New vinyl quality....

 I wouldnt blame this on RTI. This record was clearly used, returned and repackaged . The worst thing was I showed it to a manager. Two weeks later the same record was back in the bin. No way they should be allowed to sell this as  "new ". Also the fact that they said it is a common problem was disturbing.

Any wonder I stick to original "old" releases.

Last new album I bought by Candlebox was at least flat but the center hole was undersized and I could not get it to fit over any spindle of the 3 TT I have in the house, not even close!

I was able to open it up to fit but then the SQ was huge disappointment.

Oh well....

@denjer1,

You’re not alone.

Here in the UK myself and a couple of friends have found that well over half of new vinyl (180gm)/to be of poor quality, especially in terms of surface noise / clicks and pops.

The turntable we use is a Pro-ject Debut Carbon with an acrylic platter and an Ortofon Blue cart.

Quite often we find heavily played LPs from the 70s/80s to be superior in this regard. Yes, we do encourage each other to return them but its not always possible.

Fully agree. I recently purchased a Clearaudio vacuum cleaner and even some of those poor abused 1980's records sound incredibly good after a cleaning. Such a shame they can't get the overall quality of new vinyl to be better. But occasionally I do come across some new gems that sound amazing. 

Vinyl quality? Huge and fascinating subject.

Back in the day, until the late 1970’s anyway, a lot of records were made to as high a standard as they could manage. Not all but you play them today and its just staggering to think back on what that must have taken back when they were recorded.

Nowadays, not only did digital not kill off vinyl but records are now into well over a decade of powerful growth that is, if anything, accelerating.

Unfortunately, in between (1970 to roughly 2000) the whole industry was decimated. A lot of equipment and skill that was once common is now scarce, just when we need it most.

That’s the view from space. The view from 10,000 feet is no two pressings are ever exactly the same. Listen close on a system good enough you may notice no two sides even of the same LP are quite the same. This appears to have always been the case.

The takeaway from this is you cannot judge "a" record by your copy of that record. I cold give countless examples, and if you come over play some for you, where two otherwise identical looking records sound completely different. I could play you some expensive audiophile reissues that sound like absolute crap compared to my $3 record bin copy. I also have two copies of the same LP, absolutely identical right down to the dead wax, that one of them sounds completely average the other so freaking beyond perfection you would swear I must have the studio Master if it wasn’t for the occasional bit of surface noise.

Vinyl records are capable of sound quality undreamed of by other formats, but the sad fact of the matter is it comes at the price of unpredictability. Inconsistency.

For myself, I have gotten so sick and tired of crappy reissues that unless one comes out with music I just have to have, AND the preponderance of reviews is they also did a superb pressing of it, then there is just no way. Pass. Better things to do with my time and money than chase long odds. Regular old run of the mill new vinyl? R U Kidding me? Forget about it.

No. If you are serious about sound quality then there are two and only two solutions to this problem. First, accept the fact that statistically speaking only one in 10 copies is pretty good, one in 20 great, and one in 30 demo quality. If that. Then you either play the odds, or pay someone else to do it for you. Take Your Licks or Pay The Man. That’s it. No other way. Anyone sees a third way let me know.