There is a huge factor over which we have no control -- the vinyl compound itself. Most of the plastic today used in records for the US comes from Thailand, I believe, and like a custom butcher that sells to restaurants, can make a proprietary compound that is a "secret." You won’t to my knowledge get the exact details and what could you do with the information anyway? In terms or residual noise, consistency of materials, there are a lot of other variables too.
That old MoFi JVC Supervinyl was the bomb. I played some of those records to death, and while in many cases not my preferred pressing now, those copies, which I had from the ’80s, are still quiet, tick or noise free and no apparent degradation over a more than "good" system.
Luck of the draw in some cases-- certainly today when you see what comes out of places that I’ll refrain from naming. (Rainbo-- stuff was horrible, even though they could make a good record; now out of business).
People swung to Japanese vinyl during the oil crisis and through the death of vinyl in part because of the quality coming from there- safety copy or different EQ be damned (On some music it's very neutral but that’s a subjective factor too).
Old vinyl- all over the place. I’m more interested in what it was played on than how many times it was played. But, don’t know that either in most cases in the used market. I have old records that play great and have seen some play here over the years- copies I know I’ve had for a long time. In some cases, the stylus may be in contact with a different part of the groove, and that may make a difference too, as would how your entire phono section works together. See @Atmasphere re noise and phono stages, loading, etc.
And some vinyl is just inherently noisy from the get go- and also very immediate in its sound, like you get one with the other, but that’s not a consistent truth either. It’s pretty much case by case, and every copy of every record has a history.
I had new copies of one record that played clean the first time, but afterwards had ticks and pops. Record had been effectively cleaned to beyond archival standards. I think it was just a soft compound, but I don’t remember cueing individual tracks, which I certainly did back in the day on records I’ve had for years, and they still sound great-- fresh cartridge, high end table, etc.
Short answer: depends.
That old MoFi JVC Supervinyl was the bomb. I played some of those records to death, and while in many cases not my preferred pressing now, those copies, which I had from the ’80s, are still quiet, tick or noise free and no apparent degradation over a more than "good" system.
Luck of the draw in some cases-- certainly today when you see what comes out of places that I’ll refrain from naming. (Rainbo-- stuff was horrible, even though they could make a good record; now out of business).
People swung to Japanese vinyl during the oil crisis and through the death of vinyl in part because of the quality coming from there- safety copy or different EQ be damned (On some music it's very neutral but that’s a subjective factor too).
Old vinyl- all over the place. I’m more interested in what it was played on than how many times it was played. But, don’t know that either in most cases in the used market. I have old records that play great and have seen some play here over the years- copies I know I’ve had for a long time. In some cases, the stylus may be in contact with a different part of the groove, and that may make a difference too, as would how your entire phono section works together. See @Atmasphere re noise and phono stages, loading, etc.
And some vinyl is just inherently noisy from the get go- and also very immediate in its sound, like you get one with the other, but that’s not a consistent truth either. It’s pretty much case by case, and every copy of every record has a history.
I had new copies of one record that played clean the first time, but afterwards had ticks and pops. Record had been effectively cleaned to beyond archival standards. I think it was just a soft compound, but I don’t remember cueing individual tracks, which I certainly did back in the day on records I’ve had for years, and they still sound great-- fresh cartridge, high end table, etc.
Short answer: depends.