What Sounds Better: Vinyl or Digital?
Music listeners all over the globe are turning to digital streaming platforms for their regular dose of pop, rock, metal, hip-hop, and more. However, the shift to digital streaming has been met with fierce criticism from those who still prefer buying records from a vinyl store over digital formats. In this post, we’ll take you through a few points that elaborate on why vinyl is the better option.
1. Vinyl records sound better
If you’re someone who doesn’t care much about missing out on intricate little details within the music, there’s no reason for you to abandon digital streaming. But if you want to listen to every bit of music that’s featured in those songs you love so much, you’d have to go the vinyl way.
Digital music employs compression to make sure that the audio can be streamed and/or stored in mobile devices without taking up a lot of space. But it’s that very compression that reduces the quality of the audio and also ends up making those intricate details inaudible. So, if you play a vinyl record, you get to listen to exactly what the artist and the producer intended for you to hear.
2. Vinyl records are a collector’s dream
There are people who love music and there are people who obsess about music. If you’re of the latter sort, you must feel proud about collecting your favourite records. Apart from enjoying them in superior audio quality, you’ll have a physical entity at home that is of some emotional significance to you.
For example, if you’re a hardcore 1985 music fan, you can collect all the vinyl records from artists who have left a mark through their musical contributions in 1985. You could also support new record companies that are keeping the vinyl movement alive by purchasing records published by names such as 117 Records.
3. Resale value
Vinyl may have fallen behind to digital audio formats, but the fact is that the value of vinyl records will never fade. As the years pass, vinyl records featuring the most iconic songs and albums from legendary artists will only witness an increase in their value.
Even after several years, there will be music listeners who would want to buy that rare vinyl you possess that just isn’t available anywhere any more. In that moment, you can actually sell that vinyl and help someone else experience the pleasure of putting on and playing a vinyl record. This just isn’t possible with digital songs and albums.
Sure, digital audio is much more convenient in terms of access and storage, but there’s a certain charm that vinyl records have – one that can never really be replaced.