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Should we be buying new vinyl?

Streaming contributes to the mobile pone industry, which must be worse for the environment than the hifi and record industry. For differing reasons, never because I want the latest model, I must have had 20 phones in the last 20 years. And my dependence since getting a smart phone has, alas, increased a lot. I held off until about 2014 with smart phones.
 
That's a part of the modern 'glued shut and intellectually closed' manufacture of modern goods.

You can't open the case without breaking something. You can't get a meaningful circuit diagram. You can't see any source code. You can't get replacement chips. The chip numbers mean zilch to anyone but the maker, so no-one else can make an equivalent. etc, etc, etc...

The aim being that things have to keep being totally replaced so they can sell you another one rather than update what you have. Or even let *you* update or maintain it. Make money from having things go to landfill. Or to small kids in far places who work in sweatshops exposed to nasty chemicals etc to 'recycle' (in small part) the content.

I stopped designing kit years ago. But I'm very pleased to see that some - here on PFM and elsewhere - still produce open designs that others can repair, tweak, etc. I just wish all pro makers would get onto the same wagon.
 
Eating meat and drinking almond milk are probably way worse for the environment than buying the odd Herbie Hancock album.
 
Joe P said:
I'm always out of synch with music. When people were dumping their vinyl for CDs I bought lots of used records for peanuts. Now that people have gone to downloads and streaming, I'm buying lots of used CDs for peanuts.

Joe
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Just wait until people stop eating peanuts.

Stephen
 
Rockmeister said:
come on...if you need to worry about this, I assume you are already living in a carbon neutral home, using soil heat regeneration tech, are vegan (at least) never fly, own a pure electric vehicle or none at all, buy 100% renewable energy, have joined greenpeace and marched on parliament, and more?
OK? You have ! hoorah. In that case...no it's fine, buy some. If your life has no pleasure at all, you'll be a horrible, miserable old git when you get to 60.
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Have you been spying on me?

Stephen
 
Should we be keeping our vinyl albums in protective plastic covers. I don’t so I hereby claim the title Eco-warrior of the Month.
 
deebster said:
May I ask the obvious question?

You're not Peter Frampton in disguise are you?
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Tight fecker if he is:

Peter Frampton Net Worth: Peter Frampton is an English rock musician and guitarist who has a net worth of $30 million dollars. Born April 22, 1950 in Bromley, Kent, England, Peter Frampton began his career with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd and is best known for his hit album Frampton Comes Alive!
 
Bart said:
Should we be keeping our vinyl albums in protective plastic covers. I don’t so I hereby claim the title Eco-warrior of the Month.
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Ah, but the plastic cover has sequestrated some carbon that would otherwise end up as atmospheric CO2, and it isn’t going to end up in the ocean. So by not using them, you’re helping ruin the environment. Bastard. ;)
 
New vinyl pressed from digital masters makes no sense at all.
But new vinyl pressed from fully analogue and original masters, from the first generation tapes is really worthwhile and usually sounds superb.
 
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chartz said:
New vinyl pressed from digital masters make no sense at all.
.
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Why do people keep trotting out this old fluff covered toffee ?

I like playing vinyl...I like the whole drama of it..the physical size, the sleeves , and the machinery I play it on. It matters not what form of information they put on the vinyl...digital or analogue ( or a combination ). It is still music and I like playing it from vinyl.
 
Yank said:
And yet due to commercial and cultural concerns, the LP version is often superior to the CD on new releases.
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Perhaps you should buy a better CDP... because what you say is impossible, unless your vinyl rig produces some kind of pleasing tone correction.
 
chartz said:
Perhaps you should buy a better CDP... because what you say is impossible, unless your vinyl rig produces some kind of pleasing tone correction.
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The mastering is often entirely different with pop/rock, the digital formats being targeted for dreadful earbuds and computer speakers, the high-price vinyl targeted more at audiophiles and club DJs. Often a very large difference in compression. Jazz and classical are far more aligned as the listener demographic is expected to have better kit!
 
Tony L said:
The mastering is often entirely different with pop/rock, the digital formats being targeted for dreadful earbuds and computer speakers, the high-price vinyl targeted more at audiophiles and club DJs. Often a very large difference in compression. Jazz and classical are far more aligned as the listener demographic is expected to have better kit!
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This has slightly confused me. I have a Garrard 401 for vinyl and a Naim CDS3 for CDs and both give a good sound. I have about a dozen LPs with the identical CD. I did not deliberately buy an identical set, it just happened. In some instances the LPs gave the better sound and in others the CDs came out on top. So I put this down to mastering but I am no expert, so could be wrong.

I eventually made the effort to buy something decent for a recently acquired villa in Spain and decided on a smaller system as it would not be played as much. I opted for a Naim Mu so and had a dem with Mrs Mick at the local Hifi shop, John Lewis and Richer Sounds. To be frank, both Mrs Mick and I were disappointed with the Mu so, it was ropey, it sounded like a top end transistor radio because the sound was coming out of a single box and there was no Hifi whatsoever. In fact Mrs Mick told me I could only buy the Mu so over her dead body. It came as a shock to agree with her that Naim had made a rubbish sounding product and I was both mortified and aghast that Naim would even think of selling this thing. JV would have exploded with rage had he heard it.

The Richer Sounds salesman suggested we try a pair of small KEF lsx wireless active speakers. You just connect them up and link them to Spotify which was easy peasy. We now had decent Hifi out of two speakers and being placed on either side of the TV, they act as a very good sound bar. So we bought them for £999 and took them over to Spain and they do sound pretty good, not as good as the Naim system but good none the less. At the end of the day they are only small speakers with all of the limitations that go with it.

I am now seriously thinking of buying a Naim streamer to slot in the main Hifi system back in the UK, so I will have the convenience and versatility of streaming along with the sound quality of decent amps and speakers. I have heard a Naim NDX2 looped into a Naim amp and decent size speakers and the sound was good, just as good as say a CD.

So I would ask, is a good Naim streamer a serious challenger to a good quality TT ?

Regards

Mick
 
I reckon that music industry emissions generated by distributing music, in whatever format, are dwarfed by those of the domestic sytems playing them.

The most efficient playback is probably going to be a mobile phone streaming over a mobile network, quietly into headphones. A domestic class A valve amplifier based-system, driving inefficient speakers loudly, will be amongst the worst, regardless of source.

Incidentally, if mobile phone industry waste bothers you, I encountered one of these the other day: https://shop.fairphone.com . They reckon it's the most repairable, ethical, eco-friendly smartphone you can buy. It's even partially upgradeable. It isn't cheap though, and the performance is nothing to write home about. Nevertheless, the chap I spoke to was very happy with his. You pays your money...

Kind regards

- Garry
 
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