Clear vinyl vs. regular black vinyl

@cleeds -True that. If you read the papers from RCA back in the day, the carbon black also concealed what was referred to as "plate out" issues, which I took to mean various problems caused by compound under heat of pressing. I’m not sure there was enough carbon black in the records to really reduce static, but I prefer a standard black record for the reason @slaw cited- namely, I can see the record surface better. Yeah, I know the Clarity in theory doesn’t have the sonic compromises attributable to normal vinyl compounds, but having compared them on the same record, the difference, while noticeable, is not that significant to me. FWIW, the fellow who did a lot of work for RCA in the ’70s and whose name is on some the patents, is Khanna. (or the phonetic equivalent).

@Clearthinker said: "Clear vinyl started off as a gimmick. Does anyone have evidence that its make-up confers advantage over the black recipe with carbon? The few I have don’t sound better."


I have various "audiophile" records from the ’60s that used clear vinyl. When Classic Records was still in operation, there was a fair amount of written material M. Hobson posted claiming that the conductive properties of carbon black interfered with the sound, and that the Clarity compound eliminated that as a factor. This was at a time when Classic was having trouble pressing 200 g records at RTI and moved to that Finebuilt press. Most of that material disappeared from the web a year or two after Classic folded.
I could hear a difference between the Quiex and the Clarity, but not something that would be determinative for me. I have records from the low point in vinyl in the U.S.- thin pressings on Segue Records for example, of Nathan Davis after his return to the States--that sound marvelous.
I think it is real tough to determine what role the compound itself plays in the final product, but we have almost no control over that- occasionally, with new-ish records, you can opt for a non-US pressing over a U.S. one that comes from a iffy plant, but for older records, you are pretty much at the mercy of whatever they did back in the day. Most of the older records I listen to were never marketed as "audiophile" and many of them sound superb-- you can hear the ambience of the room where recorded, and surface noise is minimal. Obviously, the big variable, apart from mastering and pressing quality, is condition.