The Color Of Vinyl

Mike, that is a good summary of the varying parameters for making vinyl discs. I used to run a vinyl compounding plant that produced (or at least tried) vinyl for records, among other products such as cable jackets. The common "brightener" is titanium dioxide and the common "blackner" is carbon black, the quality (mostly size of particles, which can vary greatly) of these being the main contributor to the noise qualities of the discs. The dyes can also contripute if the pigments in the dye are of poor quality.

It is very difficult to discern whether a vinyl is virgin or not through visual or tactile observation, much like a woman I guess.

TWL, it appears that I might have more intimate knowledge of vinyl than you suspected - love the smell!

Bob P.

According to my studies at the Institute Of Audio Research back in 1975 where I actually cut some disc using a Scully Lathe there are some sonic differences using different color dyes. Might have to look up my notes or Journals of the Audio Engineering Society.

not "Stan Rick" as in my post. ...Bad typo!

I also forgot to mention that the folks at RTI stressed that the differences in noise level that we were talking about when it came to carbon black, TiO2, dyes, etc. , were pretty small.

Mike

I meant to correct the typo with my last post, but apparently it didnt work.

It's "Ricker" not "Rick" [obviously]... lol

M

Here's part of an email I got from PA records-
"Please root for Karrin Allyson's "In Blue" to receive a Grammy nomination Jan 7th!
We are working on the audiophile LP release at this time. It will be available sometime next year, June or before. The 2-LP set will be half-speed mastered by Stan on HQ-180 gram BLUE vinyl.
We decided to press about 220 individually numbered BLACK copies of "Soular Energy" for black vinyl enthusiasts and direct comparisons. We have our opinions and suspicions, but what better way to put the subject of colored vinyl to bed for awhile?
Let me say that this won't be something we do again next month if they sell fast. This is just for comparison. Colored vinyl costs more, so it's a waste of you and our money if there are no sonic or physical improvements. We believe there is or we would never have used it for "Ballads".

Thanks for your time.
Dennis Cassidy
Pure Audiophile Records