The Secret to Great Vinyl Sound

Have you ever wondered why certain records sound a lot better than others? This has been my obsession for many years, and here's what I found out...

Photo by Julian Steenbergen on Unsplash

If I asked you to name the number one factor that makes a vinyl record sound great, what would you say?

Sound perception is, by its very nature, subjective. We thrive on diversity. I love that we don’t all love the same.

From a technical standpoint, though, great vinyl sound generally means a vibrant, present, powerful and realistic sound that lets you hear all the different elements and details of the mix almost as if the artists were there.

The sound traditionally associated with vinyl, that timeless warmth that envelops you like a velvet cloak, doesn’t happen automatically.

Your setup, particularly your stylus, will play an important role, but what is the key ingredient in the record itself?

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The thickness of the record, perhaps?

Nope.

At least, not necessarily. Some 180g records (mostly reissues) sound mediocre when compared with much thinner earlier pressings. Conversely, some reissues (whether 180g or similar), when done properly, can beat earlier pressings. The quality of the vinyl material is important, but it’s not everything.

The duration of the record, you say?

Because a longer runtime will mean the grooves are more squeezed and therefore the record will sound flat…

To a certain extent, but not exclusively. Runtime can affect volume, power and overall detail. However, when the record has been done properly, and assuming all the fundamentals are there, this particular aspect won’t affect sound quality as much as other factors will.

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So what is it, then?

If you can read between the lines (and the headlines), you will have picked up on these magic words: done properly.

Mastering matters

After the music has been recorded, a master will need to be prepared before the record can be released to the world.

Mastering means, essentially, taking the final mix and preparing it for distribution. After the artists, producers, and mixing engineers had time to experiment, the music will need to be mastered if it’s ever going to be released.

It’s the last step in the audio production process and requires highly specialised knowledge and skill (as well as an incredible ear).

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This is where final adjustments are made to the audio material to ensure that it can be successfully transferred to the medium of choice (e.g. vinyl, CD, streaming, etc.).

Mastering for vinyl requires an even higher degree of specialism, given the delicate and sometimes unpredictable nature of the format. Mastering engineers sometimes even get their name or initials etched onto the record.

I would go as far as to say that mastering is more important than the pressing itself (which is typically the next step in the process). A good master can go a long way, even with a mediocre pressing. A shit master, though, will never shine, no matter how good the pressing is.

How it works

In the old days, when everything was analogue, masters were usually done on magnetic tape.

Photo by Steven Weeks on Unsplash

Nowadays, when the vast majority of music is recorded digitally, a mastering engineer will typically receive computer files.

Ideally, a separate master for vinyl should be created, but more often than not, the temptation to cut corners creeps in, and the same master is used for all formats.

When mastering for distribution in a digital medium, the engineer should typically receive 16-bit audio, either as individual WAV files or in one DDPi file. The material can be as loud and as limited as the client wants.

When the source is digital but the end product is vinyl, the mastering engineer should receive, ideally, 24-bit audio in two WAV files (one per side). As there are physical limitations with vinyl, heavily clipped masters will not sound great. The audio should be dynamic and without limiting (or very lightly limited).

Hear it for yourself

Don’t believe me? Check this out:

You don’t need to be an audiophile to hear the difference.

The 2015 record in the above video is undoubtedly inferior, despite having been pressed on 180g vinyl. This was a compilation release and, most probably, a digital master was used for all formats. I wouldn’t be surprised if, on top of that, the audio was compressed.

The 1990 pressing used above sounds way better, and it’s not even the first pressing of this record, which you’ll find below (if you have a good ear, you’ll notice it sounds a tad warmer and slightly more detailed than the other 1990 pressing, especially the background vocals):

Forgive my amateur footage (and shaky hands!)

Consider something as basic as soundstage. This was an artist release. Clearly the main point was to showcase her voice. And yet, the power of those drums! Imagine in the case of a band, where you really want to hear each musician at their best.

Bottom line

The above example is perhaps a bit extreme, as this 1990 album happens to be one of the last mainstream commercial releases recorded using analogue means. But there are a lot of records out there which have been recorded digitally and yet, when mastered properly for vinyl, will sound incredible (some purists may disagree, but that’s a discussion for another day).

This doesn’t mean that all older pressings will automatically sound better than reissues. Some remasters are actually an improvement from the original.

This is why mastering matters: as is often the case with vinyl, it’s all in the detail.

Can you hear the difference in sound? See you in the comments!

Thanks for reading/listening. Happy spinning!