Vinyl Quality

[gregswaim]

Originally Posted by ian@pmc

Back on Black is the worst!!!! I won't buy anything new unless it is from a small indie label that is doing it for the love of the format... Back on Black is just trying to cash in on the resurgence... Horrible. MoFi is pretty good at what they do, so I can rest easy after purchasing some of their stuff. But old, original pressings are where it's at! I found Michael Jackson - Off The Wall at an antique market in absolute pristine condition, literally an 11/10, and it sounds better than anything that has come out this new millenium whether new release or re-release. SO I would say original is the way to go.

I agree with what gregswaim said... Stay from any vinyl with anything in digital at one stage or another. Also japanese pressings, even on CD are usually better. Pricier but worth it.

Some on this site have reported very good to excellent quality stuff from Steve Hoffman(www.SteveHoffman.tv) as well as Classic Records(Classic Records (remember the sound...)). These two vendors will usually charge anywhere from $18.00- $35.00 per new LP. It might be worth checking out for those that want only brand new stuff.

[markc2]

Had really good luck so far. I have an audio dealer in Austin who recently started selling Vinyl. If you buy it from him he takes it out, cleans it on his Keith Monks cleaning machine and spins it on his Monaco GP given time. So far I really can't complain. I am upset that Ray LaMontagne has digital even printed on the record. I hope they stop it but on average I think they can afford a better digital to analog converter than I can afford the opposite. It's fun to find "old" stuff that I just can't get on CD's. Had no clue MJQ was so prolific until I found albums. Not to mention Jazz in general. ECM, I hope they start to re-release old and new stuff from them.

Mark

[TSmith8605]

Originally Posted by gregswaim

...I also like my vinyl recordings to be done using analog tape vs any digital process because the sound is not right with digital recordings that wind up being pressed into LP's. I know, I'm probably the only guy that's has issues with this type of thing. I suspect that it has something to do with the timing in the digital process(?) but I'm not sure...

I think that the original analog tape does damage, digitizing does damage and the LP does damage so you want to avoid as many as those as possible. (Remember direct-to-disk audiophile recordings in the 70s and early 80s?)

So, I see no sense in getting a digitally mastered LP - if it goes digital, you might just as well get the CD (or SACD). The idea of a digitally mastered LP drives me nuts especially if the original was on analog tape.

I recently sent email to Rhino asking if their new LP re-release of Chicago's (CTA) first album would be digitally mastered because I could not find a anything that answered that question in their online description. They told me no, so I bought it. BTW the Rhino pressing is very good, straight, centered and quiet.

My impression also is that some of the best records (other than audiophile records) were made in the late 50s and early 60s - stuff like Mercury Living Presence classical. But in those days, turntables (record players) were mostly so bad that normal use would ruin the grooves. I have some used records from that time that were well cared for and have no scratches or finger prints, but have distortion from groove damage. I can even tell which tracks the previous owner liked best as those are more worn - usually also the tracks I like the best.

Also, I have found that several new releases of new music that I buy on LP does not sound very good - rolled-off highs, compressed, distorted, smeared sound and none of these issues are inherent in the LP medium. I wonder if the CDs sound as bad. (E.g. the Patti Smith Album, "Twelve" has some wonderful music and the pressing is fine, but the sound is pretty bad.)

Ok, that's my 2-cents worth.