First, honest question: is there some secret lease that needs to be signed before posting on HN that requires that every real-world phenomenon be framed using 1337 h4x0r terminology? For some reason, it really rubs me the wrong way, people trying to shoebox anything and everything into a faux-technological perspective.
Also, the reason Vinyls still sell is that there is a sense of occassion about taking a record out of it's cover, carefully placing the needle on it, sitting back to focus on the music and nothing else. Same reason the physical joy of playing a piano will always have a place despite being able to get nearly the same sounds out of a computer. I'd hate to watch two self driving cars competing against each other to see which has the best code. That sounds tedious as all hell. I'm not sure about the others, but fuck yeah I categorically do NOT want an AI cracking jokes at a party.
Smart phones kinda ruined chitchat a little bit for me. Someone states a fact and I have a strong urge to pull out my phone and check it out. Takes me out of the flow of conversation, so I have to make a major effort not to do it.
Some friends and I have a standing rule that Wikipedia, IMDB, and other such resources are banned while chatting at the pub. It used to be you could get a good 30-40 minutes of good natured argument out of two people disagreeing about a fact at the pub, whereas now there'll be a disagreement, then someone will pull out Wikipedia and immediately settle the matter. What are you meant to do for the next 35 minutes?
Another oft-cited reason is because vinyls can't have a "brick-walled" dynamic range, as it often happens with new digital music thanks to the loudness war [1]. So audiophiles tend to favor it.
From the article:
As explained earlier, due to the physical limitations of vinyl, there are limits as to how loud you can press a record, and because vinyl is “for audiophiles” – there is less incentive for record companies to compromise the quality of vinyl releases. As a result, many vinyl records are mastered differently to the CD release with more dynamic range and at lower volumes.
Is there any good reason why someone shouldn't simply listen to digital versions of the vinyl masters ? Lack of availability wouldn't make it impossible, in pre-internet days people ripped their CDs, and especially for vinyl that can literally wear out, it would make all sense to use a perfect recording even if you have bought the vinyls - at least so that you'd listen to that in your car instead of the CD.
>There might not be any substantive reason for this other than random bias
Vinyls do have a characteristic compressed warmth that subjectively a lot of people enjoy. The pops and crackles that come with vinyl are pleasing to many also.
First, honest question: is there some secret lease that needs to be signed before posting on HN that requires that every real-world phenomenon be framed using 1337 h4x0r terminology? For some reason, it really rubs me the wrong way, people trying to shoebox anything and everything into a faux-technological perspective.
Also, the reason Vinyls still sell is that there is a sense of occassion about taking a record out of it's cover, carefully placing the needle on it, sitting back to focus on the music and nothing else. Same reason the physical joy of playing a piano will always have a place despite being able to get nearly the same sounds out of a computer. I'd hate to watch two self driving cars competing against each other to see which has the best code. That sounds tedious as all hell. I'm not sure about the others, but fuck yeah I categorically do NOT want an AI cracking jokes at a party.
Somethings are better when they are lower tech.