The mentioning of the vinyl easily conjures the image of the gramophone, the 78 rpm disc, or even the DJ's turntables. With the vinyl making a comeback the world over in recent years, local music enthusiasts have jumped on the bandwagon in search of vinyl records produced in Hong Kong and overseas countries, visiting record stores tucked away in commercial buildings of various sizes, from Sham Shui Po to Central and Sheung Wan, and even further to Notting Hill and the vicinity of the University of London in England.

Meet Chik Hoi-cham, the 60-year-old founder of a renowned vinyl record store in Hong Kong. Having spent his youth in the 1970s and 1980s – the prime time of vinyl record – it is not surprising that Chik is the proud owner of over 10,000 copies of vinyl records. And just as naturally, Chik accepted a friend's advice and opened a vinyl record store when he retired 10 years ago. "The vinyl record was born in the late 18th century, and it was popularised in the first two and three decades of the early 19th century. The 1970s and 1980s were the prime time of the vinyl record, not least because of the worldwide popularity of the British and U.S. music. As the melting pot of Chinese and western cultures, Hong Kong was home to a colossal amount of vinyl records. Yet when LaserDisc entered the market in the mid- and late 1980s, the vinyl record was weeded out."

Despite being overtaken by the LaserDisc or other sound storage medium, vinyl remains a favourite for many music enthusiasts – this is especially true when nowadays, an increasing number of people are able to afford a better quality of living, and many of whom have decided to revive their passion for the analogue sound storage medium. "Put simply, the earliest vinyl record was a sound storage medium with grooves that recorded and reproduced music in a monophonic manner, before it later evolved to the stereophonic sound reproduction. The vinyl is the utmost original version of the music recorded in it because it is pressed and made by a metal 'mother plate'. Thanks to the durable nature of the vinyl, vinyl records can be kept for 50 to 60 years; LaserDisc, on the other hand, has a maximum shelf life of just 30 years because the aluminium layers of the disc may be punctured, and humidity is never completely extracted during the production process."

Vinyl Record and Its Realness

In this age where digital sound recording prevails, Chik is among the minority that loves the vinyl record for its realness. "Recording an album in the past was done only when the singer, musicians and producers have communicated and reached a consent on the performance style, and only when all parties involved were ready; the audio engineer would then record and adjust the sound of music as the song is being performed, before a record of soulful and individualistic music is born. By conveying the actual synergy of the various parties involved in the production process, the vinyl record creates for the audience the feeling of actually being on the scene of live performance. With production time and cost being the major concern these days, the music is recorded in different separate phases before the singer's performance is keyed in. In modern-day studios where the producer has all the say, post-production is merely done with a few shifts on the control panel to fine-tune the recording. Such is the downside of commercially made music, where rapport between the performing parties simply doesn't exist, not to mention room for the audio engineer's talent."

Apparently the more delicate music quality of the vinyl record, in comparison to digitally recorded music, can be scientifically explained. "A research has revealed that digital music tends to cause tension to the listener, not least because digitally produced sound is overly clear and lacking in depth, which is like the singers screaming into your ears! On the contrary, monophonic music is easier on the human ear with its natural and soft nature."

In Search of the First Edition

According to Chik, music enthusiasts and high spenders are his major clientele, on top of the 40- and 50-year-olds who wish to revisit the music scene back in their youth. "As more people have come to appreciate the better music quality of the vinyl record, many record companies have harnessed the ever-advancing technology to reissue certain albums in vinyl record, some companies have even ridden on the recent revival of the vinyl record to develop equipment that can restore the vinyl. Yet with a quality audio system costing anything between a few hundred thousand to a few million Hong Kong dollars – a turntable by Hartvig Audio costs over HKD200,000, for instance – the majority of customers of vinyl record stores tend to be financially well-off middle-aged people or their senior." That said, however, vinyl record is not exclusive to the rich as turntable tagged at just a few thousand dollars is also available for beginners.

In terms of how best to pick vinyl records, Chik explained that it is all about personal preference, and so it can be anything from classical music, The Beatles, to YamPak Cantonese Opera (Yam Kim-fai and Pak Shuet-sin) and pop music. Vinyl records for investment, however, are a rather different story. "When it comes to vinyl records for investment purpose, only the first edition of an album is worth the most, the reason being the natural wear and tear of the 'mother plate' from the successive pressing of records, which results in flawed vinyl records after the first edition. That explains why vinyl records produced earlier in the production stage can be double the price than that of vinyl records produced later in the production process. Meanwhile, the price of vinyl records released in lesser amount is higher too, such as the mere four to five records released by preeminent violinist Leonid Kogan, with each record priced at HKD30,000 to HKD50,000. Records released by The Beatles in their earlier years make for great collectible too, with each record costing at least HKD10,000. In addition, jazz vinyl records released in the 1950s and 1960s come with a price tag of around HKD5,000 to HKD6,000," said Chik, who added that many vinyl enthusiasts have the habit of buying two copies of their favourite vinyl record with collectible value – one for listening and the other for investment. The fuzzy surface noise when listening to vinyl record is caused by dust or scratch marks, and once the vinyl is damaged it cannot be undone, according to Chik. Yet this naturally caused 'sound effect' is precisely what some find appealing in the vinyl record.

Equipment for Vinyl Record

Quality equipment is crucial to the enjoyment and value preservation of the vinyl record. "Like a good vinyl record needs a good turntable, a good turntable needs a good cartridge, especially because the value of a vinyl record drops drastically even for the smallest of blemishes investment-wise," said Chik. "There are two types of turntable – the hard type delivers music that is more impactful and stable, while the soft type delivers music that is softer and smooth. The two types of turntable have their own advantages to accommodate different preferences. Other basic equipment includes the tonearm, phono preamp, amplifier, speaker, weight, and record cleaning machine. In terms of the environment to listen to vinyl record a 200 to 300 square-metres of soundproofed space should suffice," said Chik. "Caring for the vinyl record is rather easy – always place the record vertically and prevent it from being pressed or bent; likewise, all you need to do to care for the turntable and record cleaning machine is dusting them, and avoid putting them in direct sunlight or places with great humidity."

Listening to vinyl record is a hobby that fits all sorts of budgets, and there are certain places where vinyl records and quality turntables are readily available. "While new vinyl records and equipment are easily available everywhere, www.review33.com is a useful website for second-hand records and equipment. Even better is www.vinylparadise.com, which is a great treasure trove of knowledge, information and review on vinyl records."


Special Thanks:
Chik Hoi-cham, Founder of CK Music Audio