What percentage of new vinyl you buy is defective?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by oregonalex, Jul 5, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. oregonalex

    oregonalex Forum Resident Thread Starter

    After I had suffered the extended bad streak described in the first post, I started buying new records from Amazon exclusively for the ease of returns. Since then, I have bought about ten records from Amazon and have not had to return a single one. In a word, buying new records is crapshoot, no matter where you buy them. At least with Amazon the returns are easy and their packaging has improved greatly. Their mailers are now tight enough to prevent the records from sliding inside the jackets and splitting seams. I always try to order at least two records at a time, that way they almost always come double boxed.
     
    TommyTunes likes this.
  2. jlykos

    jlykos Forum Resident

    Location:
    Parts Unknown
    In my experience, around 40% of new vinyl that I buy is defective in some way, usually with bad warps. The used vinyl that I purchase (mostly from the 70s and 80s) does not have these issues. Surprisingly, a lot of the bad new vinyl has come from the "audiophile" labels. I received some records from Audio Fidelity and MFSL that have such major warping issues that they impact the playback of the music.
     
  3. CARPEYOLO

    CARPEYOLO Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Interesting. I've had many many problems with warped vinyl from Amazon. The waste of time and resources of sending it back was too much of a pain so I look elsewhere.
     
  4. moon unit

    moon unit Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    Of course they do, hot warehouses with no air conditioning = warped vinyl. Occasionally I will pre-order an album from them, knowing that it will come in and go right back out.
     
  5. Starquest

    Starquest ‎ ‎ ‎

    Location:
    Twin Cities, MN
    Disagree. These records leave the factory warped. I've had identical problems with United pressings at local record shops.

    Also, it would have to get to at least 120 degrees in their warehouses to warp records, at which point they'd be having all kinds of other, bigger issues.

    I suppose for some people it could be a hassle, but I have a UPS drop box right near my work, so I put returns in there. It could not be easier.
     
    EasterEverywhere and BuddhaBob like this.
  6. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    My experience is similar to yours. After upgrading my system, the issues that used to frustrate me to no end (surface noise, IGD, poor tracking) have pretty much gone by the wayside.

    The VPI outer ring clamp is great for warped records.
     
  7. TommyTunes

    TommyTunes Senior Member

    In the last 4 years very little has had issues. There was only one record that i had to return. However during Classics heyday most had issues
     
  8. Lymbo

    Lymbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Huntsville, AL
    Numerous. As others have said, warping and defective pressings. The problems exist no matter where I buy them.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  9. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    As much as 90% of new vinyl that I've bought in the last 10 years or so has been off-center. I find it absolutely astounding that this has become so common. Maybe 33% has been either warped or had some sort of audible surface noise.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  10. JamieLang

    JamieLang Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Hey, if you count "some sort of audible surface noise".....then 100% is defective.

    I don't--since I've never heard surface noise free vinyl. Ever. That's a defect of design of the platform. In any decade of manufacture....or any price point of playback table....some are obviously way noiser than others, and rock fans won't notice it like someone listening to piano+vocal.....

    Anyway--I have stopped buying new vinyl mostly because even the say 10% that was actually defective....added to the large majority of vanity/hipster pressings (ie, it's the CD audio master) and no real way to tell this--even I've seen people here post about how much "better" the vinyl sounds than the CD, when it's literally cut from the CD. If you don't understand how to gain match at the source level--yes, the vinyl always sounds better--JUST because it's not distorting stuff. Regardless....poor mastering for digital is the only reason I bought the first table since I was kid....but, the mastering for the new vinyl has been too unpredictable to commit $25-35 a title to find out.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  11. EasterEverywhere

    EasterEverywhere Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albuquerque
    I buy 99% of my new vinyl from Amazon.I have for eight or nine years.In all that time,I may have gotten one,maybe two,warped records.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  12. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Maybe I should clarify by saying obtrusive surface noise that's loud and/or persistent enough to be distracting or detract from the overall listening experience. I'm not talking about the odd pop here or there, or a few between-song ticks.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  13. Vinyl Archaeologist

    Vinyl Archaeologist Forum Resident

    after hearing vinyl thats dead quiet I don't buy that it's "a defect of design of the platform." Good clean well pressed vinyl with a dialed setup will be noise free on the lead in groove and onward. upwards of 90% pressed does not meet this standard and thats ok too. We live in an imperfect world that is still pretty great.
     
    The Pinhead and EasterEverywhere like this.
  14. murphywmm

    murphywmm Senior Member

    Sub Pop uses RTI for their pressings. IMO, RTI is the best record plant out there so that's why this record sounds so good. :righton:
     
    BuddhaBob likes this.
  15. jordanb87

    jordanb87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    I had the opposite experience with the new Father John Misty vinyl (standard edition on black vinyl). LP1 was pressed very off center and had a big warp; LP2 was also off-center, but no warp. I had to return it as it sounded terribly distorted during playback. At the risk of repeating myself on multiple threads, I'll again stress the difficulty of individual consumers making blanket statements about pressing plant quality; I think it's hard for us to get an accurate picture. It's like using a pen-light flashlight in a huge dark auditorium and trying to determine how many people are inside.
     
  16. BuddhaBob

    BuddhaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Erie, PA, USA
    Understood. Did you get a replacement then and how did that look and sound?

    I tried to get QRP to audition a replacement of Tea For The Tillerman before sending. "Unless you suspect the entire pressing run of having a problem, in which case I would prefer the refund option, would you please open it and listen to any part of each side for crackle before sending a replacement?", I asked. They wouldn't even consider it, although I had to return my copy at my own expense because the crackle was ridiculous. It would have taken how long versus their choice to write a detailed personal email in response? I mean, it wasn't a canned response email--they replied to my specific concerns and it had to take a few minutes. They could have pulled a copy and then a quick email, probably a canned reply, 'We pulled a copy and it seems to be fine. Sorry you had a problem and we hope you enjoy the replacement copy." Instead they lost my business for at least a very long time because I have another copy with less crackle, but it is still annoying to hear. Cleaning did not work. I only listen to a FLAC file of it now after running through ClickRepair. Their marketing emails go into my gmail spam.
     
  17. jordanb87

    jordanb87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    I decided to just get the FJM album on CD. I've had such a problem with new defective vinyl lately. I sympathize with your Tillerman run-around. Sounds like the didn't treat you very well.

    Recently, I ordered an LP from the Merge Records store, it arrived with a deep scratch on Side 2 that affected playback, so I mailed it back at my own expense. They were, however, kind enough to open and check the replacement copy for defects before mailing, and include a Merge slipmat for the inconvenience, which I appreciated. The new copy sounds great: flat, centered and quiet. But I think I learned my lesson: buy from local record stores with reasonable return policies, and save all the waiting and shipping costs.
     
    BuddhaBob likes this.
  18. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Do you count replacement copies that are also defective? I've gone through three of the new John Mellencamp's and they've all been bad. Two with dish warps and one that had ripples in the vinyl from, I assume, being pulled off the press too hot. Had the same issue with the new Brandi Carlisle, but at least the replacement was a good copy.
     
  19. PlushFieldHarpy

    PlushFieldHarpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I'm new to collecting vinyl but have bought quite a lot. I would say 5% defective.
    Only one warped record and it still plays. In fact, nothing that doesn't play.
    One case of fogged vinyl.
    One bad pressing with too much noise.
    One song on the Beatles mono box that skips.
    I did however recently receive an album from one of the lesser online retailers that was packed in a bubble mailer so tight that I bent it getting it out, only to find that it wasn't even wrapped. Lucky for me, it appeared to be new and still sounded great. So I can live with a bent cover for that particular album. Won't be ordering from that particular seller again though.
     
  20. RobGordon35

    RobGordon35 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    A lot of the vinyl thats produced now is not expertly pressed. Through the 80's I bought loads of pressings on Warner that were done in Germany and they wer all good, ALL of them.

    I buy 'new' vinyl now and some of it is very noisy. Its playable, but not very good. Only once recently had a pressing fault in an lp, littl ebubble in the vinyl and more recently a back to black pressing of Never Mind by Nirvana which sounded like it was full of sand. Yuk!

    I suppose it depends what youre looking for, some of the younger vinyl buyers are buying it because its fashionable, but if youre buying for sound quality there really should be no excuse for badly manufactured records at this point.
     
    BuddhaBob likes this.
  21. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    If you include "seasickness warps", the one where the edge of the vinyl kind of undulates like the ocean surface, I would say somewhere around 20%-30% defective. Fortunately, the Vinyl Flat takes care of most warps, but that thing has been working overtime lately.
     
  22. mcenters

    mcenters Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    The last 3 purchases had to be returned for a replacement. I need this cold streak to end.
    The latest issue was 1 side to record had a misaligned label which caused wrinkles and bubbles causing the record to not sit on the table flat. Anyone else have this issue before?
     
  23. JamesD1957

    JamesD1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cypress, Texas
    For me, about 10%, but I've lowered my standards to retain my sanity. Seems like there is some kind of glitch with at least 50% if I'm honest about it. Maybe I'm looking to the past through rose colored glasses, but I purchased 100's of records in the sixties and seventies. In all that time, I returned ONE for a defect. A different time.
     
    RobGordon35 likes this.
  24. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    I'm a bit more selective now about what I order online, and what stores, based on the experience
    that I may have to return any purchase these days. I've been buying records since the 70s,
    and for sure the quality has ebbed and flowed over time, and country of origin. I had more
    issues lately than ever before, in fact, before the CD era I rarely had an issue, but I also believe
    our standards were lower, especially for flatness and pops. If it played without skipping you
    kept it.

    Theses days, I'll return it for obvious damage, but I haven't had a problem with surface
    noise except for some Classic Records with fill issues. I think that quality and consistency
    is a priority at many plants, and things are actually getting better recently in some places.
    The issues are much more discussed because of the Internet, and pressing plant information
    on reissues is becoming more transparent. These places will have to address quality to
    keep the business, the demand for records won't be skyrocketing forever. Most of the current
    Issues are growing pains.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2015
  25. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    This is what I was thinking but I HATE to pay an additional $1,000 just to compensate for poor production or transport issues on a new product. New records are expensive and a luxury item, at the very lest they should arrive flat.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine