After 36 years of its original release, Mariya Takeuchi Plastic Love is finally re-issued on vinyl record. Some might think it is not really a big deal: there are legit ways to listen to the full song via YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming sites. But the audio quality is truly not the best due to compression and limiting.
Analog Recording Plays Best on Analog Medium
As a musician and producer, I know the effort music creators put in to mix and master their recordings so that each instrument and each musical element is perfect. If you are a music lover who absolutely wants to appreciate the audio that is designed in the recording studio, then you would want to get the audio source that is close to the mastering process.
This is why I realised that the type of music that plays really well on vinyl are the music that were recorded before the digital era. This is because these recordings exist on analog media which are transferred to vinyl records through the analog process. When these analog recordings are later published on digital streaming platforms, they go through digital conversion and optimisation – re-mastering – to make them sound more exciting and “clearer”.
For post-digital productions, since the recordings are digital, the mastering engineers are already mixing them to fit the digital platform, hence what you hear on the streaming apps are probably what the producers want you to hear, including all the audio level compression and distortion.
Vinyl Record Is Not Automatically Better
Indeed there are experiential differences when these modern digital masters are transferred to the analog vinyl, but usually because of 2 major factors. One: the mastering engineer tunes the output to suit the vinyl format. Two: the mechanical pick-up of the vinyl grooves result in additional environmental factors during playback.
Hence, do not expect modern albums to always sound better on vinyl. The medium captures whatever is fed to them during the cutting process, so technically, a vinyl can sound identical to a digital audio. The only difference is if the mastering engineer tweaks the output before cutting. Quite often, he does that due to the physical limitations of vinyl. Irony as it seems, vinyl records are such an old format with constraints – the treble and bass frequencies cannot be too extreme, and the channel separation is also a factor to consider. A cutting engineer listens to your recording and optimises it for vinyl format, and it is through this process that makes vinyl records sound different from digital versions. A poorly-pressed record will have distortions and noises, problems that a digital format never encounters, since each copy is a perfect replicate.
Mariya Takeuchi “Variety” 2021 Vinyl LP Reissue: Review
Let’s come back to this particular record. This 2021 re-issue is based on the 30th anniversary remastered edition, which means the audio has already gone through “modernisation” to make it sound “better” for the modern day people. Unfortunately, this is not the reason people listen to vinyl. Regardless, the vinyl record has noticeable audio difference from the Spotify “high quality” version. I notice that the Spotify is more compressed, tighter, and dry, while the vinyl sounds more spatial, more extended, the percussions sound more natural with a ring. Other than that, the overall sound mix is similar, you can tell that they are from the same re-master source.
In this YouTube video, I recorded both versions for your comparison.
Verdict
The vinyl production process is a true test of dedication for a record producer. After the completion of a recording, there is a lengthy process of cutting, plating, pressing. The record also requires handling care to ensure the playback remains clean and clear. Similarly, the turntable has to be properly maintained. There are also many components that a vinyl owner can undergo to improve the sound quality. All these are part of the analogue experience. Ultimately, the record owner – you – play a crucial role to make the record sound its best.
One of the fun things a vinyl collector do is to look for excellent vinyl copies that play really well. After nearly a year of collection, I have had my fair share of elation and disappointments, and each purchase enriches to my vinyl experience and strengthens my connection to the music I listen to. Most importantly, the record belongs to me and not just an online stream of audio I do not own.
Are you considering to start your own vinyl collection? Before you do, you might want to read my checklist article here.