Vinyl Inner Sleeves

They're all much of a muchness, way better than just paper, and choice is usually just down to what you like best.  I do like the triple ply Mofi inners - very like the old Discwasher inner sleeves of old - but they're at the top end. You can buy generic equivalents for less.   Another favourite are the German paper and poly lined inners that can be bought from eBay.  These are the ones that turn up on many Optimal pressings.  Very good too and inexpensive.

Thanks Richard. I'll check out the ones you mention.

Personally always liked the Nagaoka ones as they fitted existing inner sleeves, but some recent Amazon reviews suggest they may not fit as well in inner sleeves as they used to (maybe fakes?).  I guess they are not a huge outlay whatever you get.  Goldring ones seem nice, but I also saw some far cheaper options on Amazon.

Thanks Alley Cat, I'll check out the options. 

Nagaoka fit in the existing place sleeve and to me are the best. Keeping the lps original becomes more important the older they are and the older you get.

The only snag with the Nagaoka U shaped inners is that they are quite thin - and the cheaper generic versions can be thinner still.  This means they can easily get rucked up if you aren't careful.  The MOFI style inners will usually fit within most printed card inner sleeves and stay put very nicely.

Hands down, Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Sleeves are the best I've come across, including any of the fore mentioned. No issues with fit. They're true, tight, and rigid, thereby eliminating racking (unwanted to-and-fro wobble) when sliding the inner sleeve into the outer jacket. Rice paper on both sides, label exposed die-cut, and lined inside and out with anti-static HD polyethylene. If ever a vinyl audiophile "no brainer" exists, the Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Sleeves are it.

I use various types, but the MoFi ones are kept for those 'special' discs. Rather than trying to fit them inside the supplied inner sleeve I place the record inside the poly sleeve and slide it in alongside the original sleeve. If the original supplied sleeve was just paper, I bin it.

But why don't the record companies supply these with all new albums? If the artist or record company thinks it's worth pressing an album on 180g vinyl, then surely it's worth providing a decent protective inner sleeve. Why put the record in a cardboard inner? Is the inner sleeve artwork judged to be more important than the music?!

Clive B posted:

But why don't the record companies supply these with all new albums? If the artist or record company thinks it's worth pressing an album on 180g vinyl, then surely it's worth providing a decent protective inner sleeve. 

Profit margin. 180-g vinyl has nothing to do with SQ. It's all about marketing hype for the unindoctrinated AFAIC. The heavy paper sleeves on new vinyl - the ones you have to literally peel apart from the LP you've just bought - cost pennies. A sleeve with anti-static quality might cost dimes. Not enough copies being sold to rationalize.

Thanks everyone, it seems there are more options than I originally thought. I think I might have an LP which came with one of the Nagaoka-type inners and I understand what Richard Dane says about them getting rucked up.

I used to use the Tyvek sleeves from Cabco but they are no longer available.   They were the best.   I have moved along to these and they are very good and come highly recommended.  $20 for $50 and discounts for volume from Music Direct.  

Thanks Skip, I'll check them out.

Interestingly I have a few secondhand 60's LPs that have lovely lined inners - were these the norm before the 70's?

Yup, in the '60s poly lined inners were quite common.  Unfortunately they have a tendency to become unstable and sometimes react with the vinyl leaving a sort of melted pattern behind.  It's best to clean the LP and then slide in a modern Nagaoka or similar.