As much as we hate to come across as elitist or exclusionary, we have to admit that we're biased towards vinyl for the ultimate listening experience. As you've no doubt heard a thousand times already, it's the warmth of vinyl that can't easily be matched through digital and more technically accurate recordings. Vinyl does come with limitations, however, which can make listening to our '70s favorites on more modern systems, in some ways, a superior choice.

To explain what we mean, we want to explore how modern digital tech can offer advantages. If you're anything like us, you'll still want to hold onto your classic collection anyway, but diversifying can offer serious benefits too. Whether you're a tech head or a newcomer, these concepts are always easy to embrace, so let's get started.

Storage Concerns

For our money, there is simply no form of media collection that looks as cool as a vinyl library. As thin as these records are, they also only store around 22 minutes of music per side. Stacked together, these quickly add up. Going digital can allow us to sidestep these physical space concerns by huge degrees, and on a scale that keeps growing even more impressive. The basis of this idea comes from the miniaturization of data storage and playback, as illustrated in so many forms of media, from TV and movies to gaming and audio.

We've seen this in casinos, where systems have shrunk from enormous setups to fit modern online platforms, which revolutionized the way we engage with traditional dice games, for example. Instead of needing multiple physical sets for each variant -- like custom dice for different games, rule books, and various accessories -- players can access a vast array of dice games all in one place.

Truly, when we dive into real money dice online, it might not seem like there is such a vast difference in size given the physical dice would be small. But the unique physical set up for numerous individual variants would potentially require multiple dice or specialist dice sets, written instructions and more. Online, however, we would gain access to all those variants -- like Classic Craps, Dice Duel, and Roll the Dice -- along with their dynamic special features, all from a desktop or handheld device via an internet connection.

This level of accessibility eliminates the clutter associated with physical setups. Players can easily switch between dice games, try out new variants, and explore different styles without being limited by space or resources.

Heading back to records, we can run a quick calculation to determine just how much '70s music could be stored with modern tech. One gigabyte of storage space can fit just over 12 hours of audio at a quality level similar or higher (technically speaking) to that of vinyl. Today, you can purchase microSD cards offering a terabyte (1,000 gigabytes of storage). According to some quick math, this means one microSD card the size of a fingernail could store 12,000 hours of audio or roughly 16,000 double-sided vinyl records.

Protection from Harm and Damage

With the complicated part out of the way, we move onto protecting your music from harm and degradation. Exactly how long a vinyl or and physical media will last depends on a variety of factors including how often you use them, ambient room conditions, playback systems, and print quality. Ideally, you won't see any degradation with proper use, but real-world conditions are rarely so forgiving. You can even have fringe cases where a natural disaster or theft can destroy an entire collection in one swoop.

Going digital means that making backups is easy, and can almost eliminate any chances of decay and music loss. As we've covered above, it can be easy, if time-consuming, to back your music up digitally, but once you have, the data can be duplicated endlessly without loss. Keep your backup somewhere safe, and some of the risks of loss will be mitigated substantially.

Customizable Listening Quality

Another great part of modern digital listening systems comes from software support for modulation and effects. Many physical machines offer these capabilities too, but software can make it even easier to mess with additions like filters and equalizers. You can even make your digital music sound like vinyl, which meshes great with tracks you've become accustomed to the older way.

Cheaper Access to Some Music

Collecting anything from the 70s is usually not cheap, and with how diehard the vinyl community is, record collecting is no different. While buying digital copies online or streaming them isn't the same as holding vinyl in your hand, it can at least bridge the gap until you do manage to track down a copy that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. This is especially the case if the bands no longer have labels, with tracks available for free on services like archive.org.