Note for vinyl users...

One of my biggest gripes with the vinyl format has always been it's lack of high-frequency performance. The low-mids are perfect. CD doesn't come close in that respect. I mean, that's why you can't get stoned to digital music, amirite? But CD consistently wins on the high end, even though I know that 'theoretically' LPs are supposed to have this 'super high frequency' information, well into the 40-60 kHz range, that you can't 'hear' but can only 'feel' (ever have that experience?). But usually, LPs sound rolled-off on the high end, subdued. That's not only because I have a shitty turntable that isn't set-up properly, but because I think the records themselves are slightly destroyed. Turns out that you shouldn't play a record more than once every 24 hrs, because the pressure from the needle actually melts the groove and reduces the high-frequency response in the process. In my experience, this is true! A new record loses its 'crispiness' after a while, when I play it a lot, whereas a CD never does [via Perfect Sound Forever]. Obviously, if your turntable isn't setup right (if the tracking force on the tonearm is too high, not straight, etc.) it will cause additional wear on the groove. This is bad news, cause unlike dust, which just adds noise, this actually ruins your record, and is the reason most used records I buy have a sort of 'muted' sound to them. At least, that's what I think [haven't verified any of the science behind this].

Here's the piece from Wired, referencing another magazine:

This particularly esoteric -- and vital -- piece of vinyl lore came from High Fidelity Magazine (which originally ran complete with electron microscope illustrations) explaining why you need to wait 24 hours before replaying a record to prevent high wear. At the one-millionth of a square inch point of the needle (1000th X 1000th inch) the one and one-half gram weight on the record groove is magnified to 18,000 pounds per square inch! This pressure liquefies the vinyl -- which in does flow back into proper shape BUT the vinyl is now brittle and playing the needle over again will rub groove off. It takes 24 hours for vinyl to regain its elasticity. You may play a record every day for 20 years and it will sound like new. But if you play it twice in a row it will lose significant fidelity. I once replayed twice in a row the first 30 seconds of Elton-John's Funeral for a Friend (I had made a mistake timing a recording). I figured just once would not hurt. Wrong: that first 30 seconds lost a sparkle that the rest of the record permanently retained.

What do yall think? Is the Kid A lim. ed. 10" vinyl on Capitol the 'perfect record' - does it somehow never wear out, even though you've play 'Everything In Its Right Place' 1,500x in a row? Should High Fidelity merge with High Times for a special double issue?