Who's absorbing the cost?

@whart
Very true about there being few defects in the "golden era" of vinyl records. I only remember problems when they were manufacturing those ultra-thin LPs that could warp, or music would bleed thru grooves. There was also a period of using inferior quality vinyl, (1980’s, I think).

As for new vinyl, look at the many threads regarding defects.

Low- oil crisis stuff was pretty bad in the U.S., but most of them still played. I have an original SOS label pressing of Lynyrd Skynyrd "Pronounced" with paper flecks embedded into the vinyl from regrind, but it still plays nicely. Go figure. (I did discover that a ubiquitous MCA later pressing, with no discernible "secret" code actually sounded better than the Sounds of the South labelled one, but the SOS is cool, just for what it was). Al Kooper ’n s---. :)

I have experienced more defects in "so called" audiophile grade pressings, i.e. 150-180 gram vinyl, than I ever did in the regular thickness pressings, including...
- serious warps
- metal shards embedded in the grooves
- groove defects that cause skipping
- serious scratches due to improper handling

The only "defect" I had from the much lighter pressings from yester-year were...
- slight warps - not really worth returning
- and a couple of albums that were scratched and returned

My vinyl from the 70’s-80’s still play extremely well - bar a few clicks and pops

Guys - Isn’t this going in the wrong direction?

With newer technology we should be getting fewer errors not more.

Just Sayin :-(

Willie- the problem is, at least on the pressing side, it isn't newer technology. Most of the presses are old- many were resuscitated after years of being offline. Yes, folks like Chad have, in the process, added some computer assisted monitoring for temperature, but the equipment itself had already been through a long working life. Then add the following additional factors- how many people are around who know how to work on and maintain these presses? And further, how many of the folks today working in the plants have long experience pressing records? I'm sure there are a few, who are helping manage the operation, but there's something to be said for familiarity with the process learned over years of doing it. (I'm aware that there are some new presses coming on line- is it GZ?--but most audiophiles don't seem to like the GZ pressings or the ones that come from the old CBS plant in the Netherlands. Not because of pressing quality itself, but because a lot of the records they make are sourced from digital files due to the choice of the label/producer).