The hi-fi world is full of technical jargon and vinyl records are certainly no exception. In the following article, you’ll learn about the most common stylus shapes on the market designed for vinyl playback. So what exactly is a stylus? In simple terms the stylus (or needle) is the tip that tracks your vinyl record. Most styli are made from industrial diamonds … Read More
Vinyl Record Inner-Groove Distortion (A Simple Explanation)
While vinyl records have plenty to offer, both sonically and from a listening experience standpoint, they also come with some trade-offs. One of the most commonly cited but also misunderstood trade-offs is a phenomenon known as inner-groove distortion (also referred to as end-of-side distortion. Inner-groove distortion is an audible deterioration in sound quality that sometimes occurs when playing tracks close … Read More
3 Albums Where Sound Quality, Production, And Story All Come Together
No matter what genre you listen to, all of us will have those key defining albums; music that stays with you forever. They seem like the perfect package – great songs, solid musicianship, fantastic recording and mastering quality, and an evocative story to match. Sometimes it can even be hard to pin it down to just a handful. The chances … Read More
High-resolution audio is a waste of time if the mastering sucks
First and foremost, what I’m about to say is merely my opinion and no doubt many will disagree with me. High-resolution audio is one of those topics that gets people worked up, and that’s cool, music fanatics are passionate and often fiery people – that’s what makes them great. All the same, I’m prepared to stick my neck out on … Read More
An Introduction to Digital Audio Formats
We all know and appreciate the convenience of digital audio, and most people are comfortable with the most common format of MP3. Move beyond this, however, and things can start to get a little confusing. Through the course of this post, I will attempt to shed some light on the basics of file formats, and hopefully, help improve your listening … Read More
Vinyl vs CD In The Loudness War
In my previous post “HMV & The Future of Music Retail?” I briefly highlighted the loudness war and the resurgence of vinyl. I now want to explain exactly what I meant by the growing appeal of vinyl when taking the loudness war into consideration, and why I believe many people choose to buy vinyl over digital alternatives. So here goes: Many audiophiles have long … Read More