Ask any fan of vinyl, and they'll give you a litany of answers as to why they love this long-running medium. For some, it's a social connection, as vinyl offers you the ability to trade albums with friends. For others, it's all about the sound experience, and nothing beats the warm crackle and hum of a record spinning into eternity. However, vinyl is not without its limitations. That includes limited storage space (usually six or so songs on either side), issues with the balance of bass and treble frequencies, and, because it's a physical medium, natural wear and tear that leads to inevitable replacement.
Now, though, some of those limitations could become a thing of the past. As Digital Music News reported, a company is in the process of developing groundbreaking high-definition vinyl that could push vinyl's capabilities.
A new kind of vinyl
The so-called HD vinyl is the brainchild of Rebeat Digital, an Austria-based company that filed a patient in early March 2016. HD Vinyl isn't meant to be the project's final name, but it does help to demonstrate just how different the resulting records are intended to be. Whatever that name may be, HD vinyl will be produced by using a 3D-based topographic map, as opposed to the standard vinyl which features rigid grooves made in a process involving lacquer and electro-plating.
Speaking to Digital Music News, Rebeat CEO Guenter Loibl said that using the 3D topographic approach offers the company better control of the size and distance of the grooves, which allows them to master the frequencies and optimize the sound quality. This method, Rebeat argued, will both cut down on overall production time - by up to 60 percent in most cases - and improve overall quality. Plus, HD Vinyl will be completely backwards compatible, meaning fans won't have to go out and buy a whole new turntable. But there other, more impressive benefits for audiophiles out there.
The HD Vinyl will have up to 30 percent more capacity, which could mean the addition of three to four new songs per side. It will also have a 30 percent greater range of volume, addressing a common complaint of many vinyl fans, plus double the audio fidelity. It's the fidelity that contributes to a higher quality, more nuanced listening experience. And with Rebeat able to cut down on costs by as much as half, it seems likely some of those savings will be passed on to consumers. Rebeat is still securing funding for the HD Vinyl project, but the company hopes to have the product available in stores sometime in 2019.
A changing of the guard
The launch of something like HD Vinyl couldn't come at a better time financially. As Forbes reported, vinyl sales increased by over 30 percent between 2014 and 2015, with sales exceeding 12 million total units. As NME pointed out, those figures represented a 26-year high for the vinyl medium.
So, just who is behind this vinyl resurgence? Though sales are up across a number of different population segments, a 2015 report from MusicWatch indicated that the bulk of all vinyl sales can be attributed to millennials. In fact, half of all vinyl sales are by people under the age of 25, and the majority of those are men. On the one hand, millennials love buying the latest gadgets. However, speaking with Forbes, advertising executive Jeff Fromm said that millennials tend to buy things, especially any form of technology, that fulfills their emotional needs. Given music's importance, and the nostalgia related to vinyl, it's no wonder sales have gone through the roof. Finding a way to streamline the technology, like HD Vinyl promised, could secure a chunk of the market.
If nothing else, HD Vinyl could have an impact because it doesn't adhere to the standard protocol for vinyl making. As the Washington Post reported, the rising popularity of vinyl has caused an issue for the few available manufacturing plants. For one, there aren't that many such plants in the U.S. - just a dozen or so, with some options in countries like Japan and Mexico. In many cases the machinery at these plants is 40-plus years old, and if anything were to break, that might bring production to a complete standstill. Plus, the added stress these machines are under - running as much as 24 hours per day - only increases the risk of something breaking down. All this has led to many plants dealing with back orders that run in excess of six months.
Time will tell what impact HD Vinyl will have, if any. But one thing remains sure - vinyl will no doubt remain a huge favorite for music fans both young and old.