Here are my experiences.
When I was 16 I cut out a record by The Archies from the back of a cereal box. I put it on my big brother’s turntable/separates rig to play it for my amusement--as in how awful it would sound. To my surprise it sounded as good as a real pressed record. Go figure. I’m sure with my present rig its shortcomings would be more obvious. But with a record grip holding it down, maybe not.
I have a modest KAB rubber record grip. I find that it lowers surface noise and makes a 70g Dynaflex record sound more like a 140g pressing.
I also got a special Classic Records release of Elgar’s Enigma variations on both 180 and 200g pressings. I figured they’d sound identical, especially with the record grip. To my surprise the 200g really did sound better. Since this was a large scale orchestral production, I suspect that the extra mass helps handle the dynamics and deep bass modulations.
So I don’t know. Maybe the answer is "sometimes." It could be a difference in the mastering of one vs. another edition, and the record weight isn't the issue. Maybe it depends on how dynamic, dense, and complex the recordin. You might hear a difference with a 100-piece orchestra playing a 20th century composition that won’t show up with a 4-piece combo.
When I was 16 I cut out a record by The Archies from the back of a cereal box. I put it on my big brother’s turntable/separates rig to play it for my amusement--as in how awful it would sound. To my surprise it sounded as good as a real pressed record. Go figure. I’m sure with my present rig its shortcomings would be more obvious. But with a record grip holding it down, maybe not.
I have a modest KAB rubber record grip. I find that it lowers surface noise and makes a 70g Dynaflex record sound more like a 140g pressing.
I also got a special Classic Records release of Elgar’s Enigma variations on both 180 and 200g pressings. I figured they’d sound identical, especially with the record grip. To my surprise the 200g really did sound better. Since this was a large scale orchestral production, I suspect that the extra mass helps handle the dynamics and deep bass modulations.
So I don’t know. Maybe the answer is "sometimes." It could be a difference in the mastering of one vs. another edition, and the record weight isn't the issue. Maybe it depends on how dynamic, dense, and complex the recordin. You might hear a difference with a 100-piece orchestra playing a 20th century composition that won’t show up with a 4-piece combo.