RevUpRecords

There has recently been a resurgence in the popularity of vinyl records that has people wondering about the differences between digital and vinyl recordings.

Quality of Sound

First of all, when sound is recorded on a vinyl record, it is an analog reproduction, meaning that it preserves the original sound wave. Because of the shape of the grooves on a vinyl record, the full sound wave is imitated and can be reproduced.

Vinyl listeners report that there is a warmer, more full sound that you get with a vinyl recording that just is not possible to capture with a digital recording.

This is because digital recordings, rather than recording the full sound, only record snapshots of the sound wave, which leaves out some of the music.

Think of a flipbook. When you flip the pages, the image moves and you get a general idea of the motion of the object, but there is quite a bit that is left out.

graph courtesy of Electronics.HowStuffWorks.com

Price

Even though the sound of vinyl records is preferred by a lot of people, the cost of turntables, which usually falls in the $300 range, is not worth the effort. In addition, the price of vinyl records is usually a little more expensive than digital recordings because of the price of vinyl production.

If you are a true musicophile, these costs are worth the quality of sound captured by vinyl records.

Care

Digital recordings are very popular because they will never degrade over time. A digital recording will have the same quality the day it is recorded as it will 200 years from now.

Unfortunately, vinyls require a little more upkeep. If dust settles into the grooves on the record, it becomes audible, sounding like static or white noise. If the dust becomes bad enough, it can actually be heard over the music, which would make the enhanced sound of vinyl recordings a non-issue.

Music Availability

With the new interest in vinyl records, a lot of popular artists are turning to vinyl to record.

You might be surprised to know that you can buy Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, and even Adele on vinyl records.

Though these select artists record on vinyl, it is an exception, rather than a rule, for modern artists to produce music on vinyls, making vinyl-lovers who appreciate popular modern music left out in the cold.

Even though vinyl recordings have the clear edge when it comes to fidelity to sound, the transition from digital to vinyl is a big one because of the different Cons of vinyl records.

If you are already one of the vinyl-lovers, however, rock on! And happy listening to your vinyls.