June 11, 2026
Scratch that: vinyl’s in trouble
Vinyl succumbs to Loudness War: more than just collateral damage (2025)
Even vinyl collectors are panicking as “new records” may sound worse than old ones
TLDR: A new report says some modern vinyl records sound worse because labels are pressing them from overly flattened digital versions instead of making a proper version for vinyl. Commenters are split between outrage at big-label shortcuts and smug confidence that indie artists on Bandcamp are still doing it right.
The audiophile world is having a full-on needle-drop meltdown after a report argued that vinyl — yes, the format people buy for “better sound” — is getting dragged into the same volume-chasing mess that flattened digital music. The basic drama: labels are often using the same overly squashed digital versions for vinyl, instead of making a version tailored for records. The result, according to the piece’s Purple Rain example, is that newer pressings can lose the rise-and-fall, punch, and breathing room that made older editions feel alive in the first place.
And the comments? Oh, they absolutely ran with it. One camp was basically screaming, “We KNEW it!” with users saying vinyl often sounded better because it got more careful treatment, making this trend especially grim. Another commenter dropped the most chaotic awards-season idea imaginable: if an album is visibly wrecked by clipping and over-compression, it should be kicked out of Album of the Year contention entirely. That’s not a suggestion, that’s a declaration of war.
But not everyone was mourning big-label vinyl. One commenter shrugged at major artists and said the real action is on Bandcamp, where indie and underground releases on vinyl and tape are still “alive and well actually” — a deliciously dismissive swipe at corporate pressings. Add in a TechRadar link warning buyers to be careful with new vinyl, and the vibe is clear: collectors are side-eyeing shiny reissues and wondering if the dusty second-hand bin was the real luxury all along.
Key Points
- •The article says the loudness war, originally associated with digital audio, can reduce vinyl quality when compressed digital masters are used for vinyl cutting.
- •For Prince’s *Purple Rain*, the article reports a change from DR12 at -16.3 LUFS in the original digital version to DR6 at -8.3 LUFS in the 2015 remaster.
- •The article argues that the preferred workflow is to create medium-specific masters from the original studio mix rather than reuse CD or streaming masters for vinyl.
- •In the *Purple Rain* vinyl comparison, the article says the remastered vinyl was cut 1 dB lower and had a dynamic range reduction of more than 5 dB versus the original vinyl.
- •The article states that similar issues appear on other albums, including releases by Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, and Norah Jones, while some jazz, blues, and classical releases are less affected.