I have a giant vinyl record collection at home for two reasons. I have a 1938 Wurlitzer Jukebox which plays them, and a great deal of the best Jazz was recorded on vinyl. I also find that playing old records on the jukebox is the most authentic sound because the speaker is a heavy magnet about 30” in diameter, which is what the records were mixed for. Second, albums of vinyl are very cheap. Or they were a dozen years ago when I was buying.
In the 1990’s and 2000’s I heard a great deal of jazz original vinyl in Tokyo. Many jazz bars had vinyl playing with speakers that were bigger than me and exquisite amplifiers with vacuum tubes (made in Russia). The reason given was that the wave modulation was a warmer sound than digital.
To my surprise, a friend who does solo blues guitar performances year round in the San Francisco Bay Area, told me he gets paid by the sales of his vinyls. What? Yes. Musicians these days are selling vinyls not CDs at their performances.
So I looked at Target to see what kind of vinyl players they are selling. A whole page of record players from $50 to $900.
So, vinyl is back. The fellow who used to fix my Wurlitzer died a few years ago. When will a new repair man emerge?