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Vinyl Is Poised to Outsell CDs For the First Time Since 1986
Rolling Stone ^ | September 6, 2019 | Elias Leight

Posted on 09/07/2019 9:08:03 AM PDT by fidelis

Sales of vinyl records have enjoyed constant growth in recent years. At the same time, CD sales are in a nosedive. Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) mid-year report suggested that CD sales were declining three times as fast as vinyl sales were growing. In February, the RIAA reported that vinyl sales accounted for more than a third of the revenue coming from physical releases.

This trend continues in RIAA’s 2019 mid-year report, which came out on Thursday. Vinyl records earned $224.1 million (on 8.6 million units) in the first half of 2019, closing in on the $247.9 million (on 18.6 million units) generated by CD sales. Vinyl revenue grew by 12.8% in the second half of 2018 and 12.9% in the first six months of 2019, while the revenue from CDs barely budged. If these trends hold, records will soon be generating more money than compact discs.

(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Hobbies; Music/Entertainment; Society
KEYWORDS: entertainment; music; rockmusic
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To: dfwgator

DAT wasnt too bad....if you increase sampling rate and expand recording range from 0 decibel to higher than human ear frequency sensitivity wouldnt digital be pretty close bein’ there? Something about hearing by sound waves passing through your body bypassing the tympanic membrane and goin strait to the cochlea.


81 posted on 09/07/2019 12:19:07 PM PDT by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and diamonds, and harder to find.)
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To: fidelis

bttt


82 posted on 09/07/2019 12:19:45 PM PDT by ADemocratNoMore (The Fourth Estate is now the Fifth Column)
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To: Jim Pelosi

They do sound different. Digital sounds more compressed to me. Some times it’s a good thing, like a snare drum snapping. Mostly it’s annoying.
I also tend to enjoy the greater stereo separation on the vinyl.
Dacs, phono preamps, cartridges and so many other aspects can affect sound on either format.


Digital has greater dynamic range than vinyl and is therefore LESS compressed. And digital has better stereo separation than vinyl.


83 posted on 09/07/2019 12:23:06 PM PDT by Yardstick
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To: fidelis


Blnk
84 posted on 09/07/2019 12:37:34 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: fidelis
Not sure it's so much "vinyl overtaking CDs" as it is that the compact disc is going the way of the 8-track and cassette. With digital music that can be streamed on demand, who needs the hassle of a CD?

Vinyl will always have a market with purists as it provide a very rich sound.

85 posted on 09/07/2019 1:10:32 PM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: freedomjusticeruleoflaw

I have my son my old Yamaha stuff I bought at the PX in Korea in 83. He loves it.


86 posted on 09/07/2019 1:28:27 PM PDT by ebshumidors
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To: fidelis

Put a scratch on vinyl and it will still play,
Put that same scratch on a CD and you’ll have to replace that CD


87 posted on 09/07/2019 2:12:06 PM PDT by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: LanaTurnerOverdrive

” Just because your ears cannot discern the OBVIOUS superiority of analog does not change reality. Anybody who says digital is better is merely contrarian. That, or they just crappy ears. Usually it’s both. “

ROTFLMAO!


88 posted on 09/07/2019 3:02:14 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Jim Pelosi

“I also tend to enjoy the greater stereo separation on the vinyl.”

You are joking, right?


89 posted on 09/07/2019 3:03:02 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Drew68

You have zero clue of what you speak. This is just totally and completely untrue.


90 posted on 09/07/2019 3:04:53 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: SamAdams76

“Vinyl will always have a market with purists as it provide a very rich sound. “

That ‘rich’ sound is the loss of higher frequencies due to filtering.


91 posted on 09/07/2019 3:07:30 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: fella

“Put that same scratch on a CD and you’ll have to replace that CD”

It takes only a minute to make a digital copy which plays back better than the original CD.


92 posted on 09/07/2019 3:10:09 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: TexasGator

I agree with you, Texasgator. CDs are vastly superior in sound than vinyls.


93 posted on 09/07/2019 3:12:42 PM PDT by nwrep
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To: Drew68

love cds.

vinyl is too blurry and noisy

downloads are often compressed and missing notes

CD is the gold standard.


94 posted on 09/07/2019 3:25:04 PM PDT by Chickensoup (Voter ID for 2020!! Leftists totalitarian fascists appear to be planning to eradicate conservatives)
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To: nwrep

“I agree with you, Texasgator. CDs are vastly superior in sound than vinyls.”

Some CD’s sound like crap but that is the fault of the producer, not the format.


95 posted on 09/07/2019 3:28:24 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Drew68

” And while CDs were once superior to digital music, which early on was compressed and thin-sounding, streaming digital fidelity has vastly improved over the years, as have audio systems adapted to play streaming music.”

er, CDs are digital music. But it is true that streaming players have improved to a point crappy music is ALMOST acceptable for background listening.


96 posted on 09/07/2019 3:32:08 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: eyedigress

“You just tell me when turntables start coming back with tube amps to plug in. Pioneer or Marantz will be fine.”

Take a visit to a good Best Buy and go into their Magnolia room!


97 posted on 09/07/2019 3:34:55 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Wuli

A friend is a highly acclaimed mastering engineer who gifted me an acetate cut using a 300B amplifier of a Doobie Bros album he remastered. It was really cool to watch the cutting process.

Good news: incredible sound - as close to the master tape as one can get.

Bad news: it has limited plays so I rarely play it.

That said...

The Hi-Rez digital 24-bit downloads can surpass vinyl - it’s all in the mastering.

Vinyl does have limitations - dynamic & bass range (especially in the inner grooves) and, obviously, overall playing time.


98 posted on 09/07/2019 3:36:51 PM PDT by newfreep ("INSIDE EVERY PROGRESSIVE IS A TOTALITARIAN SCREAMING TO GET OUT" - DAVID HOROWITZ)
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To: dfwgator

Amazon is THE source for CDs.


99 posted on 09/07/2019 3:38:44 PM PDT by newfreep ("INSIDE EVERY PROGRESSIVE IS A TOTALITARIAN SCREAMING TO GET OUT" - DAVID HOROWITZ)
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To: OrangeHoof

Keep in mind, CDs are higher resolution than MP3 - actually, there is a ton of detail that is lopped off in MP3s.


100 posted on 09/07/2019 3:40:02 PM PDT by newfreep ("INSIDE EVERY PROGRESSIVE IS A TOTALITARIAN SCREAMING TO GET OUT" - DAVID HOROWITZ)
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