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Has vinyl peaked?

Maybe the reason that vinyl sales declined in 2012 is because people are finding out that the original pressings are more times than not better than the current new reissues that are being released. Just a thought.
 
I hear you John, I have a pretty similar story, I started in the late 80's and have continually bought vinyl ever since. I got serious about my turntable set up about 5 or 6 years ago. I think the resurgence in vinyl is great, I have had several friends who owned record stores in the 90's and those where some bleak times. I was just in the UK and went in to 6 or 7 record stores and a record show and everyone I talked to was saying they are enjoying their best sales numbers in years. The only complaint I heard was one guy saying he was selling so many records he is having trouble finding records to replace his inventory, that's a nice problem to have.

I do love digital, having everything available at a touch of a button is great. services like spotify are amazing, I love checking out the latest releases before I buy the vinyl, it makes for less wasted money on so-so records. That reminds me of an interesting fact I just read, record sales are 40% higher in countries where spotify is available then those countries where it is not. The article was saying that sometimes giving a product away actually leads to more sales and used spotify as its example. now it may just be that the spotify countries just buy 40% more records and it has nothing to do with spotify but who knows. I certainly use it for a preview. If I like it I buy it.
 
When I'm in the mode for LP's their is a connection there I don't get with Cd's. It's way more than Nostalgia, or Sound Quality. Otherwise the young people I know, including a young lady at the local Media store wouldn't enjoy them as much as I do. This is why I think LP's will be with us for a very long time, I doubt very much they will ever attain a high percentage of the market however.

Sound Quality is the last reason I sometimes listen to LP's. Of course a high End LP set up sounds Great. However High End CD Players and DAC's can get so close to the best LP it's virtually indistinguishable. Thats why many High End Stereo Systems include a CD Player as their Primary source. HD Digital formats like SACD, DVD Audio, and 24 bit/96 khz loss less formats are as close to perfect as you can get. The biggest limitation with all these formats IMO is the Mastering.

If I had a large collection of LP's, and sometimes wished I had the convience of Digital, I would borrow the highest quality TT I could, and transfer them all to a 24 bit/96 khz Loss Less Digital Format. This way when I'm in the mode I could enjoy the LP, and when I'm lazy, just press a button on my I-Pad and get an Exact copy of the LP, that may sound better than the Digital vesion if it was mastered better. I find many LP's are generally mastered better than CD's, Especially older LP's. Once these files are saved in a computers HD, they can be transerred in many formats for playback in the car, a boat or RV, or taken to the cottage.
 
jeremyjustic said:
I hear you John, I have a pretty similar story, I started in the late 80's and have continually bought vinyl ever since. I got serious about my turntable set up about 5 or 6 years ago. I think the resurgence in vinyl is great, I have had several friends who owned record stores in the 90's and those where some bleak times. I was just in the UK and went in to 6 or 7 record stores and a record show and everyone I talked to was saying they are enjoying their best sales numbers in years. The only complaint I heard was one guy saying he was selling so many records he is having trouble finding records to replace his inventory, that's a nice problem to have.

I do love digital, having everything available at a touch of a button is great. services like spotify are amazing, I love checking out the latest releases before I buy the vinyl, it makes for less wasted money on so-so records. That reminds me of an interesting fact I just read, record sales are 40% higher in countries where spotify is available then those countries where it is not. The article was saying that sometimes giving a product away actually leads to more sales and used spotify as its example. now it may just be that the spotify countries just buy 40% more records and it has nothing to do with spotify but who knows. I certainly use it for a preview. If I like it I buy it.
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Hear, hear. Nowadays, I use my music spending money only on those things that I really like/want. So, I have a select number of bands that I love for whom I will always buy any new album they put out, typically on vinyl. And for new things that I haven't heard or for artists that I do like but that don't fit into the above category, I use Spotify to preview the album to see if it's worth adding to my purchase list. If it's not, I can still stream it from Spotify whenever I please. I signed up for the free MOG service, but haven't explored it as much to see how it compares to Spotify in terms of breadth and depth of coverage.

I also agree with Tarl Of Gor's comment about the quality of new vinyl pressings. Certain labels (Matador, Drag City, Sundazed (usually)) seem to always put out quality stuff on vinyl, whereas others have poor quality control.
 
The resurgence of vinyl has peaked IMO. It's still far from dead as there will be a small but diehard market for it for some time to come.

I still buy LP's, but the majority are used as I find it's a cheap way to purchase music. The majority of my listening is computer based digital these days. It's been well over two months since I pulled out a CD or LP from my collection to listen to.

I just don't see the market demand getting any larger in terms of new turntables and new LP sales, the keyword being NEW purchases. Without the growth of new gear or media sales, the format can only survive for so long.
 
I really meant a peak in high-end interest. But words weren't on my side when I posted this. I do think we're at or near the hipster peak, though. As in, everybody that was going to get in, is already in.
 
It may have reached its peak, but it could well mantain itselt at this level for a couple of more years. As far as i'm concerned, i'm not going back to CDs, even though is till have about a couple hundred, certainly not back to cassettes and digital has its advantages, certainly portability and easy of acess, so that'll be on my playlist still.
 
Scuzzer said:
So you're saying that vinyl records are the audio equivalent of PBR?
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I think a part of the bubble is exactly that. I'm a bit too familiar with these hipster folks and much of what a percentage of them do is the equivelent of putting on a uniform. They're all being different in exactly the same ways. And records are part of that uniform. A lot of them are sincerely into vinyl. Many of them are just fitting in.
 
Vinyl as a mass market medium was killed by cassettes decades ago. Vinyl is now a small niche market, and sadly, has become "cool". And as with everything that is at some point cool, it will soon become uncool.
 
It will always be cool. Like Indian motorcycles and black leather jackets. It will just be forgotten by those who were in it just to fit in, and go back to what it was in the early 2000s. I don't think it will sink back to 1990s levels.
 
I am open to anyone who wants to convert to dac to let me help you open up more space in your audiophile room by sending me all your analog equipment at no cost to you. I will reimburse all shipping costs.

:thmbsp:
 
jeremyjustic said:
more like a fixed gear bike with tiny handle bars, pink rims and the seat jacked sky high
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Don't get me started on that. It's one thing to drink swill beer and think you're cool it's quite another to destroy a classic 531 frame by turning it into a barely functional toy.

Hey! You kids get off my lawn!
 
JohnVF said:
It will always be cool. Like Indian motorcycles and black leather jackets. It will just be forgotten by those who were in it just to fit in, and go back to what it was in the early 2000s. I don't think it will sink back to 1990s levels.
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Always be cool? No way. It will turn back into a geek format, like it was in the late 80's, and the 90's.
 
Tom Brennan said:
All the audiophiles I hang around with are far more interested in digital than in LPs. Oh, everyone has a record player or two but they get little use.

I'm thinking of buying a new high quality record player but not because I need one or will even use it much; I just want one. It's kind'a senseless really, I should spend the money on a vacation or something.
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This is why I finally cut loose from the LP not long ago. I clung to it for the longest time but for the last few years, CD/SACD has probably made up at least 80% of my listening to recorded music. It's a great format but have found it just too time consuming to really enjoy like I should.

The toughest part was letting go of a significant Jazz collection that was 20+ years in the making. Al lot of which will be very difficult and spendy to locate on CD. At least it all went to a local AK'er so I know where I can locate it if the need arises ;)

RC
 
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