FAQ

There are a few common reasons why people collect vinyl.

It's easy to talk about sound quality, it's arguably one of the benefits of listening to vinyl, although there's a lot of information out there that indicates the analogue vs digital argument is mostly a matter of personal preference. There's no doubt, however, that well cared for records played on a nice system sound great.

Another large part of the appeal is definitely the aesthetics of vinyl. The larger artwork, compared to CDs, the elegant simplicity of turntables and the beauty of the records themselves can be a big draw card.

There's also the ritual/habitual aspect. Selecting a record, putting it on the turntable, and - perhaps most importantly - the way we listen to a record versus the way we liste to streamed music or even CDs. Where other mediums allow or encourage us to skip songs mid flow, putting on a record seems to demand a little more commitment; we tend to play the whole album.

It can be a more intimate and special experience. Collecting vinyl allows us to give prominence to the music we love.

RPM stands for revolutions per minute. In the context of vinyl records, it's how many times your platter will spin every sixty seconds.

Vinyl records are manufactured for playback at either 33 1/3 RPM, 45 RPM or 78 RPM.

Most 12" full-size records will play at 33 1/3 RPM and most 7" will play at 45 RPM. It's not always the case, but unless otherwise indicated on the sleeve or the label, it's a useful rule of thumb.

78 RPM records are rarely manufactured anymore. It was mostly used on old (pre-1940s) shellac gramophone records, which are pretty rare to come across these days.

Vinyl records should be stored vertically, with the records standing upright. This helps prevent warping and ensures that the weight of the records is evenly distributed. Read more about how we store our records here.

A phono preamp - sometimes refered to as a phono stage - is a device that boosts the weak analogue signal from your turntable so that it can be played through your stereo system. Phono preamps are often built into record players or power amplifiers, but they can also be purchased separately. Check out our blog post here for more detailed information.

Some turntables, receivers and amplifiers come with built in phono preamps or phono stages. Check your system components or do a little research before you purchase. Check out our blog post here for more in-depth info.

There are two types. Moving Magnet (MM) cartridges are the most common and come standard on most turn tables you can buy. Moving Coil (MC) cartridges are generally more expensive and less forgiving when system matching and setting up. We go into a bit more detail in our MM & MC Cartridges blog post.