Want the full manual for using the player of an inherently offline media like LPs? Go online then.

#enshitification #LPs

Luckily it's just a download page for a plain PDF, but I wonder how much longer it'd take for them to make the manual into something like an app, an app-fied web page, part of a subscription, etc.

A paper manual does come with the player, but it's a very simpliefied, 4 pages-long one, while the PDF one is 47 pages-long (will try to take photos of the physical one).

Honestly, calling this enshitification is misleading. Providing a download to a PDF is perfectly fine, and much better than dumping a 50 page manual into every customer's hand. There is no reason to print that much, especially since most people won't read it, and a PDF is searchable, so much more convenient. I'd be mad if they sent me a stack of papers instead of a PDF.

...How hard is it to use a turntable that you need instructions? 🤨

@Kolanaki@pawb.social plenty of small details not immediately obvious, I grew as the world became digital so I don't have much experience first hand, and on this economy, I'd rather be careful and not waste what I spent on it. 😅

If they sent you a PDF, sure. But if they give you a link, the link will break, and then you'll need to go scouring the internet for pirated copies from hopefully-not-too-sketchy websites. Or, given it's 2026, choose between letting an AI lie to you or going to a website filled with AI lies while even the sketchy websites with an actual manual are sent to SEO hell.

Ideally they should give you the option between a digital manual sent to your e-mail and a paper one for $1 extra.

Or you go online and save a copy of the PDF now that will cost a fraction of a penny to store rather than killing hundreds of trees across tens of thousands of shipped SKUs to print something most people will ignore, lose, or throw away. $1 is a wildly optimistic price for a physical manual and there is nothing stopping you from printing one yourself.

This is like calling work email enshittification because you want a memo you can touch.

You are someone who bought an expensive bluetooth record player rather than just playing digital files or streaming. You may simply prefer physical media of all kinds. I support it, but not being catered to is not enshittification.

Also if they sell in EU they would have to provide the manual in like 20 languages. That's such a waste. I am fine with free to copy PDF manual, personally. I feel that things that plug on a USB port could also provide it as a mounted disk, that would be a nice touch.

while the PDF one is 47 pages-long

Sounds like they send a how to use with the player while not wasting the paper on a full technical manual only a few people will want to refer to. Annoying for some, but not enshittification.