Overheard a teenager say "vinyl is better because it's analog" and I almost agreed

I was at a record shop last Saturday and this kid told his friend that vinyl sounds better "because it's real sound waves, not fake digital stuff." I used to think the exact same thing back in 2012 when I first started collecting. Then I actually looked up how records are mastered and realized most modern vinyl is pressed from digital files anyway. Has anyone else had their whole "vinyl superiority" thing shattered by basic research?

3 comments

3 Comments

wrenh658d ago

Wait, didn't you feel that little sting in your gut? I did the same research thing about two years ago. Found out my favorite pressing of a 2010s indie rock album literally comes from a 24-bit digital master. Felt like a total clown for a week. But I still spin my old jazz records from the 60s, because those were all analog all the way down. Modern vinyl is just a fancy nostalgia tax for most people.

ryan_ellis7d ago

I read this thing a while back that said something like 80% of vinyl records cut after 1990 come from digital sources. @wrenh65 you are right about that sting, I felt it too when I looked up one of my favorite records from the 2000s and found out it was just a straight digital file pressed to wax. That whole idea that vinyl is always warmer or more natural falls apart when you realize the source was a computer recording to begin with. But I still buy new vinyl sometimes, I just don't pretend it's something it's not anymore. The old jazz and blues records from the 50s and 60s though, those are the real deal for sure.

piperwhite8d ago

Hold up, some 60s jazz was recorded analog but mixed to tape that got copied digitally later.