LP Records

[ThomasT561081]

Was not able to find any topics in regard to the LP record or Vinyl as it is more commonly called. I was wondering if any others are out here who still buy, sell and collect records. I have a modest collection of 2500 records or so with a couple of turntables etc. and listen on a regular basis.  Although the sale of vinyl has been growing every year it still only represents a small fraction of total music sales and I feel it is a generational thing that will say within the next 25 years be gone expect for perhaps a few diehards.

I just don’t see the next generation having the patience to deal with records, especially since they seem to be song orienteered not album orienteered and we know records don’t lend themselves well to playing side 1 track 2 and 5 and then switching to another album side 2 track 4.

[Raynyky]

What’s interesting is that millennials account for most of the sales.  I still buy vinyl and listen mostly on a weekend when I’m relaxing. I tend to buy LP’s that I never owned or to hear something different. There something magical when the needle hits the groove, especially with a glass of bourbon. 

;

[ThomasT561081]

Ah vinyl along with a glass of bourbon a man after my own heart. I'm now approaching over 4000 records still collecting an enjoying, long ago giving up on the debate over which sounds better analogue of digital to me they are two very different experiences.  I've heard good and bad from both formats. We forget that back in the late sixties they were using high frequency filters and compression while cutting vinyl in order to play down to the lowest common denominator. I remember taping dimes and pennies to the top of the head shell on the cheap turntables I had in an effort to keep the stylus in the grooves on records that where cut too hot. If you ever get an opportunity to play an original 60's copy of an album and then listen to a new 180 gram remastered version with all the filters and compression gone (new turntables can handle it) you will be amazed at the difference.

[BobH07]

I used to be a collector and player of vinyl. I belonged to the Keystone Record Collectors of Central PA. At one point, I had over 10,000 45s and 3000 LPs. 

Time and space became an issue and made the stupid decision to sell it all. Worst decision ever.

I passed on my love of vinyl along to my youngest son and enjoy doing some searching for him.

[DarcyFarrow]

I have several collector's LPs in vinyl.  It's a format I prefer, not just for the superior sound, but also for the wonderful artwork in the covers and the interesting production quirks.  For example, my Police albums, when held up to the light, reflect different colors, and on all of Kate Bush's albums there is a "KT" symbol hidden away, either in the art or in the vinyl.

Some albums/singles have secret messages etched into the vinyl, for example, on Kate Bush's single "The Man with the Child in His Eyes," the message is "The child hides in the light."

I miss those days, sitting around with my friends and a magnifying glass to discovers all an album's secrets.

[Cirice]

I still have most of my old vinyl records. I buy new ones, too. I'm not sure how many I have because I've never counted them.  I just go by how much space they take 😁

I have three turntables but I only have one of them hooked up right now. It's an Onkyo and it sounds really good.

[MaVolta]

This out on Rolling Stone today - -

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/vinyl-now-makes-one-third-of-the-money-in-physical-mus...

CD sales the lowest since 1986, vinyl at its highest since 1988. Time marches in a circle, it seems. 

[MaVolta]

I think that the current vinyl fad is only for a few serious collectors, and music purists. It takes up a lot of space, and then there is the turntable set up to deal with.

We ditched our vinyl and turntable some years ago. It's just much easier to wi-fi from the computer to the receiver. It also allows the flexibility to create a variety of playlists, which I enjoy doing. Can't say that I miss the vinyl, but I haven't shed all of the CDs yet, even though I have most of them digitized now. There are some that are worth playing all the way through on the CD player that is next to the receiver.

[fffred]

I also maintain my collections of vinyl (and CDs). Mine is more modest, maybe a third of your collection. I still spin these once in awhile... but generally I listen to streaming on YouTube, Google Music, and Pandora. But it's nice to break out the LPs every so often.

I'm on my second turntable since 1975: another B&O purchased around 1994 (this one lacks the rosewood base but has a tangential arm). Yes, not quite audiophile but I like that it turns itself off, and the tracking force/mass has no comparison. I have been tempted to upgrade it.

It's funny how the golden-eared listeners (mostly jazz and classical) hopped on CDs first. Then later the golden-ears reverted back to a much higher level of vinyl. Myself, I just can't see $20,000 turntables (and even more)...then you need the cartridge on top of that. Or the cables that cost like $100 a foot. For my original 1975 Klipsch Heresy II speakers I just use... well, I was using lamp cord but "recently" I did get some speaker wire with oxygen-free copper.

I agree that within a generation or so (the 25 years) there will be very little vinyl. It will likely be the province of super rich eccentrics. (as those $50,000 turntables are now).

Keep up the good "fight"!   🙂

[ThomasT561081]

Ah a Klipsch person after my own heart, I had a pair of La Scala's for years and more recently sold those for a pair of La Scala's II, great speakers to fill a room with a mere 11 watts from my tube amps. Yes the prices of high end stuff is insane, $300,000 Turntables and $25,000 1/2 meter interconnects! I do believe that the law of diminishing returns rules supreme in the audio equipment world and one just has to find that sweet spot for the biggest bang for your buck.

[nyadrn]

I no longer have any vinyl. Electronics has replaced all of it.  It is just the convenient alternative.  

The last record  store I was in was in New York in lower Manhatten. Can’t remember the name but it was famous and had been there for years. Not sure if it still is. It was a wonderful look back in time.  Heck I remember when Virgin Records was a huge  store right on Times Square.  No more.  

Good topic. Thank you.