There is an undeniable human connection with vinyl that you just don’t get with downloads. You can enjoy owning an album. Unlike a download it’s a tangible thing of beauty, colourful, informative and collectable.
Thanks mainly in part to nostalgic parents, younger generations are waking up to how much better music sounds when played on vinyl. Unsurprising when you consider that although technology has run rampant for the past 2 to 3 decades, sound quality hit the buffers. A surreal, virtual world of soulless downloads quickly gained the upper hand - quantity and convenience won at the expense of quality.
Switch on a valve amplifier and you actually see it gradually come to life. First the glow from the valves heaters as the warmth starts to permeate. Then there’s the sound. Devoid of ‘listening fatigue, valves, like analog recordings, have a more full-bodied sound than transistors with a ‘roundness’ that arguably solid-state gear never equals.
CD’s, radio, streamed music and dare we say it, even MP3 files sound less harsh and more ‘rounded’ when played through a valve amplifier.
We believe the time for vinyl and valves has come around again. After all, there’s something theatrical and cool about putting a record on. Tutti’s sensational Contemporary Stereogram exploits this theatre to the full, lid open or closed!