Do You Remember Vinyl?
I may be about to give away my age here, but I noticed a small shop in Vero Beach that buys and sells vinyl records. Seeing this shop brought back memories of all the time I spent saving for, and shopping for, my favorite music on vinyl record albums. There was something almost ceremonial about listening to a new album for the first time. First you would remove the cellophane wrapper, and then carefully slip the shiny black disc out of the protective paper sleeve before placing it carefully on the platter of your turntable. Then I would wipe the surface with a special brush before lowering the tonearm into the outer grove for the first time. Once the music began to fill the room, I would of course study the wealth of information, art, and images on the album cover.
Bedroom walls of the 60s and 70s were frequently lined with record albums.
I listened to vinyl records long after the compact disc came along promising the world “perfect sound forever.” I stayed with vinyl largely because much of my favorite music was off the beaten path, and did not have a large enough of an audience to warrant re-release on the new digital format. Others however stayed with vinyl because they were convinced vinyl just sounds better. I must confess, I did not miss the pops and ticks that I could never eliminate from my vinyl rig, but I do believe that vinyl records were able to reproduce a degree of warmth and depth that was lacking in the new compact disc.
There is definitely basis in fact for the theory that vinyl sounds better. Real music consists of sound waves that are continuous, and ever changing in frequency. The groove in a vinyl record is able to reproduce those continuous waves. Digital on the other hand samples the continuous waves at a fixed interval and only presents the value of the waveforms at those sample points in time.
Think of it like a connect the dots drawing. If you take a drawing of a beach ball. At every half inch along the round ball you put a dot with the next number. If you replace the curved line of the original beach ball drawing with straight lines from dot to dot, you will end up with a shape that looks a little like a beach ball, but not as much as the original drawing. In our analogy, the music is the original drawing of the beach ball, and the digital recording is the connect the dots representation of the music.
After moving all those albums a few times, I finally decided that digital music was probably good enough for me, but believe it or not, the market for vinyl never died. There are dedicated enthusiast still who keep vinyl alive. Some of the more hip recording artists today are choosing to have their new work released on high quality “180 gram” vinyl albums. Audio manufacturers exist who are dedicating much effort to perfecting playback for the vinyl purist. You might not even recognize some of the more esoteric turntables for what they are.
This state of the art turntable retails for $35,950. The tone arm pictured adds $9,500. A suitable cartridge may add as much as $15,000.
It seems the major focus on music reproduction is now all about convenience rather than fidelity. With each new medium, the music is compressed a little more, and loses some quality in the process. Now that even the compact disc seems dated, I think it is quite cool that the nostalgic record player, and the vinyl record has survived.
DiSalvo And Company, P.A. is a Treasure Coast CPA firm, with offices in Vero Beach, Titusville, and Melbourne, providing comprehensive accounting and tax services for businesses in the Treasure Coast and Space Coast area of Central Florida. We are the Dave Ramsey endorsed local provider of Tax Services in your area.
Have Peace of Mind During Tax Season
As we near our annual “tax season” it is a good time to pause for a moment and examine your plan. A certain percentage of American citizens are selected for a tax audit by the IRS each year no matter what. What if it happens to you? Are you comfortable that the person you are planning to have prepare your tax return is the right person to face off against the IRS with you?
Tax Season: 2014
Are you planning to do your own taxes, maybe with the help of some do it yourself software from a big box store? I don’t think you want “the Geek Squad” helping you navigate a tax audit, do you? Imagine then for a second, staring down the IRS auditor all by yourself.
Here is some words from folks who are glad they did not to do it themselves when they sat across from the IRS not long ago.
“We eventually got the IRS issue settled but it was through Pete’s calm, collected attitude and pragmatism working with the agent that got me through this life event. Pete’s an honest and knowledgeable man with years of experience and with a high degree of integrity. He worked with me to compile all the paperwork and details for justification and explanation of the errors. Pete was a life saver for me and I place my faith and trust in him. I highly recommend Pete for your tax needs!”
- Frank S., Melbourne, FL
I’ll bet Mr. S from Melbourne Florida was glad he was not stuck on hold for someone in customer service over at TaxByte.com
Now is the time to examine your plan for taking care of this unavoidable chore that comes with being an American citizen in 2014. Now is the time to give the tax experts at Peter DiSalvo & Company,CPA a call to see if there is a better plan. Many of Peter’s clients find that for not much more than the cost of the do it yourself software, they can have the security, and peace of mind that comes when DiSalvo & Company takes care of this chore for you.
Call Peter DiSalvo & Company now at 772 770 6008 and arrange a better plan for 2014.
DiSalvo And Company, P.A. is a CPA firm with offices in Vero Beach, Melbourne and Titusville. DiSalvo and Company is committed to meeting the accounting and tax planning needs of small business and individuals throughout the Space Coast and Treasure Coast, with clients in Brevard County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County, and Martin County.
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