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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2021 10:03:21 GMT
So an album I am after is available on a limited release coloured vinyl.
In the past, coloured vinyl has always sounded poor to my ears.
So, for £1 difference in price, coloured or traditional black? What would you buy, and why?
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optical
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Post by optical on Sept 9, 2021 10:09:03 GMT
Black ALWAYS sounds better to my ears. I avoid coloured vinyl if possible.
I did read somewhere that the black is a percentage more dense as adding/using colour does something to the makeup of the material.
Might be just psychological of course but whatever, it doesn't sound as good to me.
Of course it could just be that the kind of releases which are selling 'coloured' vinyl may not be particularly well cut/mastered anyway, as the emphasis is on the look of the record as much (or indeed more) than it is on the sound of it.
You can probably get coloured vinyl which is identical to it's black counterpart in sound but it just never seems as good to me.
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Post by robbiegong on Sept 9, 2021 10:16:05 GMT
Black ALWAYS sounds better to my ears. I avoid coloured vinyl if possible.I did read somewhere that the black is a percentage more dense as adding/using colour does something to the makeup of the material. Might be just psychological of course but whatever, it doesn't sound as good to me. Of course it could just be that the kind of releases which are selling 'coloured' vinyl may not be particularly well cut/mastered anyway, as the emphasis is on the look of the record as much (or indeed more) than it is on the sound of it. You can probably get coloured vinyl which is identical to it's black counterpart in sound but it just never seems as good to me. Same here, my experience too, not sure what the reason for it is though |
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Post by Bigman80 on Sept 9, 2021 10:40:03 GMT
All vinyl is coloured. Even black is an additive. That said, yeah....black is the best sounding. Although probably not measurable .  |
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optical
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Post by optical on Sept 9, 2021 10:49:21 GMT
All vinyl is coloured. Even black is an additive. That said, yeah....black is the best sounding. Although probably not measurable . Yup. Except you can get natural un-coloured vinyl . . . "black carbon is often added, which also strengthens the PVC mix. As a general rule of thumb, traditional black vinyl and natural, un-colored vinyl produce the best results overall." From here: www.yoursoundmatters.com/does-colored-vinyl-sound-worse-than-black-vinyl/#:~:text=All%20vinyl%20records%20are%20made,also%20strengthens%20the%20PVC%20mix. Now i want some 'natural/un-coloured' vinyl . . . . really badly. |
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Post by macca on Sept 9, 2021 12:16:37 GMT
As they say in the linked article there are too many variables involved to be sure.
I was always suspicious of coloured vinyl being noisier. Although from memory I only have two, one is noisy (red) the other is fine (white). But could be down to pressing quality and nothing to do with the colour.
if coloured was noisier then yes that can of course be measured - but then you'd need two pressings you were sure were otherwise identical and that's pretty much impossible due to how the pressing process works.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2021 13:16:12 GMT
So white noise, compared to inky black?
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Post by brucew268 on Sept 9, 2021 13:36:15 GMT
I'd be wondering if this limited edition change to the workflow of making vinyl platters might have introduced some other challenge to quality control. Don't some dyes and colourants have a chemically different interaction with the material they are dying (non-Hifi world) and compensating modifications have to be made? So is the platter softer, harder, more brittle, respond differently to UV or aging, more prone to variations in density, etc.? Just questions that might run through my head with no way of answering them well.
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Post by stryder5 on Sept 9, 2021 18:30:13 GMT
From my Goodyear days, carbon black is used to combat UV deterioration, is conductive to heat, and is a friction modifier (anti static).
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Post by rexton on Sept 9, 2021 19:02:15 GMT
Classic records used to remove carbon black due to it being slightly magnetic and as such you got clear vinyl. I hate coloured vinyl. No colour is good, even black.
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Post by stryder5 on Sept 9, 2021 21:12:02 GMT
Classic records used to remove carbon black due to it being slightly magnetic and as such you got clear vinyl. I hate coloured vinyl. No colour is good, even black. Carbon Black is non metallic in its commercial form, it has been seeded with other materials to make, for example magnetic ink. Surely any record company would buy “virgin” material, could you actually remove carbon black from a compound? Gary |
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Post by rexton on Sept 9, 2021 21:39:33 GMT
Classic records used to remove carbon black due to it being slightly magnetic and as such you got clear vinyl. I hate coloured vinyl. No colour is good, even black. Carbon Black is non metallic in its commercial form, it has been seeded with other materials to make, for example magnetic ink. Surely any record company would buy “virgin” material, could you actually remove carbon black from a compound? Gary Gary, I'm sure your correct, however, the that was the sales pitch from Classic Records. |
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Post by stryder5 on Sept 10, 2021 8:00:29 GMT
Carbon Black is non metallic in its commercial form, it has been seeded with other materials to make, for example magnetic ink. Surely any record company would buy “virgin” material, could you actually remove carbon black from a compound? Gary Gary, I'm sure your correct, however, the that was the sales pitch from Classic Records. I did think it was a marketing tool, but was willing to be wrong my Goodyear days were .....years ago Gary |
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Post by sq225917 on Sept 10, 2021 19:03:01 GMT
Coloured vinyl used to be Sh#t, picture discs the worst. These days I'm not so sure I have a few great coloured records
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Post by macca on Sept 11, 2021 7:58:20 GMT
The white vinyl I have is The Black Crowes 'Amorica' - and that isn't noisy at all, but it was the original release bought the week it came out (Nov 1994).
The red one is the first Stone Roses album, a re-issue that came out maybe ten or fifteen years ago, that's really noisy and a wet/vacuum clean didn't really help.
From that limited info I'd conclude that the quality of the pressing trumps any potential issue from using non-black vinyl.
I don't have any picture discs, they were always too pricey for me.
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Post by pete on Sept 11, 2021 14:34:41 GMT
I always understood that your picture disc was a picture, on paper or card, covered by a tin layer of clear vinyl with the pressing stamped into it, sound quality was usually terrible. I had a 1970 copy of Curved air, Air-conditioning, and the sound was terrible. I think this was the first picture disk, maybe wrong though.
I have been surprised by some recent splatter vinyl I got by accident. The blend go 2 or 3 different colours should sound terrible, but they are all very quiet with no noticeable surface noise.
I prefer black vinyl, if I can get it.
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Post by gninnam on Sept 11, 2021 15:11:06 GMT
I didn't purchase any coloured vinyl or picture disks in the early days of these coming out.
But, I have quite a few coloured albums and I find them to be fine - no untoward surface noise compared to black vinyl.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2021 22:59:38 GMT
Nothing wrong with coloured .
In the old days different genres were pressed in different colours.
It's a old as the moon.
Pic discs though is as above and generally pretty horrid.
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