The idea for last week's Listening Post column, which examined the strange demand for vinyl records in the digital age, was inspired to a small extent
by Optimal Media Production's vinyl/CD hybrid, which is just like a normal CD except that on the top, it has vinyl grooves etched in. Place a
VinylDisc on your turntable, drop the needle at the start of the track, and you'll hear up to 3.5 minutes of music at 33 RPM.
Since CDs have a hole at their center that's too large to fit on a vinyl spindle, you'll need to use the little rubber adapter that comes with each
disc to center the disc on your record player; otherwise, it'll go off-center and you'll hear the music speed up and slow down with each revolution.
As for the overall sound quality, I just finished giving the vinyl side of a Sonic Kollectiv VinylDisc compilation a spin, and it sounded decent --
not as good as 180 gram, but certainly good enough to warrant consideration from bands and labels looking to offer something new to their customers: a
CD that everyone can play, with a secret bonus track in the grooves on top for those who have record players.
Other weird offerings from Optimal Media Production include etched vinyl, perfumed CDs, and a partially metallized disc that makes "specially chosen
images float through the room, seemingly three-dimensional and extraordinarily vivid."Discipline - 11-8-2007 at 08:50 PM
Stupid idea.Siczine.com - 11-9-2007 at 01:40 AM
I think it's a pretty awesome idea. I wonder how drastic the price difference is.
"specially chosen images float through the room, seemingly three-dimensional and extraordinarily vivid."
I would be interested in seeing one those.upyerbum - 11-9-2007 at 04:28 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Siczine.com
"images float through the room, seemingly three-dimensional and extraordinarily vivid."