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Made In Chicago: Audio Archaeology

(CBS) -- In this digital age, John Arnsdorff is helping music lovers listen the old-fashioned way, reports WBBM's Regine Schlesinger.

Arnsdorff owns Audio Archaeology at Devon and Wayne in Rogers Park. He restores old record players, turntables and stereos. He says he's always loved relics from the past.

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"The last few years, I've been picking up some vintage record players and fixing them kind of as a hobby and realized that as vinyl's becoming more popular, a lot of the new record players that are being made are just not very good quality," he says. "The vintage ones really were much better and made to last and there aren't that many people working on them."

So he turned it into a business, selling his refurbished sound systems and a wide range of new and vintage releases on vinyl. He thinks that's the best way to listen, if you're a true music lover.

Audio Archaeology
Arnsdorff owns Audio Archaeology at Devon and Wayne in Rogers Park. He restores old record players, turntables and stereos. (Credit: Regine Schlesinger)

"With MP3's, the biggest focus was 'How do we make this sound small enough that it doesn't take up a lot of data and you can take it with you?' and the way you accomplish that is by making the file smaller, literally cutting part of the music out. So you're losing a lot of that spectrum. The downside is the convenience - vinyl is definitely not convenient."

Audio Archaeology at 1324 West Devon, bringing back an appreciation of music the old-fashioned way in a digital age. For more information, visit VintageAudioChicago.com.

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