QUALITY
The
sound quality and durability of vinyl records is highly dependent
on the quality of the vinyl. During the early 1970s, as a cost-cutting
move towards use of lightweight, flexible vinyl pressings, much
of the industry adopted a technique of reducing the thickness
and quality of vinyl used in mass-market manufacturing, marketed
by RCA Victor as the "Dynaflex" (125 g/m²) process,
considered inferior by most record collectors. Most vinyl records
are pressed on recycled vinyl.
New
"virgin" or "heavy" (180-220 g/m²)
vinyl is commonly used for modern "audiophile" vinyl
releases in all genres. Many collectors prefer to have 180 g/m²
vinyl albums, and they have been reported to have a better sound
than normal vinyl. These albums tend to withstand the deformation
caused by normal play better than regular vinyl. 180 g/m²
vinyl is more expensive to produce and requires higher-quality
manufacturing processes than regular vinyl.
Since
most vinyl records are from recycled plastic, impurities can
be accumulated in the record, causing a brand new album to have
audio artifacts like clicks and pops. Virgin vinyl means that
the album is not from recycled plastic, and will theoretically
be devoid of the possible impurities of recycled plastic. In
practice, this depends on the manufacturer's quality control.
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