Is outermost song on vinyl higher quality due to more IPS?

[TRJanuary]

Yes, cutting and subsequent reproduction at the outer edge of the disk is different than the inner band.

The Mastering / Cutting Engineer's job is to account for this with EQ and accomodate as well as possible.

THis is also why we have "inner groove distortion", because the inner ring requires more precise geometry for proper playback. Both the cutting stylus and the playback stylus must be very precise to avoid IGD.

I'm sure you would get a very expert answer in the mastering forum.

[JoeyM]

Thanks for sharing - that's already got me inventorying my earlier perceptions of the vinyl listening experience. That is strange I always liked the first three songs of anything :D Seemed like the last track on vinyl sounded "darker" (except maybe Del Leppard's No No No as the last track -still that WAS a lo-fi echo).

Some other reasons people were always excited about music on vinyl was probably because you never knew if there would be a scratch on a really great hook, or skip even.
That kept your attention!

To ask the legendary mastering engineers about vinyl's secrets - I'm nto quite so daring at the moment but sure thank you for the great stuff TRJanuary