What Difference Does Gram Make On Vinyl

The words 180 gram vinyl have been the cause for many misunderstandings and debate among the audiophile and vinyl records community.

What difference does gram make on vinyl.

At first the discs were commonly made from shellac with earlier records having a fine abrasive. 180 gram is a heavier grade of vinyl that many believe coaxes a richer audio palate than lighter standard grades. We explain the benefits of 180 gram vinyl to see if they are worth the premium price. The quality of the sound derives from the vinyl compound as opposed to the weight of the disc.

In other words 180 gram vinyl isn t any indication of a better sounding record. Are 180 gram vinyl records inherently better than standard pressings. If earlier pressings or good reissues exist research the difference between pressings. One twenty and 150 gram pressings are thinner and hence cannot be cut as deep as a 180 gram pressing.

Sure 180g lps ride more smoothly on a turntable thanks to their weight but the benefits end there. 70 grams for 7 inch records and 180 grams for 12 inch records. The standard weight for our vinyl records is 40 grams for 7 inch records 110 grams for 10 inch records and 150 grams for 12 inch records. Buy if necessary but expect thinner vinyl.

The deeper the cut the more musical information that can be contained in the groove. The groove usually starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc. Besides that minor difference the sound quality of a vinyl pressing depends almost entirely upon the quality of the source material and the mastering process. 180 gram refers to the mass of the glob of vinyl called a biscuit that used to press the disc.

A phonograph record also known as a gramophone record especially in british english or simply a record is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove. Standard vinyl also offers heavy weight vinyl records that are audiophile grade. Many new vinyl record releases tout their selling feature of being pressed on 180 gram vinyl. If you re interested in digging a bit deeper just google dynaflex and prepare for a nerd fight.

Unnecessarily so i would say there is nothing magical about heavyweight vinyl and certainly some myths float over those shiny 180g stickers on the record covers but that doesn t mean there are no benefits from pressing 180g or even 200g vinyl lp s. These audiophile grade albums demand high prices at record stores.