Good comments.

Yes, no need to have a vinyl vs digital discussion. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

But those that think that vinyl and SACD is dead, well sorry but that just shows that you are not in tune to the audiophile market. 

A quick browse on one of the major Audiophille websites Accoustic Sounds and you will see. http://store.acousticsounds.com

It costs a lot more to develop a good quality new vinyl album and SACD package then it does your conventional cd or digital download. From the raw materials used, to the excellent presentation of the thick cardboard jackets that the albums are packaged in, to the mastering of an album especially for vinyl or SACD etc etc

Yet despite its major cost increase to produce, nearly all top quality Audiophille albums that are being released, are available on vinyl and some recording artists are even recording on tape still for the vinyl release and digital for the digital release. This is a massive increase in cost. Why do it? 

Because vinyl is selling in huge quantities. Wake up and smell the roses.

I am a vinyl aficionado and yet I'm not biased. A very high quality SACD, played through a decent SACD player and system is a thing your ears will not forget in a hurry. A decent vinyl setup and SACD setup costs a lot of money though, so it's only the minority that appreciate how good these formats really are. For those that do though, there's nothing to worry about, as the people holding the reins of the Audiophile carriage know this and are not stopping anytime soon.

Vinyl has strengths and digital has weaknesses when compared to each other...only if your definition of those two words differs from most people's. But if it makes you happy that's good. 

Also, the Audio Engineering Society did controlled tests of SACD vs. CD and the golden ears scored at 49.3% correct, basically random. SACD releases often are mixed and EQed differently in the market, the differences are not due to any inherent superiority of the format. 

Buy CDs, get yourself an old Carver Digital Time Lens, and you have the equivalent of vinyl.but without the pops, ticks, and hassle. 

In 2014 LP sales amounted to 3 percent of music sales, wow, massive. B&O better get a new table out stat! 

And SAcD sales are so small I can't even find stats for them. Even Cd sales have tanked compared to digital downloads, which are being eclipsed by streaming.

huge sales. As Inigo Montoya said, I do not believe that word means what you think it does.

Jeff wrote:

In 2014 LP sales amounted to 3 percent of music sales, wow, massive. B&O better get a new table out stat! 

Jeff you are about on the mark with 3% of the market which in the US equates to $171 million revenue from vinyl sales in 2014, the UK came in about £5.7 million and total worldwide sales were for $347 million and looking at the upward trend will easily surpass $500 million in 2015.

I would definitely go fishing in a non-fictional market ...

And that doesn't take into consideration the healthy second hand market in used vinyl 

Interesting discussion. I have a Beogram 6500 and an SMMC4 stylus. Great sounding deck and super convenient from the multi room stand point (I.e. You can remote control it and skip tracks - or rather passages if you really want to).

I'm inclined to agree that if I wanted the best quality audio deck I'd be better placed with other options (Thorens, Linn etc.) and B&O has a poor reputation in the Audiophile community, fairly or not... Both of my brothers are DJs and use Technics SL1210s (one of my brothers is into scratching and beat juggling DMC style stuff); DJs tend to want bomb proof direct drive turntables that can take some punishment and connect to a wide range of mixers/amps. Many of my friends who are part of the vinyl resurgence just want cheap, cool looking retro decks with no consideration of audio quality (e.g. Dansettes). Hard to see how B&O would really appeal to any of those groups.

On a practical note, source selection for Phono is now in conflict with N.Radio (or is it N.Music, can't quite recall) so fitting a new B&O deck into the current ecosystem is probably going to be a headache (accepting that the Beoremote One provides opportunities to re-label sources - in my case renaming a digital source to phono!) it might pose problems for B&O existing customers. 

My Beogram set me back <£200 - the old decks are easy to maintain and work on, look great and sound very good with a decent stylus. Perhaps the best way to enjoy a retro medium is on a retro deck? 

When overall sales are small as a percentage of the overall market, 50% is not much growth!!! That's like saying Rolls Royce is about to take over the auto market because I sold 10 cars one year and 15 the next and no other manufacturer had 50% growth.

Brian wrote:

When overall sales are small as a percentage of the overall market, 50% is not much growth!!! That's like saying Rolls Royce is about to take over the auto market because I sold 10 cars one year and 15 the next and no other manufacturer had 50% growth.

No one said vinyl is taking over. But it is a fact that there is a lot of it out there. It was the main music format for decades. The fact that new vinyl sales are on the rise, means that there is even more vinyl flooding the market every year. Just because it doesn't sell as much as another format, is not a reason why not to make a turntable. The fact is though, that it's been selling since approx 1950!! How many records do you think are in the entire world? Not enough to justify making a modern turntable apparently according to some......

You want to get a good market gauge? Look at how many turntables have been sold new over the last 10 years in the $3-4,000 bracket (new B&O turntable price??)

Also, some music never made it from vinyl to digital, so there will ALWAYS be a market for vinyl as in some cases thats the only medium to listen to a certain recording. As is the case also with alot of old school recordings that were recorded on magnetic tape and now the master tape is in bad condition and cannot be used, a clean original 1st vinyl pressing then is an option that will enable you to listen to it in good quality.

I have far more old vinyl then new vinyl, as do majority of vinyl collectors. So please don't use the reasoning that because in brand new form it only equates to 3% of the market, that's reason enough to not warrant a new turntable. 

Will B&O develop and make one though? I doubt it. Their focus it seems over the last 5 years, has been only to concentrate on tightening the belt and not dipping their toes into "new" territory unless they can guarantee $$$$. A new venture like this would be the last thing they want to hear.

Maybe the old days of B&O "magic" are over and we have the pencil pushes to thank.

I agree it is far from dead and the second hand market is thriving, imo it will outlive CDs and we will have streaming and vinyl - the problem as I see it is that as more people start getting back into vinyl there is no B&O offering so you turn to something else unless you want to pay an exorbatant price for a second hand B&O turntable. Having got my Thorens setup again, it way outperforms any of the B&O turntables I have had and made me question the B&O route for serious listening - at least in terms of afforability not in terms of ease of use or looks though.