Record Inner Sleeves

[MylesBAstor]

Some pieces wrote over the past couple of years:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue38/lp_sleaves.htm

http://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/addendum-to-paper-or-plastic-vinyls-final-resting-place-ma-recordings-record-inner-sleeves/

[kach22i]

Nice articles, like the beveled edges design.

Nothing on putting a plastic liner inside of the original paper sleeve, or is that even possible?

Round bottom ones can sometimes do this, right?

Regarding steam cleaning compromising the plasticizers in the vinyl, small price to pay for salvaging an unplayable and abused record that otherwise is at the end of it's life cycle. If you can tell us of a better way I'd be interested.

As I understand it playing a record actually melts the vinyl for a micro second, any adjacent debris can be heat welded into the grooves. The only way to loosen such embedded particles is with heat (steam).

Can enzymes like No. 6 eat away or dissolve embedded debris?

[Steve Lefkowicz]

Great articles, thanks for posting. I recently bought another 50 pack of MFSL sleeves. I replace them as needed for records that still have old or original sleeves.

I was always partial to the sleeves ECM used to use, but never found out who made them.

[Joe Pittman]

By far the best sleeve I have found is the Sleeve City Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Record Sleeve. But they are very expensive. In quantity, they are 50 cents a crack. Ultimately, I intend to have every record stored in one (one of my bucket list items). They are a good size by the way and I have found they fit within the majority of the paper inner sleeves if desired.

[Rob]

great minds think alike! I stumbled onto these a few years ago and they are my go to. I like the Mofi too, I must have purchased several thousand of them over the decades.

[timztunz]

My favorite as well.

[Metamatic]

Personally I find mofi sleeves a joke. Hard to insert, always scruncing - NFI why people like them. I guess the name sells. Audiophool sleeves if u ask me.

I use Covers33 corners cut polylined paper inner sleeves for any album that does not have a cardboard/paper lyric sheet. Easy to insert, easy to remove - perfect.
These are used on many higher class Euro labels like Speakers cnr.

Plain el cheapo u shaped poly sleeves for albums that have cardboard/ paper lyric inners - they pop in and out easily. One does not need more or to spend more.

[mayebaza]

I use Panmer, they have been producing excellent vinyl sleeve and covering for decades.

[shawnwes]

I've been using BCW inner & outer sleeves for a few years now. They're poly lined paper sleeves. They've held up well so far.

[MylesBAstor]

Personally I find mofi sleeves a joke. Hard to insert, always scruncing - NFI why people like them. I guess the name sells. Audiophool sleeves if u ask me.

I use Covers33 corners cut polylined paper inner sleeves for any album that does not have a cardboard/paper lyric sheet. Easy to insert, easy to remove - perfect.
These are used on many higher class Euro labels like Speakers cnr.

Plain el cheapo u shaped poly sleeves for albums that have cardboard/ paper lyric inners - they pop in and out easily. One does not need more or to spend more.

I think you have to realize that MoFI encloses their sleeves in a cardboard liner therefore eliminating the issues you raised. That was how they were designed to be used. To be fair, most of these rice paper like sleeves suffer from the same foldover issues.

I had the bottom round sleeves and thought they were the worst. The plastic was so thin wondered if they actually protect the LP when sliding the record in and out of the record jacket.

I don’t find the polylined paper sleeves really any better. Maybe it has something to do with how often you listen to the album but I find the paper tears in almost all with time.

[MylesBAstor]

By far the best sleeve I have found is the Sleeve City Diskeeper Ultimate Audiophile Inner Record Sleeve. But they are very expensive. In quantity, they are 50 cents a crack. Ultimately, I intend to have every record stored in one (one of my bucket list items). They are a good size by the way and I have found they fit within the majority of the paper inner sleeves if desired.

I’ve migrated over to these sleeves in the last year or two. But still have a huge stash of Discwaher VRP sleeves (some Japanese and lesser Japanese versions) and to all lesser extent MOFI from 10 years ago. More than enough now for a lifetime.

[Metamatic]

I think you have to realize that MoFI encloses their sleeves in a cardboard liner therefore eliminating the issues you raised. That was how they were designed to be used. To be fair, most of these rice paper like sleeves suffer from the same foldover issues.

I had the bottom round sleeves and thought they were the worst. The plastic was so thin wondered if they actually protect the LP when sliding the record in and out of the record jacket.

I don’t find the polylined paper sleeves really any better. Maybe it has something to do with how often you listen to the album but I find the paper tears in almost all with time.

Hi Myles

I am well aware of the cardboard liner - they makes the mofi sleeves even more of an issue.
i would like to know who actually uses the mofi cardboard liners - not many?

Have you used the Covers 33 polylined inner paper sleeves?

they have cut off edges which makes the sleeves easy to insert and remove.
Been using them now for 15 years and they are the gold standard imo.

The straight edge polylined paper like the Sleeve City are not very good and may tear like you mention as they are easy to catch the sides when trying to insert and as the guy said on the video , to large for some sleeves.

I have been using el cheapo u shaped poly inners for 35 years and never once had a single issue - literally some albums with inner have been pulled out 400 times. They work, and work extremely well when you have a cardboard inner and they are dirt cheap.
gone to Nagoaka sleeves and others and went back to the el cheapo ones.

They are as useless as mofi sleeves if there is no card inner to hold the record - hence using the Covers 33 polylined paper inners for all the rest.


Cheers

[MylesBAstor]

Hi Myles

I am well aware of the cardboard liner - they makes the mofi sleeves even more of an issue.
i would like to know who actually uses the mofi cardboard liners - not many?

Have you used the Covers 33 polylined inner paper sleeves?

they have cut off edges which makes the sleeves easy to insert and remove.
Been using them now for 15 years and they are the gold standard imo.

The straight edge polylined paper like the Sleeve City are not very good and may tear like you mention as they are easy to catch the sides when trying to insert and as the guy said on the video , to large for some sleeves.

I have been using el cheapo u shaped poly inners for 35 years and never once had a single issue - literally some albums with inner have been pulled out 400 times. They work, and work extremely well when you have a cardboard inner and they are dirt cheap.
gone to Nagoaka sleeves and others and went back to the el cheapo ones.

They are as useless as mofi sleeves if there is no card inner to hold the record - hence using the Covers 33 polylined paper inners for all the rest.


Cheers

Not necessarily the exact ones you have but reviewed a similar sleeve construct.

[JCOConnell]

Im surprised nobody mentioned the risk of vintage sleeves. I had a mfsl early sleeve
totally destroy my vinyl of CCR, The lp was in storage about ten years an when I went
to play it it had several large white melted areas on both sides of the disc, total loss. Sucks because
album was mint and will cost a lot of $ to replace,

[Metamatic]

damn I would hate that - lucky I have never ever had that issue - but I throw away my Mobile Fidelity sleeves if I buy a Mofi album.

Mobile Fidelity have had major issues with their sleeves in the past - yet people,still buy them.

[JCOConnell]

FYI> it wasnt the original mofi sleeve that came with the record, it was
a mfsl "upgrade" sleeve with printing on it.

[MylesBAstor]

Im surprised nobody mentioned the risk of vintage sleeves. I had a mfsl early sleeve
totally destroy my vinyl of CCR, The lp was in storage about ten years an when I went
to play it it had several large white melted areas on both sides of the disc, total loss. Sucks because
album was mint and will cost a lot of $ to replace,

I’ve been using different sleeves for the better part of 35 years without any issues. There have been some anecdotal reports here and there. Wonder if some has to do with FL and the humidity?

The only issues I have have encountered were the old plastic sleeves that leached plasticizer, stuck, left wavy lines, etc., on the record.

[Joe Pittman]

If anyone has humidity issues, the MA Recordings breathable fabric design is highly recommended.

https://www.marecordings.com/main/pr...6bhmb3aqmiipm2

[Barry]

I like the MA Recordings inner sleeves for the reasons stated in the article above - they breathe, are soft, but don't fold over so easily.

In my previous house, humidity was an issue as my listening room was in the basement. Had serious flooding when storm sewers backed up in a very heavy rain (it's bad when you see the cat litter box floating across the room!!!). I cleaned all the records with a VPI and put them all back in poly record sleeves. Now, different house, 25 years later, some of those old records have mold spots.

Now cleaning 800+ records and using new MA sleeves to kill time during the pandemic.