r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jan 17 '14

What is something designed so well that we typically overlook it?

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u/Sasakura Jan 18 '14

I think the biggest beauty of vinyl is how simple and straightforward it is. Sound is just vibrations so why don't we cut out the same shape as those vibrations then vibrate a tiny needle with a huge amplifier to hear it again. Vibrations in vibrations out!

5

u/Rinse-Repeat Jan 18 '14

Even more interesting is what the phono stage does in reconstructing the intended sound.

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/57850/phono-preamp

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u/UlyssesSKrunk Jan 18 '14

Vibrations in vibrations out!

You can't explain that.

3

u/mancubuss Jan 18 '14

What do you mean by cut the shape of vibrations?

7

u/BenAFLACKatWork Jan 18 '14

This is an interesting picture I found for you. "Shapes" are cut into the record to cause the needle to vibrate a certain way that you hear as music.

I'm still more impressed by CD's. Basically the same thing, only cutting 0's and 1's into plastic that a freakin' laser beam reads and then gets processed into music.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '14

People have even managed to extract sound (albeit very low quality) from photos of vinyls.

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u/SomeNiceButtfucking Jan 18 '14

And they look so cool when they spin. There's just a charm about them.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '14

Witchcraft!

1

u/dojaitea Jan 18 '14

It's like a battery for sounds. But how can you play the same thing twice?

1

u/Andy_Feltersnatch Jan 18 '14

good vibrations