The VinylDisc from Optimal Media Production is a cute idea. Why not put record grooves on the flip side of a CD? With the interesting resurgence of analog, this novelty disk may give more users the impetus to give the old turntable a try.
…Optimal Media Production’s vinyl/CD hybrid, which is just like a normal CD except that on the top, it has vinyl grooves etched in. Place a VinylDisc on your turntable, drop the needle at the start of the track, and you’ll hear up to 3.5 minutes of music at 33 RPM.
As for the overall sound quality, I just finished giving the vinyl side of a Sonic Kollectiv VinylDisc compilation a spin, and it sounded decent — not as good as 180 gram, but certainly good enough to warrant consideration from bands and labels looking to offer something new to their customers: a CD that everyone can play, with a secret bonus track in the grooves on top for those who have record players.
Beyond the debates on analog vs. digital sound quality (I for one believe a properly deployed turntable in a decent system sounds fantastic), maybe the recent resurgence of analog music is due to the fact that there’s no DRM involved?
Some very large portion of people who decry the sound of 16 bit 44.1khz digital vs. analog have never heard high resolution digital, like SACD or DVD Audio. If you have, you can compare with analog and find the biggest problem with CD is the limitations put on it way back when 16 digit chips were state of the art and compromises were made. There was plenty of argument about the sound even then.
I’m hanging on to my carefully tended vinyl from dozen[s] of years ago – no doubt someone’s working hard on digital processors to reduce dynamic range on vinyl masters while retaining playing time (last time around, RCA called it Microgroove). Todays producers are largely ignorant of good sound – no wonder no one wants to pay lots for the crap they try to sell.
I have a relatively cheap SACD player from Sony, DVD Audio via SoundBlaster Audigy 2, decent ‘classic’ (not megabuck) analog and hundreds of LPs, reel to reel, and CDs. Each CAN sound good. The best sound I hear comes from the SACD, but with a megabuck turntable maybe *that* would sound better – if I could ignore the surface noise and wow that afflicts even the most well made vinyl.
I remember when I got very first CD in my hands (circa 1983-4, it was early for Soviet Union hehe) and my first words to my buddy (owner of the CD) were “why they didn’t use the top of it to etch grooves so it could play like a normal ‘single’ why waste this space”… because until that moment I was under impression CDs had two sides like old longplays had
Well, quarter century later someone else got same idea
Has anybody tried to BUY a record needle lately?
They’re about as rare as buggy whips, trolley bells, and fat whitewall tires.