Doxy Audiophile Clear Vinyl - is it that good?

[Turboellis]

Doxy Audiophile Clear Vinyl - is it that good?
On the back sleeve of my Dorothy Ashby Doxy re-issue is the following text:

"Audiophile Clear Vinyl is made using the highest quality co-polymer available and processed
without any carbon additive in order to dramatically reduce the "electrical distortion" often
found on records.
By itself the co-polymer of vinyl is transparent. In order to make the record black in color the
plant must use a carbon additive with trace metals that can become magnetized. This is
what causes electrical distortion during playback.
That is the reason why we choose to offer our records in the following manner :
-Audiophile Clear Vinyl (ACV)
140 -gr; 25 -minutes maximum per side"

Is the part about the carbon additive causing electrical distortion true?
The pressing seems pretty good ...

Turbo

[Turboellis]

OK, I did a bit more info digging, so I'll share it ...

http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i24/G...ce-behind.html
"Without any additives, PVC is clear-ish, Mathias says, so record vinyl needs something like carbon black to give it its famous black finish."

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-vinyl-records-black
"Also, there was something of a trend of coloring vinyl records red when they were used for radio transcriptions in the 1940s (prior to general consumer use) as a warning to not use the heavy steel needles that were used on shellac and acetate records of the time."

http://blog.europeana.eu/2016/03/how...ords-are-made/
"The fact that records are usually black is due to the addition of carbon black colourant. PVC itself, however, is transparent, meaning that other colours can be added or it can be left transparent. This results in different consistencies, and the pressing process needs to be adapted accordingly."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramophone_record
"The majority of non-78 rpm records are pressed on black vinyl. The coloring material used to blacken the transparent PVC plastic mix is carbon black, which increases the strength of the disc and makes it opaque."

http://www.tested.com/tech/43554-colored-vinyl/
"Despite its collectibility and cool factor, coloring vinyl involves a minor trade-off in sound quality that vinyl newcomers may not know about. The chemical properties of pigmented vinyl just don't sound quite as good as "virgin" black. Blackwell estimates the sound quality is somewhere between 90 and 95 percent of that of a black record--a small enough variation for the average listener to never notice, but enough to turn off serious audiophiles (who are probably the only ones with expensive enough sound systems to hear the difference)."

http://recordgeeks.com/review/56/the..._new_york_city
On Doxy's Thelonius Monk / John Coltrane - At Reeves Sound Studios in New York City:

"Ratings are based on a scale from 0-10.
Overall Sound: 9.00
DOXY music is somewhat notorious among collectors for being a Eurpoean label that reissues public domain music on vinyl (possibly taking advantage of more lax copyright laws). There is some question of what DOXY uses for master materials, and it has certainly been speculated that the label may press vinyl from digital re-masters. I don't know the answer to any of that, but this particular set sounds pretty good. If it has been cut from a CD version, I couldn't tell. And I have yet to find any sort of "original" pressing of this album, if this pressing is considered to be some sort of "bootleg". More likely, it is a classic recording of legendary sessions that deserve to be heard. Overall, the recordings are crisp and balanced. The sound is upfront and full, a testament to the strength of the original recordings.

Pressing Quality: 8.50
The thick heavyweight virgin vinyl sounds great, even if it has been mastered slightly quieter than "audiophiles" may prefer. Contains plenty of low end and the "studio atmosphere" that permeates this era of jazz recordings. No weave, wobble, or other manufacturing issues are evident.

Vinyl Noise: 9.00
Little to no surface noise or crackling between songs. In short, a very nice recording that has been pressed with plenty of attention to detail. Old jazz records are often plagued by age and wear on the vinyl, but the clear sound and quality pressing on this set make it especially nice."

I'm still curious about the durability of their unblackened PVC. At the moment it sounds fine.

Any opinions?

[RockerFrank]

I don't have information about the clear vinyl, but this is a fact:

DOXY music is somewhat notorious among collectors for being a Eurpoean label that reissues public domain music on vinyl

Not reissues, just legal bootlegs.

[Turboellis]

I don't have information about the clear vinyl, but this is a fact:
Not reissues, just legal bootlegs.

Legal because Italian law only protects studio recordings for 50 years? In that case, it's a grey area isn't it. Legal in Italy, but illegal to produce in the UK, where the copyright exists for 70 years?

Interesting but I'm still more interested in their actual materials i.e. the PVC ...

[paulfromcamden]

On Doxy's Thelonius Monk / John Coltrane - At Reeves Sound Studios in New York City:

"If it has been cut from a CD version, I couldn't tell. And I have yet to find any sort of "original" pressing of this album, if this pressing is considered to be some sort of "bootleg". More likely, it is a classic recording of legendary sessions that deserve to be heard.

They didn't look very hard. The tracks have been lifted from the Monk/Coltrane - Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings double CD. Doxy are well shady.

Other (more legit!) labels have also claimed clear vinyl sounds better:
https://www.stereophile.com/fredkapl...ity_pressings/

No idea if there's really anything to it or if it's just marketing nonsense trying to get you to part with 50 notes for another Blue Note reissue.

[RockerFrank]

Legal because Italian law only protects studio recordings for 50 years? In that case, it's a grey area isn't it. Legal in Italy, but illegal to produce in the UK, where the copyright exists for 70 years?

It's now 70 years in the whole EU but it changed just a few years ago, it used to be 50 years. My guess is that the music that was already copyright-free before the law change, stayed copyright-free.

I wonder what they mean by electrical distortion. Can't help but wonder that if vinyl is naturally clear without any additives, wouldn't records always have been made clear, if that gives better results? They don't even specify how their material differs from regular PVC, if it does.

[Turboellis]

"They’re $50 per title (each spread out over four single-sided 45 rpm 12” slabs of clear vinyl)."

What an expensive pain in the arse. Might as well buy a juke box.

[Turboellis]

Other (more legit!) labels have also claimed clear vinyl sounds better:
https://www.stereophile.com/fredkapl...ity_pressings/

Unless we could do a blindfolded comparison test for ourselves, I guess we'll never know.

[Shere Khan]

I'm sure it sounds perfectly quiet but as Doxy have probably never seen a master tape for any of their releases it's just going to be sourced from a digital file of some sort. A well-loved early issue will probably sound a hundred times better even with it's clicks and bacon-and-eggs sounds.

As for the clear vinyl debate any clear records I've got have always sounded just dandy, but then so do my black ones. With the set up I have- which is for listening to music, rather than listening to my equipment- I'd be hard-pushed to tell any difference. We are probably all in the same boat. I'm the sort of person who thinks, for no particular reason, after maybe three years use, 'I probably need a new stylus'. I believe some people think, '100 hours of use. I must get a new stylus'!

[Turboellis]

A well-loved early issue will probably sound a hundred times better even with it's clicks and bacon-and-eggs sounds.

I'd have bought one if I could have found one at a decent price. Almost never see her LPs in Japan.

[Cacapo]

Clear vinyl irritates me. Its super tricky to find a specific track when the other side shines through. I always go for the boring black vinyl version on most new releases for that reason.