180 gram?

The original concept for a 180 or 200 gram record was to cut a deeper groove into the vinyl. The result was better dynamics and sonics being reproduced by the stylus/cart. These LPs were marketed as "audiophile" recordings and often did sound superior than the mass-produced vinyl runs.

Today, 180 gram is basically a marketing term for the new generation of vinyl being produced and the new wave of vinyl buyers; "if its thicker and heavier, then it must sound better."

Czarivey makes a good point in that the quality pressings are still dependent on the engineering and the record cutting process. There are still excellent records being released by a few top cutting plants. There are also many 180 LPs being released with defects due to poor quality control and the push to get the product to market.

This is the thread previously mentioned regarding 180g warped records...
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1427751926&openflup&6&4#6

I thought the idea behind thicker pressings was less resonant? It is a shame when you purchase a thicker lp and it comes in warped, which happens a lot. I'll have to say that quite a few of my best sounding lps are the thin sort, some are almost like "dynaflex" thin.

I would not replace an older, good-sounding pressing with a 180-gram pressing just for the weight. The quality of any record depends on many factors and weight is only one. I wouldn't even think about it.

While RL certainly stands for Robert Ludwig,he is not a recording engineer.He is a mastering engineer.Sterling does not press records they are a mastering service.

1->same record
8-> Profit x 8
0-> zero improvement