The art of black It has been 30 years since the digital compact disc revolutionised the world of audio promising perfect sound forever. Yet many enthusiasts still prefer the warmth & immediacy of vinyl replay. The surprising thing is that despite the demise of vinyl as a format produced on a commercial scale our technical understanding of the complexities of vinyl replay has increased enormously during the silver-disc years. Modern materials & manufacturing methods now provide the means to produce turntables cartridges & phonostages which are far more accomplished than the majority of those available during those years when a large shiny black disk was the only option when purchasing music.