Vinyl is Not Dead, Neither Are CD’s!
The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article stating that for the first time since the mid-1980s, U.S. vinyl sales hit $1 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Whether that'll hold true for CDs or not, we'll see. According to the RIAA, The Verge wrote that CD sales in the US increased for the first time in almost two decades. Shipments rose from 31.6 million in 2020 to 46.6 million in 2021, and revenue from the format rose from $483.2 million to $584.2 million.
It goes to show that vinyl has come back with a vengeance, and CDs are following suit, but is it enough for you to go out and buy a turntable or CD player? Let’s do some convincing, because we’re all about it, especially when it comes to reference grade performance that McIntosh provides.
While classified as a CD player, it is better to think of the new McIntosh MCD12000 SACD/CD as a reference-level Digital-to-Analog convertor (DAC) that includes compact disc playback capabilities. Music played through any of the digital inputs or from CDs is processed by professional grade 8-channel DACs designed for premium audiophile performance and recording studios. Sidebar: It’s not standalone, you need some control, like the accompanying McIntosh C12000 Preamplifier.
“While it’s easy to assume the boom is driven by faux-nostalgia, an example of Zoomers and Millennials ransacking dated technology in search of something “cool,” there are compelling reasons to buy a physical record or CD in 2022,” says The Wall Street Journal. Well, besides having the ability to say “my CD player has a Laser Beam Wavelength of 750nm.” Sorry, that just got really nerdy… or rad. Yes, we’re throwing out all of the 90’s lingo. But in all seriousness, continuing with the elegant writing of Tim Barribeau for The Wall Street Journal… “In the age when popular streaming services like Spotify might pay an artist fractions of a penny per stream of a song, a record [or CD] lets you support the same musician in a more concrete way, giving them a better cut of the action. Bonus: records come in often-handsome sleeves that can be held, pondered, read, re-read and displayed, unlike a download code.” We say the same with CDs, but instead of sleeves that help prevent scratching, not breakage, CDs come in a safer, ever annoying, jewel case that you hate to love and love to hate. Admit it, nothing beats the tactile quality of records and CDs.
Now let’s talk about “the turntable.” (warning, more nerd talk ahead) Just like the MTI100 turntable seen below, McIntosh is thinking ahead and building some exquisite pieces of equipment that offer the option to play a little historical audio formats. Besides the turntable itself that plays both 33-1/3 and 45 rpm vinyl records, the MTI100 also includes a power amplifier, a vacuum tube preamplifier section, a shielded phono preamplifier, an unbalanced auxiliary input, digital audio coaxial and optical inputs, a Bluetooth receiver, a subwoofer output, stereo speaker outputs for sharing your music with friends, and a headphone jack for personal listening. Now that’s a mouthful, and if it’s all a little Greek to you, read more about it here, but essentially what it means is that you have options for playing more than just vinyl on the MTI100. Same with the MCD12000, it can be more than just a CD player… McIntosh is making an ample amount of their equipment flexible, which is a godsend if you are a low-voltage subcontractor. If you understood the jargon above, the MTI1000 is standalone, but it can and will pair very nicely with a little more beefy amp, like the McIntosh MC462. I mean, why not if you want to. Just sayin’!
Back to The Wall Street Journal article: “It's an understatement to say we’re in the middle of a vinyl renaissance. Both indie and megastar acts are putting out their albums in analog form. Special limited editions, made of untraditionally vivid plastic, like the blue version of Vince Staples’s eponymous 2021 album, are selling out promptly. The trend has spawned a multitude of bizarre vinyl variants. The 2015 “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” soundtrack projects a hologram while playing in the right lighting conditions. Possibly weirder, the 30th anniversary “Ghostbusters” soundtrack from 2014 arrives “marshmallow-scented,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
In conclusion, there are millions of Vinyl, CD and SACD disc collectors throughout the world, and McIntosh has not forgotten them— nor has SAV Digital Environments. In fact, McIntosh has always stayed true to vinyl, and they have more disc player models today than ever before. SAV is here to support the cause! Admit it, you still have binders full of CDs… and hopefully some vinyl too. Hey, if you have the Wu-Tang Clan’s: Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, we have a nice MT-5 and MTI100 turntable to play it on at our showroom for you. Is it you Bill Murray?! (Hint: scroll to the bottom for Bill Murray link)
Sidebar: What happened to the MiniDisc, are tapes coming back some day, and did video really kill the radio star?
