Why Vinyl?

We have seen a resurgence of turntable sales in our business over the past 3 years and have frequently been asked why, in 2016, do people still want to hear their music on vinyl.  From our experience This is our interpretation:

The SOUND –  There is a discernible difference between audio produced digitally versus analog, and many good records are somewhat poorly digitized.  While this might not pose a problem for most modern pop music, which has a limited dynamic range, classical and jazz tend to be more dynamic. Classical music has very quiet and very loud passages that closely follow each other. Early digital technology just couldn’t cut it. It takes half the pleasure out of listening to a good symphonic performance.

The AMBIANCE & EXPERIENCE –  Simply put, some people turn to vinyl because of the ceremony involved.  Most often there is pleasing atmosphere and genuine experience when listening to a turntable. There’s something wonderfully interactive about putting on a record, listening to a side, and then flipping it over to hear the other side. It makes the listening experience something in which you are constantly physically and emotionally involved. It’s social and fun, a far cry from the passive aural experience of CDs or digital.

The COOLNESS –Records are nostalgic! Period. Vinyl can be fragile, yes, among other imperfections. But those end up being part of its charm. Older records warp, needles wobble on their surface and skip over scratches, but one can’t argue that vintage is cool!

The SELECTION – Even today, lots of music still hasn’t been digitized.  In fact, many classical and jazz recordings were never issued on CD at all.

The COVERS – The large format often makes the cover of an album a piece of art in its own right.  It is an expression of the artist’s intent and an important part of the culture of music. Sure your downloads have album art attached to the file, but you couldn’t hang that on your wall.

For 40 + years we have been witness to the fact that people can’t live without music. They fall in love with songs and want to listen to them over and over again and today people are choosing to do that on vinyl once again.  The reason…vinyl isn’t just music, it’s an experience and one that’s worth paying for!

Come in to Wilson Audio today to get the vinyl experience! We have a fine selection of records and record players that will suit the needs of any music fan at our retail store in Metairie, LA.