Despite the past forty years of advancing audio technology, record collecting is very popular with the millennial generation, including students at ASU campus.
Brandon Higgins, an employee at a record store on Roosevelt Row called Revolver records, close to ASU Downtown campus, said the rise in popularity is a combination of people jumping on the trendy band wagon and simply because records give off a better sound.
“A lot of it is popularity. It is a trend and younger people like to see that, they think it is cool,” Higgins said. “But a lot of the younger people who are passionate about music are always on the hunt for new artists, and there is no going back after (vinyl).”
Higgins said he started to collect records around the age of 18 after hearing the difference between the old style and MP3s.
“I plugged it into speakers, and once I heard it for the first time, I was blown away,” Higgins said.
He said he believes CDs and MP3s do not sound as good because how compressed the music is inside of them. Records, however, are made up of analogs, which are like recording tracks.
“You are hearing all those tracks, in a whole spectrum, it is beautiful,” Higgins said. “But when you are listening to CDs, they are completely compressed, and when you are listening to MP3s they are even more compressed.”
Brandon Ripp, a filmmaking practices freshman, said he began collecting records about two years ago after he inherited his dad’s collection.
“I’m a big fan of physical media," Ripp said. "And I am totally, 100 percent, a firm believer that they sound better.”
He said records have more bandwidth than modern forms of music, and that even though it might be out of the human hearing range, listeners can still feel those frequencies.
“It might just be me being crazy, but I totally think that it's a real thing,” Ripp said. He said he does not think records will not go out of style anytime soon because they have already stood the test of time.
“If it goes away in the next couple of years, I will be really surprised.” Ripp said.
He added that another reason for the longevity of the format is their appearance. Ripp said records can also be a way to decorate a room, because the vinyl normally comes with a large case, which a student could use as a poster on the wall.
“Even after they serve what they are used for, they would definitely be good for decorative pieces.” Ripp said.
Brianna Moore, a journalism sophomore, said she recently began her record collection because she is a huge fan of music and agreed that vinyl has a certain sound to it that digital formats just lack.
“People appreciate the authenticity of records,” she said.
Reach the reporter at editomass@asu.edu or follow @emily_ditomasso on Twitter.
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