Does Colored Vinyl Sound Worse vs Black Vinyl Records?

The Truth – Does Colored Vinyl Sound worse than black vinyl?

Most color vinyl will sound a little worse than black versions (but the difference is negligible to most people). This is mostly due to material the added carbon of black vinyl and limits with manufacturing colored ones.

The raw materials used to build color and multi-color records are far better than they were back in the day, and the pressing machines and techniques themselves also evolved compared to decades ago.

When comparing color and black vinyl, the gap between them is much closer now than it has been historically, but to some listeners’ ears, there’s still an audible difference.

More factors in the vinyl production process potentially have a bigger influence on the end product’s condition rather than the kind of vinyl pellets used to make them.

Factors that can affect the sound of a record

• Is it an original or a repress?
• Is it fresh PVC or recycled pellets?
• Is it pressed using the same master or remastered by a particularly good mastering engineer?
• Has the record been over-compressed?
• Is the record clean?
• Are there any scratches, warps, or excess static?

Quality is affected by several elements – from the recording and mastering stages all the way up to the electroplating and stamper production in the factory.

For example, if a master disk was cut incorrectly, or the recordings are inferior in the first place, using the best vinyl pellets won’t improve the sound quality. It ultimately depends on the amount of attention given to the pressing. Theoretically, a color record can sound just as good. And a standard vinyl record can be pressed badly, resulting in worse sound than a colored record.

Although contemporary pressing technology has made it feasible for colorful LPs to sound as well as their black counterparts, surface noise and dust attraction are still an issue. Ultimately, the manufacturing process is the main decider. But generally, black recordings outperform colored records.

That said, transparent records, glow-in-the-dark records, and picture discs are far more likely to have issues and reduced audio fidelity due to the additional materials.

What about Picture Discs?

A picture disc is a record where the album art (or other images) is printed onto the surface. Most people agree that picture discs have a worse tone than normal vinyl pressings, even if they are visually appealing.

This isn’t necessarily to do with the audio source material but, again, the printing and molding process used to create these limited batches.

You can essentially think of a picture disc as a kind of vinyl sandwich using three layers of material. The first layer is often polyethylene plastic, which is then covered with artwork printed on a piece of paper. On top of this is a third thin plastic layer, which is a coating of see-through vinyl, with the audio information pressed into it so you can see the artwork below.

There are a few fundamental reasons why picture discs are worse than regular records. Primarily the issue arises from the thinness of the top audio layer, resulting in inferior groove quality, thus, worse audio with more limited frequencies and dynamic range.

Also, compared to black vinyl, they have a much lower level of durability, degrade quicker, and have a higher level of static, attracting more dust. This is all mostly due to the absence of the vital black carbon that makes records black.

So what’s the appeal of owning a picture disc? Well, these are by no means for the audiophiles and are far more appealing to the ‘memorabilia’ style collectors, who like owning interesting and rare records.

These tend to be general music fans rather than audio nerds, although often, the two personality traits go hand in hand. I would consider myself an audiophile, but I also like to collect picture discs and deluxe edition colored vinyl records just for fun, and collectability, and to show my support for the artist.

If you want a good sound, I suggest purchasing the regular version or even a heavyweight 180-gram edition rather than a picture disc.

Colored vinyl vs. black vinyl: What are the other differences?

There are several differences between black and colored vinyl, physically, sonically, and conceptually.

It’s helpful to consider the materials used in the vinyl manufacturing process to understand how differences can arise between black and colored vinyl.

Records are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a type of plastic material. The natural color of the PVC material, with no other color agents added, is colorless with a slightly translucent white tinge.

Vinyl Record Strength (Colored vinyl is weaker)

Not only do black records look cool, but the strength of the materials themself actually increases when it’s all made from black, carbonized PVC.

The stiffness and the strength of black vinyl are considerably better than colored records, partially due to instabilities created by the different melting characteristics of colored vinyl.

Records made from dyed PVC pellets can be weaker and more prone to breaking or degrading, especially multi-colored vinyl, which is more prone to inconsistencies and manufacturing flaws.

Production costs

Most vinyl record pressing plants are designed to make black vinyl, mostly due to the efficiency and lower costs of using it as a standard.

Because the pressing plant buys PVC material in bulk, it’s cheaper for them to purchase a large quantity of black PVC at a bulk discount.

When pressing colored vinyl, they tend to buy dyed PVC mix in a lower quantity at a higher price per unit, thus adding to the overall production costs. They also need to change and clean the machines more often, to prevent unwanted colors from sneaking into a pressing.

Manufacturing Quality Control

Quality control is also a large cause of the difference. In the quality control process, black vinyl is easier to inspect than color vinyl, even more than those with multiple colors.

Also, people who test records are more used to black vinyl, so they have better expertise in finding flaws and issues with records.

This results in some quality control problems slipping through the net and customers ending up with slightly dodgy records in their hands. This can cause some colored vinyl records to sound worse than black vinyl, as they might be pressed with more mistakes.

Scarcity

Manufacturing expenses of color records are higher than black records, so most record companies choose to release smaller quantities of colored variants and greater quantities as a standard black version. Color and multi-colored vinyl end up with a higher value due to this scarcity.

Why can black records sound different from colored records?

The sonic differences originate from several areas relating to the production of these records.

In manufacturing, PVC pellets are heated until molten and pressed into records using custom pressing machines, they then cool into the finished record. This is only a short explanation, and you can find out more about my full guide on how records are made.

When making colored records, different colors of PVC and dye are mixed in together to be used as the raw materials for the disc. These colors and dyes will affect the overall physical properties of the record, which can in turn affect their sound. It’s mostly due to inconsistencies in the surface of the record, which are reflected in the final vibrations.

Because the color of the record is determined by what PVC is combined with during the manufacturing process. The quality of the sound might also be affected by this.

The difference in materials used

The main reason is that the materials used are different. There are thousands of different types of colored PVC, and each can have a unique effect on the sound.

Some collectors and vinyl engineers claim that translucent records with a tinge of color, sound better than fully opaque colors. White vinyl records are reported as having a worse, more muffled sound with limited definition.

Opaque or pastel-colored records, according to some, have a worse sound quality than black vinyl. The blending of at least two distinct hues makes sense in this case. The sound would be altered even more if other PVC types were included in the vinyl mix.

How the records are colored

The place where color recordings are made also has an impact on their sound. Various vinyl manufacturing factories use different techniques and processes to create records, just like the materials discussed previously.

As with any product, quality counts. It is possible that certain facilities have greater expertise in producing colored variant vinyl or that their overall procedures and quality checks are superior to those of their competitors. In this case, some pressing factories produce higher quality colored vinyl records than others.

The development of colored vinyl pressing technology & aging

Because the popularity of colored records has increased over time, the technology and materials needed to create them have also advanced.

This means there is potential for a modern colored record to sound better than colored vinyl pressed in earlier decades.

Time is also a consideration. Because the carbon used in black vinyl records increases their strength, they have a longer lifespan than colored records. Colored vinyl has a shorter lifetime and degrades quicker than black vinyl. This means that the audio quality decreases faster in colored records, and the dyes used in colored records have a shorter shelf life.

However, if you take care of and clean your records regularly, they can still last a long time and will sound fine for years to come.

Why is colored vinyl so popular?

A new generation of fans has been exposed to the endearing format of vinyl after its revival in recent years. Because of the tactile, physical experience, many vinyl enthusiasts have a higher level of interest in the physical packaging of their records. As a result, record companies have given a larger focus to colored vinyl and special collectors’ editions.

Colored vinyl is partially popular because of its scarcity and rarity but also just because they look cool. There is something nice about owning these records, particularly if it’s a limited run. If your favorite artist releases a limited edition batch of colored records, it’s often exciting to be one of the few people who get their hands on them. It’s like being in a special kind of vinyl-based fan club! And often, they only cost a little more than the average median sale price.

Should I buy colored records and picture discs?

It really is a matter of personal preference, based on your level of attention to detail in the listening process, over your interest in aesthetics.

If you’re more interested in collecting records rather than the sound itself, then buying colored records is great. You can find some cool-looking records out there, and they can also be rare, which adds to their collectability.

Although, many audiophiles will prefer listening to music on a pure black record due to the sound quality advantages. Whether you should buy them or not depends on what kind of collection you want to build. There are some truly beautiful colored discs out there, but just remember that colored and picture discs can sound a little worse.