Why Vinyl's Boom is Over -- The Wall Street Journal (July 22, 2017)

Folsom said:
Well for digital to be tolerable it starts with power conditioning. And that isn't easy since few are really worth much. Its complicated in that there are lots of compatibilty issues.
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Agreed that digital tends to greatly benefit from good power conditioning. I have a $400 Tripp Lite isolation transformer (1000 W) that is medical-equipment grade (the audiophile stuff is mostly overpriced, imo). Works great.

Next you need a DAC or CD player with a good one. The DAC can be fed by an Oppo or a slew of computer stuff, you're in for at least $500 no matter what. The DAC is tough, I can't think of anything under $2k worth much. Even then I don't have any good answer for something I recommemd off the top of my head besides high end MSB maybe. Many things need mods to really be worth it.
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I have a CD transport, Simaudio Moon 260 DT, for $ 1.8 K, and a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC for $ 2.3 K (the price of the latter benefits from it being a direct sale item). Digital AES/EBU cable is MIT Proline ($ 1.4 K, I got it used for $700). That's a total of $ 4.8K (with the used cable). Highly resolving, highly involving, and remarkably free of digital artifacts (you really would have to look hard to find some if there are any). I'd be very surprised if a vinyl set-up (incl phono stage!) for that price could compete with it. Obviously, a $ 50 K vinyl set-up is in some ways a different ball game when it comes to reproduction.

Vinyl you can get a table used for $400, do a little dampening, get a power conditioner like SurgeX, and lots of phono preamp options that sound pretty good at nearly any price. Results will be very nice if chosen wisely. Its cheap to do stuff like stacking some plywood or whatever, lots of ways to add mass etc.
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That of course is tweaking, and not everyone can do that. I have no doubt that it can sound 'very nice', but highly resolving, musically accurate and with competitive dynamics? Doubtful.
 
The vinyl boom for the masses may be over, but it seems alive and well in the high end. There are new cartridges, tonearms, turntables and phono stages being designed and sold all the time. That WBF analog/digital poll has vinyl at 66% or something. Is there a digital boom in the high end? I read that sales of actual CDs are in decline. I don't know about high end digital downloads. Are they on the rise? Are they "booming"? From my own experience, high end digital sound is improving. Recent DACs I've heard are better than ever. Is digital music experiencing a boom, in the same terms as described in the WSJ article about vinyl? I have no idea.
 
PeterA said:
The vinyl boom for the masses may be over, but it seems alive and well in the high end. There are new cartridges, tonearms, turntables and phono stages being designed and sold all the time. That WBF analog/digital poll has vinyl at 66% or something. Is there a digital boom in the high end? I read that sales of actual CDs are in decline. I don't know about high end digital downloads. Are they on the rise? Are they "booming"? From my own experience, high end digital sound is improving. Recent DACs I've heard are better than ever. Is digital music experiencing a boom, in the same terms as described in the WSJ article about vinyl? I have no idea.
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Most consumed digital is MP3-type quality, so in that sense perhaps no 'boom' for digital music. Some would probably view the CD-quality streaming service Tidal as providing a 'boom' for digital, at least for the audiophile community that cares.

I agree that the vinyl boom in the high end shows no signs of slowing down, and why should it?
 
Al M. said:
That of course is tweaking, and not everyone can do that. I have no doubt that it can sound 'very nice', but highly resolving, musically accurate and with competitive dynamics? Doubtful.
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I think most can, but most won't do a little tweaking. It's sad, there is so much potential in something like an old Lenco L75, or even many direct drives. And you're welcome to stop by any time. I can toss in a cheap phono preamp to demonstrate. It's usually the dumpy speakers and amps people pair with vinyl rigs that are cheaper, that hold them back... Well, and the fact they don't even remotely setup the cartridge correctly. A Geo disc, and guess and tries with arm height can make utter worlds of difference before you even get to anything complicated.
 
I recently purchased a 500 LP collection from the daughter of a music lover who had a well chosen collection of opera and classical music assembled over the last 70 years. They are all in pristine condition as he had owned a RCM. I paid $150 or $0.30 each. For the most part they sound great and are delivering a lot of enjoyment, in addition to my own 3500 LP's collected over the last 50 years. I also have a very extensive digital library, and enjoy it too. Usually the vinyl is better. They both have their place.

I purchase new vinyl only occasionally, preferring to buy used- often at $1 per LP, sometimes more. Even though I have a lot invested in my very fine system system, I find it hard to shell out $30-50 for an LP. I've got to be pretty sure it's going to be excellent. It's all about the music!

There will be many more fine collections coming to market in the coming years.
 
PeterA said:
The vinyl boom for the masses may be over, but it seems alive and well in the high end. There are new cartridges, tonearms, turntables and phono stages being designed and sold all the time. That WBF analog/digital poll has vinyl at 66% or something. Is there a digital boom in the high end? I read that sales of actual CDs are in decline. I don't know about high end digital downloads. Are they on the rise? Are they "booming"? From my own experience, high end digital sound is improving. Recent DACs I've heard are better than ever. Is digital music experiencing a boom, in the same terms as described in the WSJ article about vinyl? I have no idea.
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Yes, CD sales are down significantly and so is downloaded digital music. The masses have moved to the free streaming model, while a small yet growing percentage are willing to pay for Spotify and Tidal. It looks like the future is renting large music libraries just as we have become accustomed to renting video content. That does not mean that the majority of the "audiophile" community will choose that direction.
 
THe major issue with the vinyl "boom" is that it's fueled by Millennials that buy vinyl for the cool factor and not for the sound. Also, they are using $85 record players that just absolutely destroy records. A kid that works in my office was using a Crosley that was tracking the cartridge at 8gm!

In terms of records there are a few labels I will buy from. Mostly I buy used records and I'm lucky enough to have a KLAudio machine.
 
Thanks Al

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Thanks to Bob and Al for bringing this to my attention
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MtnHam said:
I recently purchased a 500 LP collection from the daughter of a music lover who had a well chosen collection of opera and classical music assembled over the last 70 years. They are all in pristine condition as he had owned a RCM. I paid $150 or $0.30 each. For the most part they sound great and are delivering a lot of enjoyment, in addition to my own 3500 LP's collected over the last 50 years. I also have a very extensive digital library, and enjoy it too. Usually the vinyl is better. They both have their place.

I purchase new vinyl only occasionally, preferring to buy used- often at $1 per LP, sometimes more. Even though I have a lot invested in my very fine system system, I find it hard to shell out $30-50 for an LP. I've got to be pretty sure it's going to be excellent. It's all about the music!

There will be many more fine collections coming to market in the coming years.
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After I've read that yesterday I said to myself; wow, that's one great way to evolve in the pursuit of music happiness. Thx for sharing.
 
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