Sound quality on 180gm records

[ex brickie]

I've just bought Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily on vinyl and as I already had the CD (and love it) I treated myself to the Musical Fidelity 180gm double vinyl 45rpm version of the album. I have to say the LP is so much better than the CD - more alive and lifelike. However, as there are quiet passages in this album I was a bit surprised by the "background" noise on vinyl - especially given the cost of the records (£30 plus postage).

Is this noise inevitable on vinyl - ie absolute silence is just impossible? It isn't like your usual surface noise with clicks, pops and scratches or anything (otherwise it would have gone back ) but just a low level background noise.

 

[flatpopely]

No the noise is not inevitable! I have some records where you can't tell that the stylus is in the groove at listening levels. I have a 'FAME' (budget EMI) pressing of Kraftwerks Man Machine and it still amazes me after 18 years how quiet and clean it sounds.

Having said that a few 180gm pressings have disappointed recently, not least Kate Bush Aerial.

Still they all sound good when its 'boogie' time.

 

[jimdgoulding]

Of the three that I own from Classic Records, Rough Mix by Pete Townsend and Ronnie Lane and If Only I Could Remember My Name by David Crosby, the sound is excellent. Full bodied and dynamic. The opening of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, however, is noisier that I would have liked.

 

[lovejoy]

The quality control when it comes to surface noise on vinyl is pretty poor these days, and it doesn't seem to relate to how much you paid for the vinyl either. Recently I've bought the latest REM album on 2x180g 45rpm records - the pressing is great but the surface noise is very prominent and I paid £26 for the pleasure, whereas I've just bought the 10th anniversary box of Mogwai's "Young Team" on 4x120g 33rpm records which cost less than the REM and surface noise is non-existent. The last time I paid Diverse Records a visit in Newport they had a lot to say about certain pressing plants that were churning out 'audiophile' vinyl but the quality of the finished product left a lot to be desired. I have to say that I've bought more noisy vinyl in the last couple of years than I've ever done before, even though more of it is of the 180g variety.

My investment in a Moth RCM is really starting to pay off..

My copy of 'Aerial' is top notch though.

 

[Uncle Ants]

One thing is fairly clear, whilst the weight of the vinyl is often used as an indicator of quality, it's really no such thing. The care taken over mastering and then manufacturing are more important factors in terms of the quality of the outcome than how many grams of vinyl, but its easier to sell a product as a quality product when its couched in terms of weight.

 

[RAK44]

I do find some discs are cut at a lower level,some of my MFSLs are,advancing the volume does tend to exacerbate the background noise.