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 and 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 and manufacturing methods now provide the means to produce turntables cartridges and 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.