Which is a better investment – a turntable or an iPod?
That’s the question raised by an interesting article at Crave:
Does anybody buying an iPod in 2008 expect to get more than a few years of use out of the thing? My five year old iPod still plays, but I can’t get it to work in newer iPod docks or iPod speakers. My iPod is too old.
Linn’s turntable has been around since 1972.
A good friend of mine plays his 30-year-old Linn LP-12 turntable almost every day. It was an expensive turntable in 1978 when it sold for around $1,200. But he’s gotten 30 years of use out of the thing, and even now listens to a lot more vinyl than CD. So his $1,200 investment works out to around $40 a year to own the thing. Can you imagine anybody buying an iPod today still using it in 2038? 2028? OK, how about 2018? Hmm, I don’t think so.
Linn still makes the LP-12 turntable, the model has been in continuous production since 1972, and most parts are readily available. How’s that for customer service? My Linn LP-12 is almost brand new, it’s just 13 years old.
Makes me think spending $400 on a new Technics might not be so dumb after all.
The iPod, despite its quality and glossy alure is just a throwaway consumer box. Steve Jobs has publicly stated that he wants you change your iPod every year.
The Linn deck however is designed to play records, the function of which has remained largely unchanged for several decades, whereas playing MP3 changes seemingly every damned day.
I have no doubt that your iPod could last 30 years. The question is will you still want to use it or indeed will it still be relevant?
But turntable cartridges and belts (for belt drives) won’t last 30 years.
I think you’d be surprised by how long the iPod hardware lasts, so physically yes, it would last 30years, just as we still have working Ataris, however, because of the nature of the computing business and software development, your iPod won’t last, as you’re likely to need to upgrade the hardware to keep up with the specs. of the software, this being said soon it will be too cost ineffective to make standard pop music on vinyl and the demand will go down, then like tapes, vinyl MAY become obsolete, along with turntables, its just the nature of progression.