent for a turntable and got a "Crosley" for Xmas.

They all still use digital as their main source.

One of the kids told me that he liked listening to records because you "had to sit down and listen to it- with digital you just punch a button and skip around."

My take on it is that out of this group there were some who were definitely into the "better" sound and some who were just into the "cool" factor of having a turntable.

Not making any judgments here, just reporting what I observed.
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