It is the prerogative of each generation preceding the next to claim that their generation’s music was better. Or at least that’s how each generation typically feels… We all get there eventually; at first you’re checking out what’s new on the block musically every day, then it’s every week – or even every month. Before you know it, you haven’t … Read More
GrooveWasher SC1 Stylus Cleaning Kit Review
As the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” These words will almost certainly … Read More
GrooveWasher G2 Vinyl Record Cleaner Review
Choosing the right record cleaning system is important but often confounding. After all, the internet is brimming with countless suggestions and methods — many of which are dubious at best. In many cases, there’s almost a pseudoscience to cleaning vinyl records, with some approaches verging on the bizarre (wood glue springs to mind). At Sound Matters, we’ve covered plenty of … Read More
Project Essential II Review
Hi-FI audio is a notoriously expensive, and often slightly elitist, hobby. Enthusiasts with the spare cash and space will think nothing of spending eye-watering amounts of cash on high-end audio equipment, which can often leave more casual listeners wondering, “are they hearing something I’m not!?” At Sound Matters, it’s our belief that it doesn’t have to cost the earth to … Read More
Top Five Turntable Upgrades
One of the great advantages of building a hi-fi setup through separate components is the option to perform spot upgrades – almost infinitely – should your budget permit. From your turntable to your speakers, and even the listening environment itself, every last piece of the signal chain is upgradable or modifiable. Before we get started, it’s worth mentioning that the … Read More
Ultrasonic Cleaning for Vinyl Records
We’ve covered plenty of conventional methods for cleaning vinyl records at Sound Matters – from relatively expensive vinyl cleaning machines to humble but effective manual cleaning solutions. But there’s one method we haven’t yet touched on that’s rapidly gaining popularity in the vinyl community, and that’s ultrasonic cleaning. What is Ultrasonic Cleaning? In a nutshell, Ultrasonic cleaning is a process … Read More
The Best & Worst Album Covers
The large-format cover art of vinyl records is one of the key draws for many music fans. There’s nothing quite like the blank canvas of a 12inch record cover for making an artistic statement that compliments your music. In the digital age, some would go as far to say we’ve lost the art of making great album covers – a … Read More
The Pros and Cons of Vinyl Records
Few debates in the audio world create such a large divide as the analog vs digital question. Vinyl vs CD/Digital is the classic battleground, where passionate enthusiasts on both sides of the argument often partake in heated exchanges with no real conclusion. The question itself is undoubtedly oversimplified – there are far too many variables to draw a line under such a broad debate, … Read More
Vinyl Record Sales Outstrip Downloads – But is it Sustainable?
If you’re an avid vinyl fan, you’ve likely heard the news that revenue from vinyl record sales outstripped digital downloads for the first time during the week spanning November 25th to December 1st. Great news — at least on the surface — but is it sustainable? We take a look at some of the recently published stats in an attempt … Read More
Measuring Vinyl Dynamic Range – It’s Complicated!
As a young(ish) person discovering vinyl for the first time, I was fascinated by the claim floating around in many of the Internet’s forums that some vinyl releases have better dynamic range than their digital or CD counterparts. This immediately seemed odd to me, as digital music – on paper at least – is capable of much greater dynamic range. See figures below: 16 … Read More
