Vinyl Stylus Shapes Explained

Marc HenshallTech Talk, Vinyl 10115 Comments

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)

Marc HenshallTech Talk, Vinyl 10120 Comments

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

An Introduction to Digital Audio Formats

Marc HenshallTech Talk1 Comment

We all know and appreciate the convenience of digital audio, and most people are comfortable with the most common format of MP3. Move beyond this, however, and things can start to get a little confusing. Through the course of this post, I will attempt to shed some light on the basics of file formats, and hopefully, help improve your listening … Read More

Vinyl vs CD In The Loudness War

Marc HenshallCulture & Industry, Tech Talk26 Comments

In my previous post “HMV & The Future of Music Retail?” I briefly highlighted the loudness war and the resurgence of vinyl. I now want to explain exactly what I meant by the growing appeal of vinyl when taking the loudness war into consideration, and why I believe many people choose to buy vinyl over digital alternatives. So here goes: Many audiophiles have long … Read More