VINYL is BACK and you can thank Sonos for that

The format that wouldn’t die is officially in remission

Mono culture

Robert Morgan-Males, marketing director at Audio-Technica, says straight-to-vinyl releases, limited editions and unique content are keeping the format relevant for a new generation. “Digging around a record shop is a great experience that’s never died,” he told us. “We’re finding that new enthusiasts are joining the vinyl movement who’ve never experienced the medium before – it’s not uncommon to hear teenagers and people in their twenties enthusing about their new record collection these days.”

Perhaps vinyl also refuses to die because we’re all still a little bit in love with it. There’s a romance to the format, a warmth to the 12-inch cardboard sleeve that still engages emotionally in a way a CD jewel case can’t. I confess I feel far more protective of my limited edition Japanese CDs that are packaged in miniature cardboard sleeves than I do the bulk of my clattery compact disc collection.

Kate Koeppel Design: Record Shop dividers

Vinyl also seems to inspire a glorious irrationality in its supporters. How else would you explain designer wooden record dividers? Produced in California by designer Kate Koeppel, these A-Z sets come in 12-inch and 7-inch packs, tabbed either horizontally or vertically.

Of course typographic laser-cut wood panels will look great between your Oingo Boingo back catalogue and Pink Floyd platters, but priced upwards from £200 they’re a serious indulgence by any measure. Still I’ll wager there’ll be plenty of collectors out there already thinking about adding them to their Christmas wish list.

The Beatles’ original mono studio albums remastered for vinyl release

And what’s not to love about a world where the remastered vinyl of the Beatles mono albums generates more excitement than the finale of Strictly Come Dancing? Only in vinyl-land can an artisan phono cartridge handmade in Japan finds a global audience, despite a ticket price of £1,300 (upwards).

What’s particularly interesting about the Miyajima moving coil cartridge range, aside from the fact that they’re milled from exotic woods for optimum tonality, is that they’re designed for vintage mono and 78RPM releases as well as modern stereo pressings, reflecting vinyl’s (and shellac’s) unique role as a heritage entertainment format.

Miyajima Shilabe moving coil cartridge

So is the vinyl record bandwagon going to continue to pick-up speed? The smart money says yes. While we may still have a long wait for Our Price to reopen on the high street, decent mid-range record decks with disparate digital functionality are fast becoming being a Hi-Fi equipment staple.

Who knows, I may even retrieve my venerable Sansui MKII down from the back of loft sometime soon. At least then I will finally find out just how bad/brilliant my prized Amazing Spider-Man: A Rockomic record album (vintage 1972) really is! ®

Steve May is a veteran AV journalist and senior editor at Inside CI.

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