Heavy Vinyl


I did a search and see that this hasn't been discussed in quite a while. Heavy vinyl is touted as being better for sound quality. I wonder about this. For a start, it is more susceptible to warps and particularly those short duration warps that really give the cartridge a hard time. Second, in my own listening across a fairly extensive record collection, I'm not hearing any particular sonic revelations from heavier records. I'm more inclined to believe that the critical factor is the quality of the vinyl  and the stampers used rather than the thickness of it. Other thoughts?

128x128yoyoyaya

Better or different ?

unless you are adjusting your VTA for every record you will hear a difference in "heavy or light" records . 

I have set my VTA on a 160 gram record , my compromise since most records are between 140 and now 180 grams with 120 and 200 being on the extreme ends but still sound good .

I have ( had ) 2 John Denver Poems , prayers and Promises albums one was 105 grams and the other 150 grams , the lightweight one sound shrill while the middleweight one sounds like typical J.D. , the lightweight is no longer on the self .

 

"Did you ever hear the 3 sided album on one LP?'

That would have been Johnny Winter-2nd Winter

 

My own experience has been that many (certainly not all) contemporary 180g vinyl records I've bought have more discernible surface noise, tics, etc than many of my 'legacy' vinyl records from the 70's, some of which are absolutely perfect in that regard.

 

grinnell

thanks for letting me know about those jokers tricks

wiki has some background

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monty_Python_Matching_Tie_and_Handkerchief

 

Background[edit]

The initial pressings were designed to resemble a box containing a tie and handkerchief, the concept being that the record was merely a ’free gift’ included with the package. It was also notable for its inner artwork, which was visible through a cutaway hole in the album’s outer sleeve. It appeared to be a simple Terry Gilliam artwork of a tie and handkerchief, but when the card insert was pulled out it revealed that the tie and handkerchief were actually on a man hanging from a gallows. A second insert featured the album credits and the text to "The Background to History" sketch. The US release had a different cover design with the two insert sheets printed on either side of a card inner sleeve. Later releases of the album would have just a picture of the clothing on the front cover, without the inserts.

The album’s original LP edition is particularly notable in that it was mastered with two concentric grooves on side two, so that different material would be played depending on where the stylus was put down on the record’s surface. For this reason it is sometimes referred to as a "three-sided" record. The cutting was carried out by George "Porky" Peckham, who became known for etching messages into runout grooves. This was the first of many Python albums to bear one of these so-called "Porky Prime Cuts" – a brief message on Side 2 which reads: "PORKY – RAY ADVENTURE". To further confuse the listener, both sides of the record label were labelled "FREE RECORD Given away with the Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief – Side 2" – only the matrix numbers identify which are the first and second sides.[3] The album did not have a track listing, so that this feature would come as a complete surprise to listeners, who might on a subsequent listening hear material they had never heard before, creating genuine confusion.

Since the record had two concentric grooves, they were spaced considerably apart, halving the length of the playing time. Subsequent editions of the vinyl incorporated both grooves sequentially as separate tracks, eliminating the double groove. Likewise with promotional copies for radio stations, as they were banded for airplay. However, when Virgin reissued the album in the UK in 1985, the double groove was retained, but with the "Great Actors" sketch cut from the end of Side 1 and moved onto the start of the second side which previously began with "The Background to History". This meant the two B-sides no longer had equal length, resulting in a long silence following the "Phone-In" sketch at the end of the second Side B.