With much hoopla a few years ago, Classic Records introduced its proprietary 200 gram Quiex SV-P LPs. The records are manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, CA on a press reserved for Classic. There are two distinct elements to these pressings: the vinyl compound itself and the “groove guard"-less mold.

The flat 200 gram profile was originally developed by Classic in association with RTI to more closely mimic the form factor of early thick vinyl “lipless” Blue Note “deep groove” LPs (“deep groove”refers to a deep circular groove in the label, not to the depth of the vinyl groove).

Most LPs, including RTI's standard 180 gram pressings, feature outer “lips,” which were originally introduced in the 1950's to protect groove surfaces when records were stacked on changers. Those days are long gone, of course, but the “lips” remain. It's a “dirty little secret,” that these lips, and a thickened label area create records that are not flat, even if they appear to be. Instead, all modern records, with the exception of Classic's 200 gram editions, angle downward toward the middle of the groove area, and then angle upward from there to the label area. The result is an inner groove stylus bias for the first half of disc playback, causing the stylus to ride on or be biased toward the inner groove, and an outer groove bias for the second half of play, with the stylus riding on or being biased toward the outer groove.

These biases only add to the many problems associated with disc playback, including “skating,” which is a varying force tending the push the arm toward the center of the record, caused by the offset angle of the headshell. The exact physics behind this are not important for the purposes of this discussion, except to say skating is not a result of “centrifugal” force, as the groove circumference gets smaller and smaller toward the center. The amount of “skating” depends upon a variety of factors, including stylus pressure, the vinyl formulation, etc. and it changes across the surface of the record. For this reason, some vinyl advocates think it's better to ignore skating rather than trying, however imperfectly, to compensate for it with “anti-skating” a force applied to counteract skating that tends to move the arm back toward the outer edge of the record-usually applied via a spring, a string and weight arrangement, or by magnets. I think it's worth the effort, myself.

Another problem affecting proper playback is a lack of groove eccentricity caused either by off-center holes punched in the lacquer, or a stamper misalignment. The truth is, most records are at least somewhat eccentric. Few records are truly concentric. This causes yet another stylus “bias,” with the arm being pulled toward the record center for half the rotation, and away from the record center in the other half of rotation. Given these problems, that records sound so incredibly great is truly miraculous, don't you think?

But back to 200 gram vinyl: Classic's 200 gram LPs are the only truly flat LPs being manufactured today. In addition to the advantage of there not being a “valley” created in the grooved area of the record, the “groove-guard” less flat records lie truly flat against the platter or mat, thus making better contact and thus, in theory, they can be better damped by the mat and/or record weight or clamp.

These structural advantages, plus the very thickness of the 200 gram record would seem to offer obvious mechanical advantages over standard pressings, and indeed, Classic claims superior sonics for their 200 gram pressings. Originally developed for the label's Blue Note reissue program, the pressings became standard for all Classic reissues, so happy with the improved sonics was company president Mike Hobson.

Unfortunately as with everything in this imperfect world, there are tradeoffs involved in pressing flat, 200 gram LPs. For one thing, because of the thickness of the “biscuit” of vinyl used to press the record, it takes longer for the melted plastic to reach the outer edge of the mold, and since there is not the usual outer edge retainer used to create the lip, the heat dissipates faster than usual, causing the vinyl to sometimes “set” prematurely.

The result is, it is far more difficult to press “perfect” 200 grams LPs, and when anything in the chain goes less than perfectly, LPs can end up being somewhat noisy for the first few minutes of play, or (ironically) less than truly “flat.” That is the tradeoff and if you've noticed a bit of noise at the beginning of some of Classic's 200 gram releases, that is the reason. It is pointless to blame the pressing plant, RTI, for this noise, or to blame Classic. It has made a decision in favor of flat 200 gram LPs, considering the occasional bit or noise at the beginning a worthwhile trade-off.