Why Vinyl?

Why Vinyl? We read that vinyl sales are on the increase - surely this is untrue - didn't they stop making them 20 years ago! Well, no they didn't, so why is this "ancient" technology still around?

Many arguments can be put forward in favour of the 12" vinyl long playing record , not least of which is that many people have invested an enormous amount of time and money in collecting records, and building up a sound system that would do justice to them. In a recent interview, Audio Engineer and Remastering Guru, Steve Hoffman, said that according to all by which we measure such things, CD should be superior, it just that, simply, "vinyl sounds better". Or in another, "You'd be surprised at how bad most modern compact discs sound on really good equipment. It'll make your ears fall off after half an hour." Don't believe him? If you have a half-decent turntable, a simple test is to listen to Snow Patrol's recent album "Eyes Open" on vinyl and then CD. The vinyl is far superior with more range and bass - the latter almost missing on CD - and this is (presumably) a digital recording, not analogue! Vinyl is not for everyone - it's hard to play a record in the car - and if you just want music to sing along too, or do the house cleaning, the convenience of CD is great. But if you really "listen to music" and want a more rewarding listening experience, this is where vinyl comes in. And settling down to play a record is not just a matter of pushing a button, there is a ritual to go through - cleaning, setting the balance, fondling the (artistically relevant) cover - that somehow enhances the listening experience - it becomes, well almost mystical (settle down!!).

Whatever the reason – creative, aesthetic, sonic, sense of injustice, or sheer bloody mindedness, collectors and music lovers still need their fix. Compact discs have not been free of criticism (deservedly) as to regards sound quality, and many people find digital remasterings of analogue recordings unacceptably harsh. This is particularly true of early remasterings - we have the technology and are not afraid to use it - it's just that it took a while before they used it properly. The use of vinyl by D.J.s is an obvious reason for vinyl's' survival, and also the quality of pressings and re-masterings by audiophile companies such as Classic Records, Rhino, Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions and others in the in the U.S., Speakers Corner in Germany and Pure Pleasure, Simply Vinyl and others in the U.K. - even pressings and presentation by EMI, Sony and Universal, extremely large companies - are of a quality that is far above the standard of yesteryear (see Pink Floyd's 30th Anniversary edition of "Dark side of the moon" on EMI as one example of many).

If you are among the above, take heart.The number of new record titles is increasing all the time, and this is why we are here. We stock somewhere around 1,000 new and re-issue titles at any given time, but as you can see from our Catalogue we can expect to obtain a huge number in a reasonably short time. Some titles have not been included because of a temporary difficulty in ordering them, or we are unaware of their existence, or it is well past the time we should have updated the lists - that does not mean we are unable to obtain them.  If you cannot see what you are searching for, or wish to order these or any other titles, please either visit, fax, phone or e-mail us, and we will do our best to be of assistance.

All prices quoted are correct at the time of publishing, but please check with us before ordering! Also titles have a habit of disappearing suddenly from the companies catalogue, so we cannot guarantee availability!

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All Prices are in Australian Dollars, approximately 90c cents to one U.S. dollar. Go to our How to Order Page for a conversion to the currency of your choice!