What is the difference between weights of vinyl?

UmphreysJam34

I'm somewhat new to vinyl. Is there any difference between the different weights of vinyl? For example...what's the difference between 180g vs. 120g? Thanks.

brianlux

The difference is basically thickness which is supposed to translate to better quality. But not always! A whole raft of albums put out by a very major band recently on fairly heavy vinyl were of poor quality. Many who purchased this album were sent new copies. Some of you may know the band I'm referring to. (But not to disparage that band- the replacement LPs turned out quite well and the album is a solid one- for sure!) I've had the same experience with a few other 180 and even 200 gram vinyl records- which equates to just another resource wasted. In the 70's and 80's many records were put out on very thin, flimsy vinyl which were being touted as "better" because they were more flexible. Many of them had inferior sound but some of the the floppy LPs that I still have sound better than some 180 and 200 gram LPs I've purchased. What really makes the biggest difference in sound (beside the source, production, mixing, etc.) is the quality of the pressing and thickness of the grooves. A well made record with wide grooves is hard to beat. That's one of the reasons some of the 12" (and many 7") 35 RPM singles sound so awesome.

DewieCox

The only benefit of heavier vinyl I've seen is resistance to warping. I've heard legend of heavier vinyl sounding better, but never experienced it and it's pretty open for debate if you check around.

UmphreysJam34

Sounds good. Thanks for the answers. I've been searching and finding different answers. It sounds like the quality can be different, but it's not based on the weight. Thanks again for the help.