Playing 45's: The Difference Between Styrene and Vinyl?

Very well could have. I'm sure cartridge compliance, tone-arm effect mass, tracking force and even VTA probably make all the difference as to how a fine-line stylus interacts with styrene.

 

I just became aware of what a "styrene 45" means. Were these originally sold at a cheaper price than vinyl 45s? How can I tell if 45s I have already bought are styrene?

 

Styrene pressings get a bad rap around here. They were dominant in the latter 70s and in the 80s. I have hundreds of them and as long as you take care of them there's no reason they shouldn't sound as clean as when you bought them. Oh, and BTW, I play them with a Microline stylus.

 

Same price. No distinction. Nobody knew the difference, back then.

 

Being from the Paradise Kingdom where all records were made of top quality vinylite material, I pity the Americans

 

First thing to look at is where the raised label part meets the runout; a vinyl 45 slopes down, a styrene one has a vertical drop. (Check the edge of the record, too. Styrenes are square at the edge while vinyl usually tapers) Also, a vinyl 45 will flex in your hands. Do that too aggressively to a styrene and it'll crack in half. Last, many styrene 45s have the label printed directly onto the plastic, rather than glued-on paper.

As always, just my opinion, YMMV. But that's been my experience.

 

The easiest way to tell is to hang it loosely on your finger through the center hole, and knock on it with your knuckle. If it rings like a bell, it's styrene. If you get a dull thud, it's vinyl. On some cheap turntables with don't have very good mechanical isolation, sometimes even just the vibration of stylus in the groove will cause the styrene to resonate and ring.

Some vinyl 45s also have raised ridges around the label to help prevent them from slipping when stacked on a record changer. Styrene 45s never do. And the cheapest styrene 45s don't have a paper label at all -- the "label" is painted on.

Styrene 7" 33⅓ RPM records were common as well, especially with children's talking books. There were some 10" and 12" styrene LPs, but they were (thankfully) rare.

 

Some good info here. Also, some unproven generalizations about styli and shredding.

So here’s my anecdotal experience. Do with it what you will.

My first cart/stylus was a Stanton elliptical. My current is a Hana microline. A number of others in between.

FWIW: The only styrene shredding cart I’ve had (very briefly) was one with a jewel cantilever. Diamond or sapphire. Can’t recall. Vs. boron or such.

I assume it was because the jewel cantilever was absolutely rigid and therefore had no “give” so the stylus cut rather than rode the record grooves. Plus, …perhaps…the jewel dissipated no energy, and the styrene adsorbed it instead.

The last paragraph is obviously non-scientific and has no inherent validity. Just my guessing. I’ve never come across any legit tests of styrene shredding so please weigh in if you know of any.