Vinyl Forever

Vinyl never quite went away, and its return now looks permanent. It is worth asking why a format with clear technical limits keeps winning new listeners.

Part of the answer is ritual. A record asks you to choose an album, handle it and sit down for a side at a time. The large sleeve, the artwork and the sequence the artist chose all invite attention in a way a playlist rarely does. Part of the answer is mastering: records are often cut from masters with less dynamic compression than the digital releases of the same music, and many listeners hear that as greater ease and space. The rest is the sound of the playback chain itself, which listeners either love or do not.

The limits are real. Records pick up surface noise and wear. Distortion rises towards the end of each side, as the groove speed falls, and channel separation is lower than with digital. A well-set-up front end keeps these limits small; a poorly set-up one makes them obvious.

Setting up a turntable is mostly patience. Place it on a level, rigid support, away from the loudspeakers and isolated from footfall. Align the cartridge with a protractor suited to the tonearm’s geometry. Set the tracking force to the cartridge maker’s recommendation, set the anti-skating to match, and adjust the arm height so that the arm sits parallel to the record as a starting point. Each of these takes minutes and makes an audible difference.

The phono stage must suit the cartridge. Moving-magnet cartridges are normally loaded at 47 kilohms and need moderate gain. Moving-coil cartridges produce far less output, need much more gain, and have loading preferences set by their makers. The phono stage also applies the RIAA equalisation that restores the correct balance to the signal cut into the groove.

Care keeps records and stylus healthy. Clean records before playing, ideally with a wet-cleaning method for second-hand discs. Store them upright in good inner sleeves, away from heat. Clean the stylus gently and regularly, and replace it at the interval its maker suggests, because a worn stylus damages the grooves it plays.

Expect some noise, some ritual and some fiddling. In return you get music that asks for your attention, and often rewards it. The future of the record is not retro; it is simply patient.