CDs ruined my life. Not really, but back in 1984 when CDs come out, I bought into the idea that CDs were superior to vinyl.
I must have been impressionable at that age, because I sold all my LP’s for a measly $100. You may not think this is a big deal, but I had about 300 albums that were super clean, all in Discwasher V.R.P. (Valuable Record Protector) inner sleeves. There wasn’t one scratch or issue of any kind on any of those albums. The album jackets had perfect corners, with no rubbing or loss of image quality. No split spines. No water stains. No missing posters or liner notes. Nothing. You get the idea … the perfect collection.
I remember that day so well. I met the buyer in a parking lot. He was so excited, he only looked at three or four albums. He couldn’t get his money out fast enough. Not only did he make off with my record collection, but he got all my Peaches Records & Tapes crates (remember those?). I’m having separation anxiety just thinking about it now. There was some good stuff in there.
Over the following 18 years, I settled for CDs before getting to a point in my life where I realized how much I missed vinyl and having a nice vintage 2-channel system. In 2004, I stumbled across a pristine Kenwood KR-4070 receiver, the same model that started it all for me back in high school. Something clicked in my head and I knew it was time to get back in the saddle again.
What followed was a period of rediscovery into the audiophile world, and the hunt to replace my favorite albums from that old record collection. It was during my rediscovery that I learned Discwasher VRP sleeves weren’t being made anymore. Fortunately, a more refined version of those VRP’s are being made by MoFi™ (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab), called Original Master Sleeves that come in a pack of 50. These are the same inner sleeves they use for their Original Master Recordings vinyl releases. I still miss some of those old albums, but I don’t miss not having the original VRP inner sleeves, when there are higher quality sleeves being made today. We can be grateful that the popularity and demand of vinyl is the highest it’s been in 25 years, which should mean we’ll have quality inner sleeves for years to come!
If vinyl is your thing, consider trying out our Vinyl Cleaning Notes. For the rest of October, we’ll offer you a free download to try out. Just use the coupon code “FREEBY” in the shopping cart at checkout.
If you like it, we’d appreciate a positive review so others can benefit from your experience. If you think the form needs changes, we want to hear from you as well. If sound quality is important to you, this tool could help you not miss any spots that need special pre-cleaning during your cleaning process.