180 gram vinyl vs. original LPs

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JolidaFan, Mar 11, 2014.

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  1. JolidaFan

    JolidaFan New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Minnesota
    Lately I've purchased some 180-gram LPs of titles I've had before, such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow, etc. I don't have the ability to do an A-B test, but my ears seem (want?) to tell me the 180-gram versions sound better. Any thoughts on which sounds best?
     
    DK Pete likes this.
  2. Henry Please

    Henry Please Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa City
    As far as my ears can tell 180-gram is just marketing -- a reason to charge $25+ for a new album. You know, because it's heavier, and so must be better.
     
    The Gomper, DiBosco, tin ears and 7 others like this.
  3. Danny Holland

    Danny Holland Active Member

    Location:
    Mississippi
    It seems to be hit and miss. I just received the International Artists 180 gram press of the 13th Floor Elevators' debut today and the thing came in with multiple scratches and an oily-fingerprint type film all over it! After I cleaned it up and put it on the turntable, it didn't sound very good either. Very muddy sound. But, on the other hand, my 180-gram reissue of Hendrix's Axis: Bold as Love sounds amazing... IMO, the vinyl weight doesn't matter that much, it's the mastering and quality control that really matters
     
    The Gomper, gfong, Man at C&A and 6 others like this.
  4. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Vinyl weight determines sound quality.
    (Pause while I try to keep a straight face.)




    :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
     
    WMTC, Turntable, richbdd01 and 13 others like this.
  5. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    This thread wont go well :-popcorn:
     
  6. aoxomoxoa

    aoxomoxoa I'm an ear sitting in the sky

    Location:
    USA
    Vintage vinyl is better 90 % of the time.

    "Live music is better" bumper stickers should be issued.
     
    Rich C, grapenut, Vinyl_Blues and 2 others like this.
  7. tomd

    tomd Senior Member

    Location:
    Brighton,Colorado
    prefer the 180 gram.NONE of my 180 grams have bad (unplayable) warps or pressing where you can hear the needle grinding around the record (have two of those).180 gram does not make the music better AFAIK but I DO believe going with a 180 gram pressing makes it easier for a manufacturer to produce a better quality record (meet quality targets) more of the time.
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2014
  8. druboogie

    druboogie Maverick Stacker

    Location:
    New Jersey
    180 grams means nothing in terms of sound quality. Its all about how its mastered, thats why its hit and miss. If they use good quality vinyl, it wont be as noisy as crappy vinyl, but the thickness doesnt mean anything. Maybe it helps the pressings not come out as warped.
     
  9. tomd

    tomd Senior Member

    Location:
    Brighton,Colorado
    I've learned that most of the members on this forum are HIGHLY sceptical of ANY technology advantage be it SHM,Blu spec,180 gram etc. and are not representative of the general population.Sorry but it's true.I go with my own experiences and my own hearing over the posts here (for the most part).
     
    Vinyl_Blues, chacha and nibor like this.
  10. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    If 180 is so good why wasn't it introduced in the vinyl heyday of 70s/80s? Load of marketing nonsense, my copys of Nightfly, AJA and 12" such as Perfect Kiss by New Order on 140 original vinyl are the best sounding things I have.
     
    MusicNBeer, WMTC, Rich C and 3 others like this.
  11. tomd

    tomd Senior Member

    Location:
    Brighton,Colorado
    You mean the "golden" age of vinyl where 98% of the general public couldn't wait to dump their records for a (supposedly) better format-cd?
     
    Tullman, Steve Bromsgrove and kman like this.
  12. jmpatrick

    jmpatrick Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit, MI
    I can add that if you're pressing a record for sale, 180 Gram is going to be more attractive...colored vinyl even more so.
     
  13. Danny Holland

    Danny Holland Active Member

    Location:
    Mississippi
    Heavier vinyl does help prevent warps, but i don't know if it helps the sound at all. Perhaps we could just drop the "180-gram" part and just say reissues in general are pretty hit and miss. You may have some really good sounding reissues, but I don't know if the weight of the vinyl really has anything to do with it. Could just be good mastering.
     
  14. Kevin j

    Kevin j The 5th 99

    Location:
    Seattle Area
    funny enough, my rhino 180g reissue of your avatar was warped all to hell. returned it for a nice, flat copy.
     
    WMTC likes this.
  15. Eric Weinraub

    Eric Weinraub Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon
    Simple, thin records are cheap to make.
     
    Tullman, McLover and Steve Bromsgrove like this.
  16. tomd

    tomd Senior Member

    Location:
    Brighton,Colorado
    maybe forum members should just chant over and over "the mastering is better so ALL else doesn't matter" and they'll be be just happy from that? I can't help bu say I prefer more recent masterings of albums on vinyl just as cd (Neil Young,The English Beat,Sade) could be better source tapes used or better transfer techniques but the older versions (often on 120-140 gram) sound bass light to me.
     
  17. williamjoel

    williamjoel Spins At 33 1/3 RPM

    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    Mobile Fidelity did put out releases on heavy vinyl back in the time period that you mention. Some sounded great.
    Very few were difficult to track or warped or had vinyl defects since they were virgin vinyl.

    But yeah, it's all about what you put on the vinyl.
     
    WMTC and gklainer like this.
  18. Amnesiac

    Amnesiac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I remember reading an ad for some 180g vinyl that said "on 180g vinyl for that extra bass" and laughed.
     
  19. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    And sound as good as 180g.
     
    WMTC, Man at C&A and Steve Bromsgrove like this.
  20. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I meant introduced and charged more for of course, the reason would have been that people would have told the record companies to f**k off.
     
  21. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    None of my 70s/80s normal weight stuff is warped, if you take good care of your records that so called benefit of 180G is unnecessary.
     
    jon9091 likes this.
  22. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Nothing wrong with vintage weight vinyl (it was never mentioned at the time, so I have no idea what it is). Records sound great or not depending on all sorts of factors, but I think the weight of the record is probably not one of them.
     
    Technocentral likes this.
  23. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I have to put a quarter on it to play it correctly, but this puppy even sounds descent :laugh:
    [​IMG]
     
    Thurenity and Brudy like this.
  24. Brudy

    Brudy Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland
    I like the way 180g feels, but I think mastering and actual QC/production matter more. I've got some thin records that sound amazing (my original Harry Nilsson The Point comes to mind).
     
    WMTC likes this.
  25. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I also Brudy, easier to handle, but I have found no difference in sound quality because of thickness or lack of, I have have an old Frazier Chorus 12 inch 45 thin as air that sounds fantastic :)
     
    Technocentral likes this.
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