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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

CES 2016 has a surprising amount of tech that was cutting-edge in the late 1970s: vinyl record players [csmonitor.com].

Sony announced the PS-HX500, a high-resolution turntable that can both play records and convert them to digital files. Panasonic announced the Technics SL-1200G, a direct-drive turntable based on a model that’s been popular with DJs for years. (Neither Sony nor Panasonic announced prices for the turntables, which will be available in the spring and summer, respectively, but the previous iteration of the Technics SL-1200, discontinued in 2010, goes for hundreds of dollars on eBay.) Smaller companies such as Flexson are demoing turntables on the CES 2016 show floor, too.

Vinyl records were supposed to have been made obsolete with the introduction of the audio CD in 1982. CDs take up less space, can hold more music, and are more resistant to scratches and warping than records. Yet vinyl sales have grown for 10 straight years, hitting a new high of almost 12 million LPs sold in 2015, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

That may be because of nostalgia, or because vinyl fans praise the format for sounding warmer and more authentic than digital files.

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