Vinyl Revival - Record Sales!

Playing LP records is truly on a continuing upward trend.There has been an astonishing turnaround in record sales over the last few years.For those that haven't been paying attention,2014 witnessed the highest vinyl sales in 20 years and 2015 saw the trend continue to the point that we're at now where in the UK you can pick up some of the black stuff  whilst cruising around the local supermarket.

There has been a lot of talk about the growth of record sales being driven by hipsters and teenagers for whom the nostalgic factor is a key driver.It would appear that they want the tangibility of being able to look at a record cover and enjoy the larger artwork as well as the atmospheric sound.

At the other end of the scale the Munich High End Audio Show had 500 exhibitors and the main source for demonstrations was vinyl.Turntables were everywhere!And the audio press aren't ignoring the revival.The HiFi Choice magazine cover for June 2016 pictured above says it all and the magazine was full of articles talking about vinyl and reviews on new release turntables.And as the magazine cover shows,even the most famous recording studio in the world,Abbey Road is on remastering duties.The old EMI record pressing plant was saved and is back pressing among other things......Beatles records!

There however, can be some disappointing traps for new players which include mainstream retailers cashing in on this trend toward vinyl.They are offering cheap all inclusive of speakers turntables often selling for under $200.A toy turntable with retro affections will not sound cool playing a $30 record.They may dig the groove,but not in a good way,in fact they will damage your records with the high tracking weight that they run due to poor mechanicals and tonearms.