You see the term "180 gram!" bandied about by audiophiles. Beside the premium collectors double LP edition are the words "180 G Audiophile Vinyl" or perhaps 120, 150 and even 200 gram vinyl. But what does this mean really? Is a radioman even the right person to ask? Well no, the fidelity of radio is pretty much crap due to the compressed dynamic range but that's beside the point. Here are the basics:NORMAL VINYL
120-140 gram is "normal." Today this is standard for any commercial pressing. If it fails to specify this is the likely range.
MID-GRADE VINYL
140 - 160 grams vinyl is the middle ground. That said, the middle ground is largely unoccupied. Vinyl tends to be either cheap or marketed to audiophiles. This range will usually be older pressings from the 1960s and some contemporary European pressings.
AUDIOPHILE VINYL
180- 200 gram is the holy grail in vinyl. When a classic record is repressed and re-released this is often the format. This is what they market to those big-spending audiophiles.
The basic measurement behind those grams is thickness. The diameter obviously is standardized. The thickness is not. So the idea is that a thicker record is less prone to warping. There are also less credible claims to auditory improvement. It's been said to be less noisy which really has more to do with the grade of vinyl. But there is some substance to the claim of better bass response. A deeper record groove is able to record a lower tone. This has certain limits due to the standardized record needles and response limits of stereo systems and that old standard we call human hearing. (An old engineer once told me about a prog-rock band that put out a record that was half an inch thick anyone remember this?)
As I often say.. just clean your records, treat them well and they will sound fine. Vinyl grading is mostly bogus.
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I grade my vinyl to give the buyer some sense of what kind of condition it is, and ahere to the Goldmine Standard to the best of my ability.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have several that are probably 180 or 200 grams, until I know EXACTLY how to Distinguish one, I will not label one as such. Just because I feel it is a good quality audiophile, MY standards may differ from my customers. I strive to make sure my buyers are pleasantly surprised in their purchase.
I would love to see someone who knows what makes a 180 or 200 gram record worthy of this classification write about just how to spot one.
Great Piece you have here! Can you expand it to cover this subject more?
My research always continues though on this topic I am somewhat limited by my hearing. So how it improves sound may remain elusive, but identification I should be able to hash out.
ReplyDeleteI agree mr radioman. Just bought two different (new) releases on 180 g vinyl. While I am used to 180 being much heavier, one release is actually barely thicker than some of the older "non audiophile" stuff I have, while another is actually annoyingly heavy to pick up.
ReplyDeleteOdd? Yes.