One sentence impression Why listen to vinyl?

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-01-31

Many burners should remember what I said many years ago. Don't touch the guts, don't touch the vinyl. However, I started playing vinyl last year. Although I have tried to dabble in vinyl many years ago, every time I have tasted it superficially, only this time, I really fell into the pit.

Why?In fact, the reason is too simple, and one sentence is enough to summarize it. Not even a single word, two words are enough.

There is leisure. When people reach middle age, there will be a lot of changes in their living conditions, causing "leisure time" to burst for many people. The children have grown up and become independent and even debuted, and the couple is generally not as "sticky" as when they were young. In the stable (or declining) period of my career, I also understand that this life is like this, and it will not take up too much time. So it's my own time, a lot. Life is not long, but it is not short, and there will be time every day that needs to be "passed".

For enthusiasts, tossing a thing is a normal and reasonable "way to pass the time". Pit vinyl is an ideal way to do it.

Does vinyl sound good?Of course it's good. Is it better than CD and digital broadcasting?Not necessarily. The technical parameters are definitely weaker. The problem is, that's not the point at all. The point is, 1. The sound of vinyl is very good, and 2. The sound of vinyl is quite different from the number. These two points are enough. I like to use the word fun, so it can be said that vinyl records and vinyl toys are fun. It is not only fun, but also "different" from the mainstream numbers, there are many places that need to be tossed, and it consumes time.

Vinyl is the most tossed in audio equipment. Its most critical cartridge (the first step in picking up information) can be replaced, which is unique. The cartridge of the CD player and the magnetic head of the tape cannot be replaced. As an analog device, although the machine can be selected from a wide range, its magnetic head and mechanical structure cannot be replaced. The most you can do is adjust the head azimuth. Only vinyl can be changed in all aspects. Cartridges, cartridge lines, cartridge stands, tonearms, tonearm lines, plates, pads, and plates can all be replaced, and there are all audiophile-level "upgrades". To put it more seriously, the needle rod and needle tip of the cartridge can also be changed (this user can't change it himself, and a professional is needed). The tape can only be adjusted in azimuth, and the vinyl can be adjusted several angles + needle pressure. Its playability, room to toss, far ahead, far ahead!

To be honest, these "adjustments in every link" must be annoying to ordinary people, and even enthusiasts may find it troublesome and complicated. Who would have fun with it?It is the "person who needs to pass the time" who is "too idle". Therefore, a part of the enthusiasts began to play vinyl after middle age, and the essence is too idle.

As for the sound, I spent so much time getting in and throwing so much money into it (buying all kinds of upgrade parts), and the sound is not good?No, I can't. It has to be good.

Of course, not everyone sees it that way. I don't think vinyl sound is "necessarily good", it is valuable because it is different from digital, and, for analog era recording, it is closer to original than CD and audio track - analog recording to 16bit 441kHz spec figures**, the sound quality is not completely true, there is a loss of information, and there are inevitable quantization errors.

Some people may say that there are also a lot of tossing links in digital broadcasting. But those links are all electronical, and the interesting thing about vinyl is that the links from it to the output signal to the singing and playing are basically physical. The only part of it that converts to an electrical signal is in the internal voice coil, which can't be replaced. The other is the phono motor. The rest of the links are physical balance and the principle of leverage, as well as vibration isolation, and have nothing to do with "electricity".

Another big advantage of playing vinyl is that records recorded in the analog era are now very cheap in the second-hand market, and most of them are in the tens of dollars a piece (or a few dollars abroad). Of course, many new popular vinyl are very expensive, a few hundred yuan a piece, but the main value is fan collection rather than fever appreciation, so I won't mention it (the popular color glue now generally has poor sound and poor workmanship).

Of course, vinyl is expensive, and it is basically some of the varieties that have been hyped. What Cogang, Matz, Schelling, Never and the like. I've once felt this before, and I don't understand why there are so many musicians whose records are all hyped up. Aren't Heifetz, Menuhin, Stern at a high level?On the contrary, it is not speculated, which is a bit inexplicable. But that's the way it is. So, to avoid these players who are inexplicably hyped, vinyl doesn't cost money. Among the second-hand vinyl on the market, the Japanese version is the most, and it is also the cheapest (compared to the European version and the American version), but it is cheap and expensive, and the workmanship and sound of the Japanese version of the vinyl are by no means the worst!On the contrary, I think it is the most cost-effective.

The Japanese people's dedication to "records" is unique in the world. Even in the 1990s-2000s, when vinyl production lines were closed in other parts of the world (no business), Japan's oldest vinyl production lines were still in operation. It can be said that the Japanese are unparalleled in terms of qualifications and experience in vinyl tableting. Therefore, although the Japanese version of vinyl records is the most inexpensive on the market, the workmanship and sound are guaranteed. The reason why the Japanese version of vinyl is cheap is only because of the large quantity. Kegang's vinyl is very expensive, but it doesn't mean that he pulls the best and is the most worthy of listening, and the Japanese version of vinyl is cheap, but it doesn't mean that it's bad.

Finally, some people see vinyl as a "toy for the rich and the free." In fact, although the investment ceiling of playing vinyl is very high, there are also inexpensive combinations, and the sound is already good - such as thousands of turntables (Japanese Audio-Technica, European Pro-Ject), one or two thousand mm cartridges (Japanese Audio-Technica, European high wind), and thousands of phonograms (British Creek, Rega, Graham Slee). The hardware investment of such a set is more than 10,000 yuan, and the sound is completely audible and you can appreciate the taste of vinyl.

END - Headphone Club White.

Related Pages