How to pick a stylus to play a 78-rpm record

Tbf vinyls can have a great sound if properly mastered and played on high end equipment with noise cancelling. And they look cooler than CDs or subscription services. I can see the appeal, however hipsters playing dirty records on cheap 60's turntables and pretending it sounds better than even MP3 on a Bluetooth speaker are just dumb.

Not rage bait, completely fair. Depends on how you define "quality". To me, records have a warm and full sound that feels nice filling a room with. Also, I think there is something to be said for the act of playing music on a physical media that is annoying to skip songs with. There is something I like about physically looking through the albums on my shelf, picking one out, admiring the cover art, and putting it on. It's kind of a ritual you don't get with Spotify. Then I'm basically forced to listen to the whole album front to back, because of the inconvenience of track skipping in that format. There is kind of a ritual to it that is a nice break from digital media. So there is a quality to the whole experience that is somewhat separate from the fidelity of the music.

Or maybe I'm just a hipster trying to justify to myself the money I've spent on records lol

Good stylus amp and mastering it can sound great. But really for me it's about being in the moment and present with the music, the act of putting on a song or two at a time makes you actively listen. Like going to a concert, which is rarely the very best version of a song.

Best way I've had it explained to me is that you're not doing vinyl for the fidelity. You're doing it for the vibes. Sure, CDs sound better, and streaming is more convenient, but I find it much more fun to go through the process of doing music through vinyl. Plus there's just something about going through the effort that makes it easier for my ADHD mind to actually sit down and listen to an entire album, whereas with streaming it's so easy to just discard a song or album and do something else instead.

I just find it really interesting.

My house is full of dead technology like this just because I'm curious or like the aesthetics.

I tend to click around when I'm listening to digital music, it's so easy to put on something else, skip a track, and generally fuck about.

If I'm listening to vinyl I tend to listen to the entire album. It's a better way of focussing my attention.

Vinyl has, AFAIK, been gaining a lot in popularity over the last 20 years. The last few years pressing plants have had trouble keeping up with demand — in part due to supply chain issues, but also because everyone and their grandma wants vinyl pressed.

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It has been done! https://ofersp.github.io/digital_needle/

There is indeed a way to use lasers to read 78s without touching the surface, and the gear is availble. Though probably not at a price most of us would like. Here's one example: https://www.elpj.com/ But after decades of work, they seem to have problems ... /Laser_turntable#Performance

Welcome. I didn't realize until I read that how complicated using the 'right' styli can get. Or that most 'shellac' 78s were mostly made of other crap. Interesting topic!