I don’t work at a pressing plant so I can’t explain technical differences, but I would most definitely subscribe to the view that the sound quality is inferior.
Of course black vinyl also comes in all shapes, forms and levels of quality, so coloured vinyl can of course also sound better than cheaply pressed black vinyl.
What I personally hate most about coloured vinyl is that it’s so difficult to grade it properly visually (unless it has been tormented so much that it’s hard to be overlooked).
Would be interesting to see if we have a techie around though who can explain the details, and maybe the idea that black vinyl sounds better is an acoustic mirage after all? :wink:
In my experience and opinion clear color vinyl can be as good as properly pressed black vinyl, but opaque color vinyl is definitely not as good.
For example, I have some pressings in white vinyl, and they have much more background noise in comparison to the black vinyl versions. Not necessarily clicks or pops, but hiss due to greater friction of the needle in the groove. They are also heavier and not as flexible. The worst sounding first hand vinyls I have are german multicolored vinyls (those splashed ones…). Picture discs are even worse. Harder, heavier and noisier.
On the contrary, plain clear and transparent color vinyl sound much more like black vinyl. The more transparent the better the sound. Maybe it’s just a queation of ‘purity’?. Obviously these are just my appreciations.
Black vinyl is also colored so I don’t think there is any difference per se. But some colored and especially multi-colored discs are known to sound worse or wear out more quickly, for some reason.
I can assure you that colored vinyl is of less quality as black… no discussion… but if you press colored vinyl there is one pressing plant that does a good job… then the sound is good… but still not as good as with black… I do not know the technical side of things but I suspect it is of temperature… black gets warmer… black labels are also easier to make nice on the record as colored ones because of this… my pressing plant told me this…
[quote author=“ton”]The natural color of vinyl is clear.
Therefore all vinyl records, either black or another color are colored.
There is no reason why a black vinyl should be better sounding then a red one.
The main reason why black is the standard color is the fact that the separation grooves are best visible on a black surface.
That is, as far as i was told/know.
maybe but crystal clear viynl records are the hardest to press in a good quality… my presing plant told me… as I have done the Hero Wouters in that way… so I talked with them about this then…
There is an interview with Warren Cann on the Ultravox website in which he talks about the advantages of clear, translucent, or coloured vinyl: http://www.ultravox.org.uk/history.shtml
While the inner machinations of the pressing plants were beyond reach, it nevertheless seemed like the moment an artist or group had garnered enough success and attendant leverage to attempt to do so would try to get their records released on what was known as ‘virgin vinyl’, ie vinyl stock not contaminated by the ink, paper, glue, etc. cocktail of previous/returned melted-down stock. This was virtually an impossible quest and became somewhat of a Holy Grail to many people.
When, in turn, we made our own enquiries regarding it’s use we were most adamantly told that it was strictly for issuance to the classical music labels. Period. ‘Pop’ music was s*** out of luck. It was a snob thing! One day it occurred to us… ‘Hang on a second… Black vinyl doesn’t start out that way, it’s dyed black to cover up it’s origins… so, if we use clear vinyl (if it’s been mixed with anything else it wouldn’t be clear, duh…) - presto - it’s “virgin” vinyl!!!’
Hence, where possible (usually limited editions of 12” singles), we released on clear or tinted vinyl. I like to believe it really made some degree of difference to the listening quality of the records.
I must admit I had really hoped for a technical expert to comment on this (production and dyeing techniques etc).
Paying more attention to it these days, I came across some great sounding yellow vinyl for instance, while the lilac vinyl of my “Wave News” sampler sounds so dull it will lose to a tape.
So could this colour thingy really be the equivalent of “you’ll get drunk quicker if you drink your booze through a straw” after all? I wonder…. :wink:
@Claudia
Well, this would support the info from M’s pressing plant that clear vinyl is harder to make….
...still, I wonder if there’s something like “pure vinyl” (=clear vinyl like claimed here) at all? Now do they cut it off the Transparent Vinyl Tree, melt it and paint it black then? :wink:
And how could an ingredient like black colour improve the sound? Still, many people here have the impression that by using coloured vinyl instead of black one, you’re losing quality (I’m not using the term “coloured” for black vinyl as black is not a colour).
And if clear vinyl was the best, then every audiophile record out there should be released on clear vinyl, shouldn’t it?
Oh well, weekend soon, time for some beer through a straw….. 8)
i also understood that the addition of carbon (=black) makes the disc harder and thus less damage is caused from the needle to the grooves. the difference between clear and coloured I don’t know.
I don’t know.
Perhaps now you have enough experts to satisfy you need for the truth.
Ton
Hi Ton,
Glad to see you’re in a christmessy mood already as well.
Needless to say, I wasn’t ignoring you, it’s just that I was wondering about sound quality, not usability.
The bit that the carbon hardens the record is the kind of new information I was after. Thank you.
Starting from there, maybe the dyeing of the carbon diminishes the hardening effect again? And then again, maybe not? Or is coloured vinyl vinyl without carbon like clear vinyl?
Oh well, and if we don’t find out, I think the world needs a couple of Nessies, Area 51s and coloured vinyl mysteries…. I’ll have one on you now, straws up! :wink:
I didn’t contribute to this thread as I didn’t know the word “porous”.
The explanation I had, years ago by an audiophile friend (ie. remembered through the passing of years and possibly listened to with half an ear while trying to think of something else, so take it for what it is), was that black vinyl was the least porous type, and so the best sort to listen to (and thus the most common). This seems to confirm Claudia’s test.
And while vinyl originally is not black, it isn’t clear as in “crystal” clear either, so for clear vinyl pressings they must use some sort of bleach or something I think? This, however, I know even less about than stuff I normally comment on.
When I was a kid, me and my brother had the first DEVO album in several different colours of vinyl, and we actually tried to compare them. Although our equipment wasn’t every audiophile’s wet dream, we did conclude that black vinyl was best (which I guess is why I remember that explanation from our friend mentioned above; it felt like we’d solved some riddle or something).
My friend also told me that picture discs were impossible to listen to - again, fact - except the japanese ones which were made differently somehow. Goes to show.
