What percentage of new vinyl you buy is defective?

1 out of 20-25. Always been a warp. I usually just return it. I've kept a couple that will be flattened.

 

No more than 5% and probably a lot less.
But, the majority of our vinyl buys are higher-priced reissues and, as others have pointed out, these titles seem to have much higher production and QC standards.

 

Maybe 1 or 2% and I'm very picky.

 

I've only bought 2 new vinyl records this year, both were U.K. releases, Sam Smith's Nirvana and a Prince 12" single. Both were purr-fect. I seldom buy 200 gram records unless it's a very compelling title for me and not available as a 140-150 gram platter. When I did buy fat vinyl in the past, they seemed to arrive warped far more often than thinner slabs of vinyl.

 

I guess I need to hire one of you guys to be my record buyer! Whether I buy in a store or online I'm nearly guaranteed to have no-fill or other pressing defects/damage.

 

i had a few bad ones.
I'd say around 20% of the ones i bought. Quality control seems to be mediocre at best.

no fill and noisy vinyl are the main offenders.

 

I'd say around 20 per cent, maybe more, when I was still buying vinyl.

Trust me, you're not!!!

 

Regarding warps on shipped product: I live in Phoenix AZ and have ordered tons of LPs via Amazon over the last few years. Only one ever arrived heat damaged, even in the height of summer. That damage wasn't a warp, but melted grooves. I'd say to anyone who keeps receiving warped LPs that there's likely a point between them and their vendors where the records are being exposed to too much heat overnight.

 

OP here. Thanks everyone that responded. What can we draw from the responses?

While the sample is small, it appears evenly distributed 0%-75% with a small bulge around 20%. So my recent experience of 91% defective was an outlier. That's both hopeful and depressing at the same time. But I'd live with 20%.

So why does the individual experience vary so much? Here are the factors I see:

• Pressing factory - are the EU pressed records tend to be better than US?
• Label - are the audiophile label titles better pressed?
• Date of release - do records get warped in storage?
• Buyers level of tolerance - what is still acceptable to the average audiophile?
• Sheer luck

I do not have enough experience regarding the first two points.
I have bought several titles that have been in print (or out of print) a long time, and most all had warps. Even the ones not in tight shrink. So I would think fresh releases are a safer bet than old stock.

As for tolerating the defects - am I too picky? Maybe. Would you, for example, find these defects a reason for return?

1. A dish warp that does not cause the tonearm to jump, but makes the record lose contact with the platter to two thirds of the diameter
2. A taco warp that is still trackable but swings the arm up and down half an inch
3. A scratch on the record causing 10 periodic clicks during the intro to a song (as if they played with a metronome going at a wrong tempo)
4. Embedded piece of crap in the record causing 5 loud clicks
5. Non-fill causing periodic mild farting noises on half a track

 

You may have a point, however, I buy a lot of used records on eBay, many from Europe, but the US also, and maybe only 1 in a 100 comes warped. With new records it is a much higher percentage.

 

I am not the pickiest buyer but if there is too much noise or any non-fill, it definitely goes back. Warped records in general don't both me. I have a tonearm/cartridge combination that tracks them very well, which to me has always been the right answer there.

Looking at my purchases on Soundstage Direct, over the past year only 5% of the titles I've bought from them have been defective. In other words, I went twenty records in a row from them before I got a defective one.

 

About one in 20, best guess (this is sans The Beatles stereo boxed set as that was just a big mess).

I have one going back right now, due to some really bad pops and numerous non-fill issues. I can live with light surface noise as long as it's not distracting, but I draw the line on non-fill.

 

Agree hardly any . It's not a perfect medium so maybe 1 or 2 in 50? Only if it's something major.

People here have such higher expectations than record buyers during vinyls prime years.

 

That's just what I'm trying to figure out. Do I really have unreasonably high expectations? What do you consider "major"? Would you consider "major" any of the examples I listed here?

 

I have one by Snow Patrol that sounds bad but for the most part I'm good. Haven't bought lately though.

 

It's per album and just how many defects I find. But I generally tolerate:

- Minor warps. If it doesn't audibly detract from the sound or look like a roller coaster, it doesn't bother me.
- Off-center pressings. Mainly because I know if one is off-center, there's a good chance an entire batch is going to be like that. Plus I have a middle insert on my TT that I can pop-out so it's not that big of a deal for me, especially if I'm needledropping.
- Light surface noise. Again, as long as it's not distracting and it depends on the music genre. Ie. on a hard rock album light surface noise won't be as distracting as classical / light pop.

Non-fill I have a hard time with, especially if it's loud and several instances - it's light nails on a chalkboard for me. And numerous loud pops or, worse yet, a few skips that aren't fixed with a good cleaning might have me at least exchanging the LP.

 

I don't buy a lot of new vinyl, but the ones I have bought have maybe 1% defect rate. I don't consider vinyl that is warped but playable defective. If I expected perfectly flat vinyl, then the rate would be higher. Most vintage vinyl is warped to certain degree too. Again, if it plays, I'm happy.

 

Very few - I can only remember one album with a fill problem (Fleet Foxes Golden Archipelago) and it was immediately replaced.

I must be astonishingly lucky - I buy lots of new vinyl and have almost no problems outside of occasional warps. Now, if they only all sounded great I would be totally satisfied.

 

I had read somewhere that warped vinyl is "fixable", and I don't mean with manual flatteners. Did a quick search here and found this: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/lps-tacod-by-flat-stacking-any-hope.276594/ This could have been where I had read it. Obviously the "con" of doing it this way is that it takes a long time to correct itself.

But I think there's some truth to this as I had one LP I bought in 2011 that I was pretty sure was a bit warped. But pulling them out recently I see no noticeable warpage any more. If I see another new one I'll have to make a note of it and check again in 6 months after it's been on the shelf for awhile.

 

Hardly any. Only 2 in 2 years. Both severely warped. During summer. I suspect they got warped in the USPS vehicle.

 

Like you, I buy LOTS & LOTS of new vinyl (over 2K worth just since late April) and have had only one issue (and it was minor). I can't even remember more than a couple of slightly warped records in the last couple of years. I must be lucky indeed.

 

I buy a fair amount and I'd say 1%-2%.

 

Of the 3 records I got today (Hip Harp-Dorthy Ashby, Takamba and K. Frimpong) two were a little dirty with those 'swirls' and one was perfect. But they all played fine so no problems for me.

BUT I do find too many records from vinyl.com are off center. This I hate.

 

I had to return a couple of "American Pie(s)" but other than that its been ok...

 

About 1/3. Some warped, some off center. Some noisy. Usually depends on the label.