Blog Post

4 Reasons Why Vinyl is a Must For Any Home Theatre System

Katherine Martin • January 12, 2018

After decades of being hidden away in second hand stores, basements and crawl spaces, vinyl, in all its nostalgic glory, is back! Store shelves are being stocked with records (both the oldies as well as the new stuff); and the internet is abuzz with old school “LP” love. And why not!? These are exciting times. We as a listening society have been to the edge of the musical cliff. We’ve stared into the abyss (boy bands, autotune, the Ashlee Simpson Saturday Night Live lip sync debacle etc.), and somehow we’ve made our way back.

So, for those who truly know, love and appreciate music, you have the right to rejoice! And for those of you who still aren’t convinced, here are four reasons why vinyl needs to be a foundational part of your home theatre mix:

The Sound

Vinyl sounds better, plain and simple. When you compare (on systems of similar price and scope), it’s easy to hear the difference. No, it’s not psychological; it’s not preference; and it’s certainly not the rantings of one biased individual. Rather, there is a technological explanation behind this very real truth. Simply put, digital music files are compressed (shrunken) into a format called “lossy”. The result of this process? Much of the mix is cut out and/or made to be indiscernible.

A real downer for those of us who crave the real thing.

Vinyl, on the other hand, is pressed in a format called “lossless”. Nothing is hidden, nothing is chopped; nothing is lost; rather, everything is present in it’s full musical glory. You hear the mix that the studio pros and the musicians wanted you (the listener) to hear. You hear the original vision for each song, long before the sticky fingers of modern technology stole it away.

Sweet relief.

The Story (playing a record from start to finish: it just makes sense)

Albums, even now in the digital age (but certainly for decades leading up to the digital takeover) are created to be stories; complete with a beginning, a middle and an end. Could you imagine starting a 400 page book on the 200th page? You’d be completely lost, or, at the very least, you’d miss important details that would have served to fill out the story arc.

But, this is exactly what we do when we buy a single song from Itunes or Google Music. Sure, we get a great piece of music, but we miss the story, and the experience of seeing how that song fits into the grand scheme of things. Vinyl encourages listening from start to finish. This is not only refreshing, it’s downright soothing.

The Complete Immersive/Sensory Experience

There’s something gloriously refreshing about the physical experience that a vinyl record player provides it’s user. At the beginning of it all, you to choose an album. You then remove the record from it’s cover/casing (a cover that demands your attention with eye-catching artwork and lyrics) and place it on the “platter”. You then turn on the record player, and move the needle into position. After 4-6 songs, flip record and repeat.

A complete musical experience should impact us on various levels. And, more than simply our ears, this type of listening reaches our touch, smell and vision. This is truly immersive. This is music played the way it was meant to be played.

Resale/Collector’s Options

Currently, there is a huge market for secondhand vinyl. Collectors are scouring the country-side even as you read this post, looking for that one record that they haven’t been able to find.

So, if ever you decide to sell some of your collection (if you’re downsizing or looking to swap out some of your current LP’s for different styles or genres), there are buying/selling options available to you. This is much easier than selling that song you downloaded yesterday (and by “a lot easier”, I mean “possible in the slightest”).

Now, I should say, there is still room for the conveniences of modern technology; you can’t go for a run with a vinyl record player in tow, after all. However, what I am saying is this: that there is certainly room for vinyl in the grand scheme of your home audio master plan.

Convinced now? If so, then welcome; we’ve been expecting you. Still wondering/mulling over your options (and I’m not sure how you could be)? Give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed; I promise.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Mail

Katherine Martin

Origin Mortgages

Phone: 1-604-454-0843
Email: kmartin@planmymortgage.ca
Fax: 1-604-454-0842

Improving Your Credit Score

By Katherine Martin • February 19, 2025

Your credit score and how you manage credit are huge factors in qualifying for a mortgage. If you want the best interest rates and mortgage products available on the market, you want a high credit score. Here are a few things you can do to improve your credit score. Make all your payments on time. Making your payments on time is so important; in fact, it might just be the most important factor in managing your credit. Here's how credit works. When you borrow money from a lender, you agree to make payments with interest on a set schedule until the debt is repaid in full. Good credit is established and maintained by making your payments on time. However, If you break the terms of that schedule by not making your payments, the lender will report the missed payments to the credit reporting agencies, and your credit score suffers. It’s that simple. The more payments you miss, the lower your score will be. If you fail to make payments for over 120 days, the lender will most likely send your debt to be recovered by a collection agency. Collections stay on your report for a long time. So the moment you realize you have missed a payment or as soon as you have the money for it, make the payment. If something prevents you from making a payment, consider contacting the lender directly to let them know what happened and work out an arrangement to make the payment as soon as possible. It's good to note that lenders only report late payments after a payment is 30 days late. If you miss a payment on a Friday and catch it the following Monday, you won't have anything to worry about - except maybe an NSF fee. Now, just because payments don't report until being 30 days late, don’t get comfortable with making late payments; the best advice is to pay your debts on time, as agreed. Stop acquiring new credit. If you already have at least two different trade lines, you shouldn’t acquire new trade lines just for the sake of it. Of course, if you need to borrow money, like to purchase a vehicle to commute to work, go ahead and apply. Just remember: having more credit available to you doesn’t really help your credit score. In fact, each time a potential lender looks at your credit report, it may lower your credit score a little bit. With that said, if you already have two different trade lines and your lender offers you an increase on your limit, take it. A credit card with a $10k limit is better for you than a credit card with a $2k limit because how much you spend compared to your credit card's limit impacts your credit score. This leads us directly into the next point. Keep a reasonable balance. The more credit you use compared to the limit you have, the less creditworthy you appear. It’s better to carry a reasonable balance (15-25% of the card’s limit) and pay it off each month than to max out your credit cards and just make the minimum payments. If you have to spend more than 25% of your card limit, try to remain under 60%. That shows good utilization. Paying down your credit cards every month and carrying a zero balance will undoubtedly improve your credit score. Check your credit report regularly. Did you know that roughly 20% of credit reports have misinformation on them? Mistakes happen all the time. Lenders misreport information, or people with the same names get merged reports. Any number of things could be inaccurate without you knowing about it. You might even have become a victim of fraud or identity theft. By checking your credit regularly, you can stay on top of everything and correct any errors promptly. Both of Canada's credit reporting agencies, Equifax and Transunion, have programs that, for a small fee, will monitor and update you on any changes made to your credit report. Handle collections immediately. When checking your credit report for accuracy, if you happen to find a collection has been registered against you, deal with it immediately. It could be a closed-out cell phone account with a small balance owing, a final utility bill that got missed, unpaid parking tickets, wage garnishments, or spousal support payments. Regardless of what it is, it will harm your credit score if it's registered on your credit report. The best plan of action is to handle any collections or delinquent accounts as soon as possible. Use your credit card. If you have acquired credit cards to build your credit score, but you rarely use them, there is a chance the lender might not report your usage, and that won’t help your credit score. You'll want to make sure that you use your credit at least once every three months. Many people find success using their credit cards for gas and groceries and paying off the outstanding balance each month. There you have it. Regardless of what your credit looks like now, you will continue to increase your credit score if you follow the points outlined above. If you're looking to buy a property and you’d like to work through your credit report in detail, let’s put together a plan to get you qualified for a mortgage. Get in touch anytime; it would be a pleasure to work with you!

How To Establish New Credit

By Katherine Martin • February 12, 2025

If you’re new to managing personal finance and you want to learn about credit, you’ve come to the right place. Establishing new credit is a bit of a catch-22. To build a credit history, you need credit. But it’s hard to get credit without having a credit history. So, where do you start? Well, the first thing you should know is that building credit takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight. If you’re looking to secure mortgage financing, you will want to have a minimum of two trade lines (credit cards, loans, or lines of credit) with a minimum limit of $2500, reporting for at least two years. If you don’t have any credit yet, the best time to get started is right now. However, that may be difficult because, as we've already identified, without a credit history, most lenders won’t feel confident about taking a chance on you. What’s the solution? Consider a secured credit card. With a secured credit card, you make a deposit upfront that matches the amount you want to borrow. A reasonable amount would be $1000 deposited on a single secured credit card. You then use your secured credit card to make household purchases and regular utility payments, paying off the total balance each month. If you default on the money borrowed for whatever reason, the lender will retain the money you put up as collateral. When looking for a secured credit card, be sure to ask whether they report to the two nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. If the credit card company doesn't report, the credit card account will be useless for your purposes; move on until you find a company that reports to both credit bureaus. Once your secured credit card begins reporting to the credit bureaus, you begin to have a credit score; usually, this takes about three months. Now you can start to seek out a second trade line in the form of an unsecured credit card. Don’t forget to ensure that this card reports to both of the credit reporting agencies. Another option at this point could be a car loan. From here, you simply want to make all your payments on time! But what happens if you’re looking to secure mortgage financing before you have a fully established credit report? Well, if you have someone who would consider co-signing, you can certainly go that route. The mortgage application will depend on their income and credit report, but your name will be on the mortgage. Hopefully, when the mortgage is up for renewal, you’ll have the established credit required to remove them from the mortgage and qualify on your own. Although establishing credit takes a minimum of two years, it really begins with putting together a plan. If you’d like to discuss anything credit or mortgage-related, please get in touch!