Have you ever been cornered at a party by an audiophile who insists (usually at some length) that vinyl sounds superior to digital? Or have you ever noticed that you prefer vinyl yourself? Is that just nostalgia talking? Or is there something to the claim?
One thing is certain — vinyl is making a comeback. For the first time since 1986, vinyl recordings sold more than CDs, with vinyl sales increasing by almost 29 percent in 2020 alone.
A vinyl recording is an analog copy of sound pressed into vinyl in the shape of the original sound wave. When you settle a vinyl disc onto your turntable and ease the needle (aka stylus) into the groove, the pattern is “read” by the needle, which creates an electrical signal that is passed on to the speakers, which generate the sound. A digital recording, on the other hand, takes the waveform of ...
