While rock legend Neil Young is one of high-res audio’s biggest champions, he’s not such a fan of the recent vinyl resurgence. According to the Canadian rocker, the ongoing revival of the retro format is “really nothing but a fashion statement”.
Young’s comments come shortly after end-of-year figures detailed a significant rise in vinyl sales in the US, UK, and Australia. In the US alone, vinyl saw a 49 percent surge in sales, though it’s important to note that the rises were from low bases.
However, Young is wary of the renewed interest in the format, telling southern California radio show the Frame (via The Guardian), “A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realise that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl.”
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As Tone Deaf recently reported, it looks like Young is right. According to a report by LA Weekly, today’s records simply aren’t optimised for vinyl releases. Albums are recorded with digital and CD in mind and then stuffed onto vinyl LPs where the quality of the recording suffers.
“That’s because the record companies have figured out that people want vinyl. And they’re only making CD masters in digital, so all the new products that come out on vinyl are actually CDs on vinyl, which is really nothing but a fashion statement,” added Young during his Frame appearance.
Young appeared on the show to promote his own digital music player, Pono, which had its retail launch earlier this year. During his appearance, Young cleared up one of the primary misconceptions surrounding the divisive player.
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“I’m saying that it’s a high-resolution digital player. It doesn’t create an analog sound; it creates the best digital sound. It’s capable of creating the best sounds that people can create in the digital realm in the recording studios,” said Young.
Despite his ardent belief in the product, which was backed by a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and an array of famous musicians touting Pono’s incredible sound, the player has received lukewarm reviews from several media outlets.
In a much talked-about write-up, Yahoo’s David Pogue ran blind tests with 15 people, comparing Pono against an iPhone. The subjects consistently expressed a preference for the sound of the iPhone. Meanwhile, renowned tech site Ars Technica referred to Young’s player as “snake oil”.
