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New vinyl's noisy little secret

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the current crop of vinyl formulations just have higher noise levels than LPs made years ago. A case in point--I stumbled upon an old, original copy of Henry Mancini's 1962 soundtrack to the movie "Hatari" in my collection a few days ago (I had never even played it), and was astonished at its deathly quiet playback. Simply no surface noise. What gives? OK, you may make fun of this black-label RCA pressing (LSP-2559) for its content musically (though it's actually pretty fun), but it sure reminded me what we are missing with new releases--super high quality vinyl with very low surface noise. Even the occasional mechanical clicks from scratches seemed subdued. Most of my (expensive!) new vinyl comes replete with very onerous surface noise. Is it just impossible to make this old-generation type of vinyl currently?
kipdent
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I'd guess during the preponderance of my new vinyl purchases (1959-1988 approx 5,000 pieces) less than a half dozen were returned for noise or warpage or other defects.

Over the past 20 years most of my buying (1,500-2,000 albums) has been to fill in my collection along with a handful (less than 50) of reissues/remasters.

Today's product, outside of the inordinate price, is much more problematic.

IMO
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
Most know how went down when the the pressing plants closed in the 90's (in general, vinyl mixture, care in the cooling process, mastering etc.).
axelwahl
788 posts
 
Bill,
do you think anyone of the industry will read all about this? I'd wish so very much.

Meanwhile I buy 20c second-hands and clean them.
I have noted that those are AT LEAST as good in terms of noise, as some new Classic re-issues.
The new stuff is dynamic, most of it anyway, but the more you clean it, the noisier it seems to get...
A.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I don't think they care.

So long as the analog public waits in line to spend $30-$60 per album, why should there be any change(s)?

No sense fixing a business model that isn't broken right?

Personally I don't buy many new albums anymore; perhaps one of two a year. I did just pre-order the Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood Madison Square Garden set to be released in August and very anxious to see how good (bad) it sounds. The majority of my money is spent with vendors/stores who sell high quality originals and offer a return policy.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,534 posts
 
If there is to be a new golden age of vinyl it will be fueled by audiophiles like those on this site.

High prices are an issue but poor quality to go with it is not a good omen for a workable business model for the target audience.

I think you have to ask yourself is buying new vinyl really worth it? IS the price of trying to re-live past pleasures really worth it? For some it will but for most I suspect not.

The good news is that there are still a lot of good records out there at good prices that were made well back in the day when the times supported doing it right on a large scale.
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