Vinyl composition effect on noise floor

I don’t avoid colored vinyl but I did not seek it out either. Of the 6 or 8 colored disks that I have I can’t make a case for or against.

I can remember some things from older posts but I decided to to do a little googling with some interesting stuff turning up.

Syntax posted; “In the black vinyl is more soot. This softens the vinyl and reduces noise in general. Promo-Copies for example have much more soot inside than normal pressings.”

Well the info I found is a little different. What makes records black is Carbon Black which in the following link is explained and is a little different than” soot”. This information indicates the addition of carbon black makes vinyl stronger as reinforcement in addition to coloring it black. Promotion copies may have more (or less?) carbon black than regular pressings, I don’t know. One thing I believe to be true is that promo copies are more carefully made during every step of the way and they may use only virgin vinyl.

The second Wikipedia link states that most vinyl records contain up to 30% recycled vinyl. This could be a big deal. I did not notice a definition of what recycled vinyl could mean.

The link for Carbon black is here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_black

The wiki link for info on records is here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramophone_record

Sorry, the second link has a lot of info on 78s and other stuff that does not pertain to this discussion.
One interesting thing I came across is that Classic Records is using and promoting clear (no carbon black) records. They claim that Carbon Black itself has magnetic properties that are detrimental to analog playback with a cartridge. It is covered in the lower part of this blog.
http://www.classicrecords.com/blog/

The Furutech demagnetizer is interesting, I think I have seen it discussed before but never gave it much thought. Great, another tweak!

Two things I like about black vinyl is how it looks - which may be the biggest reason for the use of Carbon Black – and I like that I can see dust if its there.
Hope that helps. Terry

I have a Dark Side Of The Moon from the Harvest label on white vinyl. It is the worst sounding record I own. Nuff said.

Interesting thread. The quality of the vinyl and its composition would be my guess.

I have about 10 colored lps. The ones that are a solid color in my experience are generaly noisier. However I have 4 that are colored yet see through and they are very quiet and certainly more quiet than the original black versions. 3 of them are Japanese pressings so that maybe part of it as they were known for using better virgin vinyl.
I also have a pressing of Good Bye Yellow Brickroad that is a first pressing and a tri fold cover, pressed in England on the Dick James Music label (DJM) and distributed by pye records that at a glance appears black. When cleaning it and holding it up to the light it is actually deep purplish and quite see through. Best sounding copy I have had or heard.
For the most part I have to agree that they usually are noisier on colored vinyl. Anyone else notice a differance between the solid and translucent colored vinyl?

Cheers

My guess is that the surface noise could be due to the level of impurities that were in the color concentrate that was added to the vinyl.

Mofi, my LR record is real and can be played. It really doesn't sound all that bad. It's definitely not a picture album. BTW, the name of the album is Living in the USA, and as I found out after reading a Wikipedia write up on LR, the LP sold pretty well in its day.

In the black vinyl is more soot. This softens the vinyl and reduces noise in general. Promo-Copies for example have much more soot inside than normal pressings.

I think maybe you guys are talking about two different things? Picture Discs, (like Linda and Boston and many others) were never really meant to be played. I have quite a few that even came with a sticker or a note that said "not to be played".

Colored Vinyl is usually a solid color, (or two) with no pictures. I have many of these also. I have almost always found that the colored vinyl sounds worse and has more surface noise than standard black vinyl. Don't know why, but they usually do. I thought it had to be the process or the dye used to make them.

I own only one vintage red vinyl LP. Linda Ronstadt, Back in the USA (Asylum 1977?). The vendor "warned" me that red vinyl doesn't sound as good as black vinyl. But guess what?? I really don't care.

Linda was in her late 20s or early 30s when the LP was released. The picture inserts are various shots of Linda wearing shorty-short-shorts in roller skates. Linda Ronstadt was one major cutie-pie back in the day. My wife threatens to confiscate the album.

A side benefit of owning the album are the cuts. Linda Ronstadt can really belt out a song. I think she's one of the most versatile artists around. I believe she has done rock, pop, country, Latin and maybe even tried her hand at opera. It's a great LP, great pics of LR, well recorded and it's red.

BTW, did I mention there are some great pics of LR wearing shorty-short-short and roller skates?? I love this hobby!

I have many colored albums such as Boston - awesome cover art. Sadly the sound quality is always worse - something to do with the process. But they look great on a wall!

[http://vimeo.com/24946684]< Above link. It must what they used to make the vinyl itself. Your other colored records must be of higher quality than this one. I don't recall seeing one like this. Another guess would be the red part doesn't let that side of the die close enough do to being a harder material, but it's hard to imagine the die would be bothered by that. The dies must have enough pressure,and strength to keep it flat, pressing it equally. So, I can't keep from thinking it's the quality of the vinyl.