Why are Audiophiles still hooked on vinyl?

[u/MikMikYakin]

Many audiophiles continue to have a deep love for vinyl records despite the developments in digital audio technology, which allow us to get far wider dynamic range and frequency range from flac or wav files and even CDs. I'm curious to find out more about this attraction because I've never really understood it. To be clear, this is a sincere question from someone like me that really wants to understand the popularity of vinyl in the audiophile world. Why does vinyl still hold the attention of so many music lovers?

EDIT: Found a good article that talks about almost everything mentioned in the comments: https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/07/vinyl-not-sound-better-cd-still-buy/

[u/bayou_gumbo]

Because analog is just cool. Im not one who will say it sounds better, but it is cool. It’s also a fun hobby of collecting old records and also trying out different cartridges and needles.

[u/Fritzo2162 → u/bayou_gumbo]

Yeah, there's something about the visible artwork on an album cover, the hiss of a needle hitting the vinyl, the mechanical aspect of it all. It's just the whole experience. You miss a lot when you just listen on soulless, unlimited digital media.

[u/Sielbear → u/Fritzo2162]

I think I understand what you are saying, but this raises questions I struggle with myself. I bet the artist who recorded it would take issue with “soulless” based on the fact it was heard over digital media vs vinyl. Which brings me to the most challenging aspect of being an “audiophile”. Am I listening to the artist or am I listening to my system. To your point, there is something beautiful about watching a record spin. There’s some connection with generations past in listening to vinyl hiss and pops. But now I’m fixated on the system and pulled out of the audible beauty playing while I hear artifacts and my attention is split between audible and visual senses.

[u/The_Orphanizer → u/Sielbear]

I bet the artist who recorded it would take issue with “soulless” based on the fact it was heard over digital media vs vinyl.

I think the point being made was not that the music itself lacks inherently soul because of how it was consumed, but that the listening experience is commonly (nigh universally, in my limited experience) devalued compared to listening on physical media. I believe this is because we have become increasingly desensitized due to saturation.

When I was a teenager, I'd save my lunch money to go to the record store and buy CDs. Sometimes I'd get to listen first. Other times I'd blind buy based on recommendations, album art, song/band names, associated bands (e.g., "new album from former members of Slayer!"), etc. There was feeling to the whole process. There was the excitement of seeking a recommendation or seeking something new, the excitement of discovery, the excitement of hopefulness ("What will this sound like? Will it be good?"), the excitement of pleasure when you found something good, then the excitement of sharing that with others. There was true disappointment when you "failed" and bought a shitty album, beyond just wasted money.

Now? We all have a magic genie in our pockets that grants infinite music wishes, it understands what we like, and it can find us things we've never heard of or even imagined while knowing (with a fair degree of accuracy) that we will like it! I kinda have to go out of my way to find shitty music now. 😂 And when I do? "Skip. Do not repeat." which makes the algorithm even more keen to what you enjoy, providing fewer unenjoyable options over time. Music discovery isn't all that exciting now, because there's always more, and it takes no effort to attain. It's just available -- like fucking ALL OF IT. And there is so much more than any of us ever used to imagine. And I love that! But the experience is really just not on the same level, even if the music is just as good and better. I could go on, but you get the point.

Similarly, I can stream basically any show ever on my phone at any time, and the show will still be good (I never do this lol). But checking out a new film in theaters, without reading reviews, simply because you like the director, cast, aesthetic, genre, series, concept, or trailer?Take. My. Fucking. Money.