Son of Helios

Blog Archive: December 2024

Modern records

As a card carrying member of the Vinyl Fan Clubâ„¢, I love getting records. But I'm not a fan of the modern, 'every album needs to be 180g and split over 2 LPs' approach. I'm aware many people treat vinyl like a collectible rather than the way to actually listen to music, but my issues are two-fold.

One, I haven't noticed any particular superiority of sound over older 'thinner' albums, but I have had multiple modern records that are dished. And the heavier weight records hold their shape. This may be exacerbated by my use of a linear tracking turntable, which has a shorter tone arm and therefore is more sensitive to fluctuations in record shape, but a brand new record should obviously play fine.

Second, the splitting of albums over 2 records can detract from listening, particularly if each side of a record has, say, 3 songs on it. Older records often had a flow that each side affected, but modern albums just seem to divde the track count by 4 and then possibly tack a filler remix on the end of side B on record 2. 
Maybe none of this would bother me if most new records weren't $30 or more. If you pay for a premium experience, you want a premium experience.

It's 2023

Check check 1-2-3