How long can LP's actually last?

[Steve w]

Forgive me if I've asked this before. I searched to see if I could find the topic but I wasn't able to locate anything.

Is there any such thing as an "average lifespan" for an LP that is properly taken care of? As in NO scratches and cleaned when needed. You hear a lot about losing the quality of the sound of an LP after playing it over and over. Is there any general rule on how long LP's last or how many times they can be played before they don't sound as good as they did when they were new. And I'm talking about in a perfect world where the LP never was scratched.

[sgraham]

Common wisdom among archivists was (maybe still is) that phonorecords were about the most stable recording medium known. CD's may have changed all that, but they haven't been around long enough to know with absolute certainty.

There is one problem that at least earlier disks were prone to, and that is going out of round, because, as I understand it, they are actually in a highly viscous liquid state. However it works, I have seen disks -- I own disks -- that this has happened to. I have read that major archives avoid this by periodically rotating the disks one quarter turn on the shelves. (I guess storing them in zero G would be ideal!)

Shellac 78's are definitely prone to this. I have some early 50's LPs that it's happened to while I've owned them, but none from the 1960s or later.

But of course playing the record will change it. I don't believe there can really be a definitive answer about how many times you can play it before hearing any difference. RCA did some studies years ago, but they were mostly concerned with noise. Noise does build up gradually. How quickly it does so depends on the condition, dimensions (shape) and polish of the stylus and the physical characteristics of the record, and of course the tracking force. However I think distortion is more of an issue, and that depends on so many things, not least being how well your playback system can track the particular modulation that's on that particular record. If the record mistracks it'll get worn fast.

But the good news is that many records can be played many times over a period of many years and still sound good.

[darkstar]

I read somewhere that the first time a record is played, on even the BEST and PERFECTLY SETUP player, it looses some fidelity -- small, but there.

The next few playings have a minor cumulative effect, and then the record settles into some kind of balance where baring abuse, it deteriorates at a very very small rate.

It's the second, third, and fourth playing that creates that 'set point'. Here it implies the BEST and PERFECT player will be not far off from the first playing, while the crappy ones (like mine!) will produce a slinky after the sixth playing.

[BradOlson]

One of the songs I frequently play on my turntable is "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" by the Sweethearts of the Rodeo and the track on my copy of the vinyl still sounds great. The previous owner has taken very good care of it and so am I.

[Todd Fredericks]

I have a lot of records (LP'S) that my dad played on the radio in the 50's. They stll sound wonderful after all this time and heavy play. On the jackets, some songs were circled (for play) and usually there's a bit more noise in the lead-in groove (caused by cueing the song) but once the music starts, no problems. Something I've really noticed is that older pre-70's records (especially DJ promos) were really made to last. Almost like, "Now that's what I call a record!"

Todd

[Stax Fan]

I have some LPs I must've played upwards around 100 times on an old Dual CS-5000 with a Shure M95EJ cartridge, and they still sound great on my current set-up. I really can't hear any sign of wear. Keep your LPs and stylus meticulously clean, and make sure your cartridge is properly aligned, and I don't think you should have any concerns about wearing your LPs out. If you anticipate playing a certain LP more frequently, do what I do...get more than one copy. With decent equipment and good cleaning habits, LPs are surprisingly durable. Think about your CDs. How many of those have you played 100 times? That really is a lot of listening. Too bad everything couldn't have been pressed on JVC Supervinyl...those LPs are claimed to last up to 5 times longer than standard vinyl. You'd really have to work to wear those out!

[ZIPGUN99]

I'm starting to take this 180 gram vinyl thing for granted, but it hasn't always been that way.

i just had a flashback to the early eighties; after the oil shortage in the seventies, the quality of vinyl got worse and worse until sometimes you would see little pieces of paper embedded in the vinyl from the last album that was melted down to make that new album.

some people would record an album the first time they played it, thinking that the vinyl would deteriorate fast.

[Michael]

Originally posted by ZIPGUN99
I'm starting to take this 180 gram vinyl thing for granted, but it hasn't always been that way.

i just had a flashback to the early eighties; after the oil shortage in the seventies, the quality of vinyl got worse and worse until sometimes you would see little pieces of paper embedded in the vinyl from the last album that was melted down to make that new album.

some people would record an album the first time they played it, thinking that the vinyl would deteriorate fast.


I always made a copy immediately upon first play of the LP.
On my ole JVC-KD-V6. Do you believe it still works without a hitch? Although it's been a while since i've fired it up after finishing all my dubs to CDR.
:)