I thought the whole point of digital music, as exemplified by the highest quality CDs, was that you could at last say goodbye to those annoying pops and crackles that abounded on vinyl albums, which so often meant a return to the store for a fresh copy, in the hope that it would be hiss or crackle free when you popped it back on the turntable.

Now I see from What Hi*Fi? magazine that there is a piece of software deliberately intended to introduce surface crackle onto perfectly clean digital recordings ...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/vinylfi...ource=20160622

Can somebody tell me, please ... what the hell's the point of that?

Nostalgia or modern 'hipsterism' if that's a word. Smacks of doing something 'because we can' rather because it's really needed.

Nostalgia or new age 'hipsterism' (if that's a word). To me though it smacks of doing something 'because technology means we can' rather than because it is needed.

I blame Portishead.

Just put your headphones on and eat a packet of crisps.

I don't see the point of it either. Vinyl (LPs or 45s) shouldn't crackle unless they have been mishandled (or you have a poor pressing).

Even 78s can be made to sound remarkably good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3pAtBzLxDg

It's not the crackle but the distortion that should be added, that's what those who love vinyl like about the sound.

Buy a pack of Party Mix and lick one of the wheel-shaped ones and hold it next to your ear. It's perfect for that well-played vinyl album sound.

Precisely. I have a good collection of old Motown singles and they all share that 'crashing' powerful sound which makes them sound so good. From CD they sound tame.