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Is heavy vinyl worth it?

I just got into vinyl and am starting to build a vinyl collection starting from zero records. I bought an OJC copy of Sonny Rollins' Way Out West and it sounds great even on just regular vinyl. I'm wondering if buying the heavy vinyl (180g, 200g) is worth it in general...they're upwards of $30 in some cases. Do they really sound better? What are the advantages? Is it a longevity issue? Do the heavy vinyl versions sometimes contain better remastering?

Thanks,
Winston
wcheng
aceto
273 posts
 
Another thought. I noticed my rig is sensitive to the thickness of heavy vinyl. It has to do with the how high the arm sits on the pivot shaft. I did not get full benefit until I compensated for the teensy little bit more it needed to be raised.
pbb
1,135 posts
 
Bought my first 180 gram album (Miles Davis "My Funny Valentine"). Turns out the damn thing is warped! Nothing, it seems, has changed in vinyl in twenty years. I honestly believed that making them thicker was insurance against warpage. Well, I guess I'm wrong. Shopkeeper tells me he will exchange it once another copy is in store. So history keeps repeating itself. Bought some NOS albums. Some b=noisy, some ok. Is vinyl a game of chance?
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
Vinyl is like tube components, they're not for everyone. Only you can determine if vinyl is worth the hassles.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
My favourite are the ordinary German vinyls 70g. Most of them in my collection are as quiet as CDs especially if listened through speakers. A-bit of noise is through headphones. When I sell vinyl I play it through headphone to give a precise condition.
Although flimzy vinyl is more vulnerable to the wether conditions i.e. humidity, temperature.
electronica
14 posts
 
Agreed. Real tough to beat those german pressings. The other thing they do is to last. I've never thought the UK pressings or especially the japaneese pressings held up as well when you've played them for a lot of years & you just seem to develop more surface noise than the german counterparts.
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