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Sony pressing vinyl disks once again

Started by TelePlay, July 03, 2017, 10:00:37 AM

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TelePlay

This is interesting. I guess the analog affectionados, the no hiss perfectionists, hung in there long enough for the industry to take note. $900 million a year in sales is not peanuts but is it enough for other companies to bring back reasonably priced tube amp systems? The younger generations are discovering what most of us grew up with. A new long term trend or a flash in the pan?

Lot of old vinyl is worn out. How about a brand new pressing of your 60's favorite group?


"Sony to produce records again after 28-year break"

" Sony Music Entertainment said this week it will begin pressing vinyl records again, ending an almost three-decade hiatus.

A dramatic increase in demand for vinyl music in recent years prompted the move, a Sony spokeswoman said. Interest is coming from younger customers who have never used records before as well as older fans, she added.

Sony (SNE) -- whose artists include Adele, Beyoncé and Daft Punk -- ended production of vinyl in 1989 after CDs cornered the market.

But despite the current popularity of digital music services like Spotify, old school records are enjoying a renaissance. Consulting firm Deloitte forecasts the vinyl music industry will post double-digit growth in 2017 for the seventh year in a row, selling 40 million new discs and generating as much as $900 million in revenue. "

Fabius

Barnes and Nobles is selling vinyl. Not a big selection but a nice selection of currect artists. No oldies 8-(

My friend and I were visiting his son (who is 25) and I was very surprised to see he had a 1970s era Pioneer receiver and turntable. Along with classic rock LPs.

My son and family recently flew up from Houston for a visit and when my 16 grandson saw my stereo setup he told me he was getting a turntable.

Everything old becomes new again for another generation. 
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

HarrySmith

darn! I finally sold my collection of albums about 1 1/2 years ago. I had a few tubs full, probably thousands. A lot were promotional copies I got from a friend who's dad worked at a radio station. Some with cuts on them that did not make it inot the genbral public albums and a bunch of rare stuff. I dragged them from Connecticut to Florida and through several moves down here. Finally got tired of hauling them around at our last move and sold them to a friend for $100.00!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

mentalstampede

Good to hear. There is quite a backlog for record pressing right now, and quality control on new records is suffering as a result. A lot of the newer records I've gotten have had issues; some minor, some not.
My name is Kenn, and I like telephones.

"Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something." --Robert Heinlein

twocvbloke

#4
New vinyl is pretty good, my "newest" vinyl is Blur's "The magic whip" album, and for a modern pressing it's pretty good, though as a double album with three tracks per side, it does mean I can't just set & forget & have it play as you do things, it is one you have to sit by the turntable for and actually enjoy through headphones... ;D

It is funny how vinyl has made such a resurgence, with an era of optical and digital media having been the dominant factor for many, it does seem that people have realised that digital with all its' compression and "bandwidth saving measures, is actually quite terrible, the aforementioned album of mine, I have the official downloaded copy as included with a voucher inside the sleeve, and comparing the two, well, the vinyl wins hands down, as the digital one was encoded with itunes according to the file info at a low bitrate of 160Kbps, decent listening level compression is 192Kbs or higher, anything less and it's noticeably worse...

But all that said, people still like their convenience and portability, so vinyl's just a thing for us "odd people", but I'm happy with my Pioneer PL-400 with an Audio Technica AT95e, Cambridge Audio CA540p preamp, and homebrew line attenuator, nothing really fancy or audiophool grade, just happy ears... :)

Sargeguy

I still have most of my vinyl records, but my analog equipment is long gone.  Also, after all those concerts I cannot hear well enough to be an audiophile.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

twocvbloke

Quote from: Sargeguy on July 04, 2017, 12:08:27 AMAlso, after all those concerts I cannot hear well enough to be an audiophile.

Sad thing is, even an audiophool can't hear well enough, after all, they don't hear the people calling them mugs for paying so much money for shiny things that don't make a jot of difference...  ;D

One fun thing I forgot about earlier with vinyl and today's connected world is you can actually have your own records made (from single-sided 7" 45s to full albums on 12" 33s) just by uploading music to one of the many sites that offer such services, with most of them it's not pressed vinyl, but is actually cut vinyl similar to when they record onto lacquer before making the metal stamps, but use a form of vinyl that stands up to playback (unlike lacquer discs which wear out after a few plays), you can even have picture discs made too, it's not cheap, but if you're into making your own music or you feel like having your own compilation album (subject to copyright laws, of course) then there are people out there who can make it happen... :)

An example of such courtesy of Techmoan on Youtube, using the Cuba Baion he found on a Tefifon cartridge (which is like vinyl records and 8-track cartridges combined, but that's a different topic!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVZwPLzjqeI

andy1702

I bet Sony are laughing all the way to the bank, having convinced people to buy an out-dated format that is difficult to transport, fragile and wears out with playing so you have to buy another one!

I know a lot of people will argue, but I'm here to say for certain that digital recordings can (if recorded at the correct bit-rate) always be better than any analogue recording you care to mention.

The big problem with all kinds of recording media is that there still is not system that is archive safe. Magnetic tapes and discs degrade with magnetism, vinyl warps and cracks, while CDs and laser discs suffer from something called disc rot, where the silvering comes off, making the discs unplayable. There is also the problem of needing the correct hardware to play things back on. Old 2" video tape machines are now much in demand by TV stations who once threw them out for precisely this reason and it's often down to enthusiasts who have restored these machines to access recordings on old tapes on a station's behalf.
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mentalstampede

#8
Quote from: andy1702 on July 04, 2017, 09:08:37 AM
I bet Sony are laughing all the way to the bank, having convinced people to buy an out-dated format that is difficult to transport, fragile and wears out with playing so you have to buy another one!

Apropros.

Seriously though, I enjoy vinyl for many of the same reasons I enjoy old telephones. It is a part of our cultural and technological past, and these sort of things are all too easily forgotten. A few years ago, vinyl was all but dead, much like the rotary telephone. I have a few records, and I have a few antique telephones, but for daily driver use, I carry a smartphone and an iPod.  The vinyl gets played when I hant the entire experience of playing a record; the ritual aspect of dropping the needle and sitting and listening to music actively an LP side at a time. No skip button, and no distractions. And yes, an occasional pop, crackle, or surface noise!
My name is Kenn, and I like telephones.

"Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something." --Robert Heinlein