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HD vinyl could be on the shelves by summer 2019
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 13 April 2018
Some people say that one of the attractions of vinyl is all the pops, crackles and imperfections of sound held in its analogue form. Those people are wrong, which is why high definition vinyl has been invented. Now the company behind it, Rebeat Innovation, reckons actually good vinyl could be in the shops as soon as next year.
The company says that as well as better sound quality, HD vinyl will also be louder and play for longer before you have to leap up and flip it over. And best of all, it’s that most coveted of things – something many thought was lost to the music industry forever – a new format. Who knows, one day it might even be as ubiquitous as Super Audio CDs and DVD Audio.
According to Pitchfork, Rebeat has received $4.8 million in funding to get this idea off the ground. A chunk of this will be spent on the laser cutting system required to make the discs, which allows for more accurate reproduction of sound recordings on vinyl. The manufacturing process will also do away with the need for the various chemicals involved in standard vinyl production.
The aim, says CEO Günter Loibl, is to work with five pressing plants to create test records. These will then be presented, it is hoped, at the Making Vinyl conference in Detroit this October. “It will take another eight months to do all the fine adjustments”, says Loibl. “So by summer 2019 we shall see the first HD vinyls in the stores”.
HD vinyl discs will play on existing turntables, so there’ll be no need to upgrade your hi-fi right away. Although, given the alarming and upsetting number of people who buy vinyl and then never play it, maybe that’s not a concern anyway.