This is great. A Dutch company has come up with a new process to make records with less energy, and with fewer nasty chemicals.
It uses PET instead of PVC, so it”s no longer “vinyl.”
The maker says it sounds exactly the same.
I wonder, will audiophile purists accept it?
We could certainly do with a more sustainable way to press records. It might even get us out of the supply crisis.
They sell crab that’s not made of crab, it’s made of fish and they just sell it as “krab”. They could do the same here: call it “vynyl”
Well, vinyl is only one name. I never used it when I was younger, and still buying records. We just called them “records”.
Yeah, there are lathe cut records as well but from what I understand they are generally lower audio quality than vinyl and deteriorate much quicker with each play.
But I’m excited about everything said in that article, especially the idea of teaming up with bandcamp somehow. I’ve always wanted to release my music in small batch vinyl runs. This definitely sounds like something to look forward to, for artists and fans of the format.
Hell yes. As someone who wants to do a physical release but who also can’t stomach the environmental impact of traditional vinyl, this is a step in the right direction.
Now this looks a lot better than that print on demand idea
The material doesn’t matter.
As long as the needle stays in the groove everything is fine.
And the record should be black.
MP3’s 
Make a single press on something, record that to MP3…sounds like vinyl 
Cool! As long as the material has the same kind of characteristics without any drawbacks then it seems like a win/win.
I spoke to a materials scientist and audiophile for the article I’m writing, and he said that
I do not see any reason that PET records perform less than PVC ones because the key physical properties of PET and PVC for pressed records are also very similar. PET records are just equivalent to PVC ones but with a more sustainable future.
Which looks good.
I don’t think that the material in these discs itself is the problem.
Laymen use MP3s and streaming services and they’re happy. It neither requires real material, nor produces any waste.
However, there are privileged people who decide that it’s cool to “own” this ancient medium, because supposedly it sounds “more warm”. They’re kind of like cave people collecting pretty rocks, because they shine “prettier” in the right sun than mud.
This fix is just duct taping the problem that’s so primitive and simple it’s beyond ridiculous. Problematic people inventing more problems.
I myself collected vinyls for a while, until I realised how stupid that actually is. Instead of making excuses to “have better listening experience” or “owning the real thing”, I chose to just appreciate the music more itself, regardless of any medium.
it needs to last centuries, for archive purposes
What do audiophiles hear vs what they think they hear anyways?
If anybody wants the “real thing” and help the environment, buy these old CDs that nobody wants anymore, otherwise they end up in trash.
Yeah that’s a scandal right there.
MoFi releases sound legitimately amazing. The outrage (imo) stems more from them lying about their process, not because it’s not pure analogue: if they had been truthful about their process from the very get-go and still released such high quality masters, I don’t think there would have been an issue (whether theyd been as successful, idk).
@m13wo: that’s actually a really good call. Anyway I don’t buy new vinyl anymore; just used. I enjoy listening to it more than CDs (when there isn’t horrible warping or surface noise)
Maybe, but I bet a whole group of audiophiles would of talked shit about the releases based on their highly tuned ears, not much different than some wine snobs who claim they can taste the soil where a wine is produced or whatever, only to fail a blind taste test or whatever…
I do… the problem is I never can find the one I want under my car seat while in traffic!
You’re listening to vinyl in a car?
You advised people buy cds… that’s what I was replying to but yes, yes sometimes I do listen to vinyl in the car but only in areas with a 25mph speed limit.
