A decade ago, vinyl would have been counted among the dead formats, like Betamax or cassettes; a throwback only kept alive by a contingent of rabid enthusiasts. This is not so, however, as vinyl sales have been on a sharp increase since 2008 and are still surging, according to Digital Music News.
Vinyl records are circular disks made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with grooves cut into them. These grooves are a physical representation of the audio waveforms of the original recording — and music lovers swear by them.
Dan Jones, a journalism student at the University of Oregon with a collection of more than 50 vinyl records, agrees.
“In essence you’re getting the most pure version of that recording you can possibly get,” he said. The process of cutting a record onto vinyl from the original master recording doesn’t leave out any part of the sound. At the same time, the way that the sound is picked up by the turntable’s needle brings the sound characteristic warmth.
If there are any drawbacks to vinyl as a medium, it’s that slight imperfections in the cut can cause pops or crackles in playback. “Those just add character,” Jones said. In this way, each record is different with its own set of imperfections and overall its own tone.
Furthermore, the act of actually sitting down and listening to music is a bit of an anachronism in and of itself. With MP3 players and smart phones on-hand at all times, some people live with an almost constant stream of music while they go about their lives. Vinyl requires that you sit down in front of your Hi-Fi system and experience the sound. “It’s more of an event than just queuing up an MP3,” Jones said. “It’s almost a ritual.”
Humans Invent, an online journal dedicated to “innovation, craftsmanship and design,” has a detailed breakdown of a few other things that make vinyl so special.