“Why I Listen to Records. It Has Nothing to Do with Sound Quality.”

After months of building, my new home office is almost 100% functional. One of the last things I have to do is fire up the new two-channel NAD/PSB/Pro-Ject audio system, which occupies a music-listening-only corner of the basement. I can’t wait to finally listen to a bunch of vinyl that I’ve been saving for this particular occasion. And yes, I’m hoping to enjoy some great audio, but that’s not the only reason I budgeted for this. There’s more to listening to vinyl than just the sound. This article from KickAtTheDarkness explains why.

Finding himself home alone for a few hours and his to do list completed, he flicked on the light switch and walked down the stairs to their basement. His eyes scanned the shelves filled with close to a thousand titles, organized alphabetically and chronologically. He needed a few minutes to consider his options.

What was his current state of mind? How much time did he have? How did he want to feel? What memories did he want to recall? Something familiar? Something old? Something new?

The tips of his fingers slowly brushed the spines as his eyes scanned each title. His decision made, he gently removed his selection from the shelf and walked across the room. Removing it from it’s protective sleeve he carefully placed the center spindle through the small whole in the black vinyl disk, raised the tone arm and set the needle.

He sat cross legged on the floor in front of the turntable, slowly examining the cover art, allowing the music to wash over him. Within minutes he was transported, no longer in their basement. He’d listen to the entire album while reviewing the liner notes and enjoying a much needed distraction.

I love music and I love listening to records. I’ve been collecting them for over 15 years. I prefer listening to music on vinyl for several reasons, the least of which is the quality of the audio.

Keep reading. And thanks to Ted for the link.