I can hear clearly now
“Evening Star” by Judas Priest. 1979. I bought it for only one reason – clear vinyl. Such a novelty then. Many years later Donald Fagen released “Sunken Condos” on clear vinyl. I was astonished as, the conventional wisdom at the time was that colored or translucent records, like picture discs, were gimmicky and sounded worse. But Fagen – no gimmicks here!
Over the past decade, I have bought 30 or 40 records pressed up on clear vinyl – from the ELO (digitally sourced and not good sounding) reissues to “For their love” by Other Lives. A few weeks ago, I lined up outside my local record shop for the RSD drop – or whatever they are calling it – and it appeared that everything was being pressed up on super deluxe clear vinyl (Suede, Bernard Butler, The Creation, Echo & the Bunnymen, Ed Sheeran, Everything Everything, Jesus Jones, M. Ward, The Selecter, UFO, Ultravox etc). Clear appears to be the color of the month!
But clear vinyl is not just a fad – it is the natural color of the substance (PVC – although that is usually yellowish – so must be treated in some way to become clear) – every other color, including black, requires some impurity to be included in the mix. That must have an impact on sound. There is a widely held belief that black vinyl is superior – as the carbon, mixed in to make the record look black, strengthens the formula – and presumably improves the flatness and sound quality. Is this true? Who knows. None of my clear vinyl albums feel flimsy – and the audiophile ones sound exceptional. The SRX formula promoted by Music Matters and the MOFI Ultradiscs – are pressed on translucent grey plastic. Colored vinyl records have had a mixed reputation over the years – but, these days, all of those extraordinary Vinyl Me Please releases (and they usually sound great) appear to be pressed up on colored vinyl.
Recently, Analogue Productions have started shipping their ultra high quality (UHQR) version of “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis – 25,000 copies at $125. AP are calling the current super HQ formula “clarity vinyl” and – yes you guessed it – the records are clear. This is the spiel from the website: “By not adding carbon black to our Clarity Vinyl™, we eliminate the possibility of noise contamination due to carbon black particles. Instead, your stylus is allowed to effortlessly slide down a glossy and silky smooth groove wall.”
Clearly the world of polymers has changed greatly since PVC vinyl records were introduced more than 60 years ago. With UHQR releases from companies like Analogue Productions it appears that the future of audiophile vinyl may well be clear.
audioexchange 
I’ve got that Other Lives record. Fantastic record, one of my fave of the year. The record? Warped and noisy. I got 2 copies with no luck. I listen to the Cd and I am happy. I have read on SHF that the new KOB is not imperfection free as well. I have the Quiex Classic 200gr, which also came with some noise, and decided to pass. I believe that they are just milking the cow. 100$ for an imperfect medium, old remaster, with a useless box? No thanks. Plus general QC has been going downhill. Most of the times new records (i am speaking about first edition of new bands, not the 1000th audiofile remaster of a 45YO record) are warped, noisy, scratched etc. I think my return rate has been 30% or something as of late. I am a happier man since I abandoned the fanfare and went back to CDs. Only bought 10 records or so in the last few months, well I mean 7 😉
Yes – the record industry has become obsessed with endless “limited edition” colored vinyl releases -of dubious quality. I’m beginning to believe that the “cheap” black vinyl version is actually the most collectable. Most new records need a thorough cleaning with a proper vinyl cleaning machine – and there are staggering amounts of static associated with the sand paper inner sleeves.
I have never stopped buying CDs – although HiRes downloads, from Qobuz, are less expensive. I swore that I would stop buying records this year – mainly due to storage issues – needless to say I have a large shelfload of new records many of which have not been subject to critical listening. It took me ages to obtain “Promises” by Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders (strongly recommended) on Vinyl (nice die cut sleeve) – I bought the CD when it came out. While the record sounded great – honestly – I cannot say, in good conscience, that it sounds better than the CD (on my highly transparent system). You might enjoy this post (from several years ago): https://audioexchange.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/things-i-hatelove-about-compact-discs/
Great read indeed. Goes to show that there is good and bad in every format, which i fully agree with. I just would love my jazz only on vinyl , but after enjoying the Blue Note 80 series I have had the worst luck with the Blue Note Classic. I just managed to get a noise and scratch free copy of Speak No evil out countless replacements for all the titles (Sidewinder, Moanin, Somethin’ else you name them). I just threw in the towel. Just how difficult can it be to press warp free records and avoid sticking dirty fingers everywhere?
I don’t have the time nor the nerves to take on the stress…at a premium! This should be a pleasant hobby not another source of problems. They are supposed to be kept in print so I might give it a tray in a year or two and see if they got their QC checked.
I also stopped buying rock etc reissues altogether. Even if you read positive reviews you can always spot a ‘small warp I can leave with it’ , ‘not much noise afterall’ ‘I was expecting worse’ ‘not bad for the price. People are really deluding themselves. Originals are oftentimes the way to go but unless you live in a place with a thriving secondary market then you have to deal with online pricing and grading.
So I am left with only buying those new albums I think might deserve going the extra mile. Which this year so far are as follows
Black Country, New Road : For The First Time
Mogwai : As The Love Continues
Arab Strap : As Days Get Dark
Squid : Bright Green FIeld
Courting : Grand National
Still trying to get the latter. Not willing to pay import from the Uk.
Cheers