As record sales continue to grow year-on-year, so too has the market for cheap starter record players. The demand is so great, last year’s hottest Christmas seller on Amazon was the Jensen JTA-230 3-speed stereo turntable with built-in speakers. Priced at just $51.99, it’s safe to say the majority of these players were bought as starter turntables. The Jensen JTA isn’t the only … Read More
Vinyl Stylus Shapes Explained
The hi-fi world is full of technical jargon and vinyl records are certainly no exception. In the following article, you’ll learn about the most common stylus shapes on the market designed for vinyl playback. So what exactly is a stylus? In simple terms the stylus (or needle) is the tip that tracks your vinyl record. Most styli are made from industrial diamonds … Read More
Vinyl Record Inner-Groove Distortion (A Simple Explanation)
While vinyl records have plenty to offer, both sonically and from a listening experience standpoint, they also come with some trade-offs. One of the most commonly cited but also misunderstood trade-offs is a phenomenon known as inner-groove distortion (also referred to as end-of-side distortion. Inner-groove distortion is an audible deterioration in sound quality that sometimes occurs when playing tracks close … Read More
HD Vinyl Patent Proves Market Forces Can Save the Vinyl Record
For some time, independent record labels have expressed concern about Vinyl hype and the very real problems caused by the production bottleneck. According to small labels, independent artists now struggle to get their work pressed as the major labels leverage their size and budget to squeeze more and more records through a limited number of pressing plants across the globe. Due to … Read More
How to Look After Your Vinyl Records (Part Two)
In 2015, sales of vinyl records grew for the tenth consecutive year, and while millions of music fans are rediscovering the joy of music on wax, they’re also learning how maintenance comes with the territory. As we’ve already established in our first post about vinyl record care – great sounding records require care and attention. In this second edition, we’ll cover plenty more methods … Read More
Upgrades You Should Make to Your Project Essential II Turntable
As regular readers of this blog will know, I’m a huge fan of Projects Essential II for its low-cost, minimalistic approach that gets all the basics right. They don’t have any fancy features, but they sound great and won’t ruin your precious vinyl records. For $300 (£209) you can’t go wrong on a budget. One of the great things about project turntables is … Read More
Why I switched my record cleaning solution from Clear Groove to Vinyl Revival
I love vinyl records, but when it comes to keeping them clean and clear of dust, they can be a real pain in the neck. There are many ways to keep your vinyl records clean and sounding great, the most affordable of which is a good cleaning solution. Previously, I’ve recommended Clear Groove as an affordable and effective solution, but … Read More
3 Albums Where Sound Quality, Production, And Story All Come Together
No matter what genre you listen to, all of us will have those key defining albums; music that stays with you forever. They seem like the perfect package – great songs, solid musicianship, fantastic recording and mastering quality, and an evocative story to match. Sometimes it can even be hard to pin it down to just a handful. The chances … Read More
The reissue timebomb – Is the music industry too reliant on its back-catalogue?
The internet is absolutely brimming with articles proclaiming that vinyl is back. Articles like this one: The Biggest Music Comeback of 2014 – Vinyl Records – The Wall Street Journal Or this one… Weaned on CDs, They’re Reaching for Vinyl – The New York Times Everywhere you turn, there’s news of blossoming sales and the irony of an analogue renaissance in the … Read More
5 reasons why Vinyl is the only physical format worth owning
The CD is dead – God rest its soul; long live the vinyl record. It’s an outcome that few would have predicted as CD’s became widely available through the 1980’s, but it appears that if current trends continue, vinyl could indeed outlive CD. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers: Last year, digital streaming was up 54% while … Read More
