Vinyl Quality

[2-Channel]

I certainly asked the right people ... wow! ... Thanks everyone for your wonderful insights and shared experiences. I have made a listing of the aforementioned names, etc. to assist me in my replacement search of the albums I would like to own.

Thank You!!!

[2-Channel]

Quick follow up ... regarding the purchase of *all analog tape to LP* and *True analog Master Tape (AMT)*

Are these pressing specifications written on the record cover?
If not, how can one be certain that you are buying analog to LP vinyl?

[vintage_tube]

Originally Posted by 2-Channel

Quick follow up ... regarding the purchase of *all analog tape to LP* and *True analog Master Tape (AMT)*

Are these pressing specifications written on the record cover?
If not, how can one be certain that you are buying analog to LP vinyl?

Well, I'll grab a few and tell you what they say. For the most part, I'm enrolled in several distributions of vinyl -- in their solitations, they were emphatic in stating all the releases will be from the original master analog tapes. One, in specific, musicmattersjazz, is mastered by Steve Hoffman. He's an individual who, for the most part, will not do any mastering if it isn't from the original (there could be some exceptions -- i.e., the original is no longer available -- I recall a warehouse fire in California which damaged a many originals of many generes).

So, I just pulled the following:

Rickie Lee Jones, Its Like This, 180g, 45rpm, 2LP set -- does not state anywhere it's from the analog tapes. However, the respectible retailer has it on their web page, as cut from the original master tape & mastered by Kevin Gray (works w/Steve Hoffman) at RTI.

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, 180g, 45rpm, 2 LP set -- set has a sticker on the box stating "mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog master tapes." Also pressed at RTI on 180g vinyl, Limited number edition of 2500 sets worldwide.

Roy Orbison, The All-Time Greatest Hits of,, 180g, 33rpm, S&P Records -- back cover states "produced and mastered by Steve Hoffman." Front sticker states 180g + pure virgin vinyl, Analogue pressing. The distributor states "The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison - Re-Mastered for the First Time from the Actual Original Master Tapes!"

Eva Cassidy, Songbird, 180g, 33rpm, S&P records -- identical to the Roy Orbison album.

Van Morrison, Moondance, 180g, 33rpm -- the distributor states "Original Analog Tapes by Kevin Grey at Acoustech and Pressed on 180g RTI vinyl!" Nothing on the album except for a RTI 180g vinyl pressing sticker.

So, the above are examples -- and there is no clear cut way to know without some sort of "give away" sticker on the plastic album cover. If I see an album with a RTI sticker, 180g -- I'd probably be correct 98% of the time that it came from the original analog master.

Do your research on albums & when in doubt, call a distributor & inquire.

[80B]

Today there are some terrific pressings that sound flawless. The primary problem with my old LPs is the wear and tear they received in the 60s & 70s. That's before you get to recording & mastering quality. A few, however, do sound tremendous. These tend to be LPs that were at the tail end of the LP era and got less play.

I recently scored a sealed 180g disc of Avalon by Roxy Music that seems to be out of print. I had the LP back in '82, the CD a couple years later, and the 5.1 SACD re-release of a couple years ago. I love the SACD in 5.1, but get just as much pleasure from the vinyl's smooth and non fatiguing sound. It's a favorite album and a great reference point.

[Alberto]

Considering the rate of noise, off-centers, etc., I think it's safe to double the price of new vinyl (i.e. on average, you get a good record for every defective one). Frankly, it's one of the things that's keeping me from investing more in vinyl - paying $30 for an off-center, wobbly disc.

Before the MDA1K, I felt I had no choice - but now ...

Alberto

[gregswaim]

Originally Posted by Alberto

Considering the rate of noise, off-centers, etc., I think it's safe to double the price of new vinyl (i.e. on average, you get a good record for every defective one). Frankly, it's one of the things that's keeping me from investing more in vinyl - paying $30 for an off-center, wobbly disc.

Before the MDA1K, I felt I had no choice - but now ...

Alberto

Buy vintage and avoid those "Mom & Pop" labels with the off center holes.

[1KW]

I just bought 2 brand new LP's of all places at the Barnes and Noble book store at the mall. They had quite a few LP's, the ones I remember were Nora Jones, Cold Play, Michael Jackson, Queen, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, U2, Jimi Hendrix and many more. I am listening to Nora Jones 180 gm for $14.99 - 20 % new and the detail is amazing, imaging superb. Speaking of quality my technic turntable and AT440MLA cart. set up rivals my MCD500 on this album. I bought Coldplay- Parachutes also 180 gm audiophile limited edition for $15 as well. I went to the store for a couple of Patricia Barber cd's which they were holding for me when I saw the rack of LP's for sale. Needless to say, since I discovered the LP's there I paid my $25 for the Barnes and Noble membership which works for the online store as well. As Arnold says...I'll be back.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by gregswaim

Buy vintage and avoid those "Mom & Pop" labels with the off center holes.

Greg.......I can appreciate your comment, but buying vintage is no assurance of a quality pressing simply because it is vintage. Back at the peak of my vinyl buying days (1980) I had a vinyl collection that exceeded 1500 albums. There was a record store in Portland, Oregon (wish I could remember the name), but they came to know me very well, not only because I spent a fair amount of money there, but also because I returned an average of three out of five albums (60%) for defects. The defects ranged from off center holes, pops and ticks that exceeded acceptability, and warps (some minor, some ski jumps). It finally got to a point where the store owner would open my albums before purchase. He would place them on his turntable behind the counter, and spin them for me to insure no warps or off center holes. I always witnessed this, but never allowed his stylus to touch my vinyl. Once this policy was implimented my returns to the store dropped dramatically. There were times when the owner had to open as many as three albums to find a flat one.

In the hay day of vinyl, the recording companies, and the lacquer masterer and stamper producers were doing a fair job, but the stamping factories were not paying close enough attention to quality. Albums were being sleeved before they were cooled enough, shrink wrapped too tightly causing torquing of the album covers and warpage, then cased and stacked with little care. All of this lead to a less than perfect product being sold to the consumer. Granted, I am a very particular individual, and expect to receive exactly what I am paying for, but some, in my opinion the majority, don't give a hoot. The albums play, and that is all they are concerned about. I have known people who shuffled vinyl albums, out of there jackets and sleeves, like they were a deck of playing cards. It would raise the hair on my neck to watch it.

I said all this simply to point out that vintage album purchases, in and of themselves, are no guarantee of quality, or immunity from defects.

[gregswaim]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Greg.......I can appreciate your comment, but buying vintage is no assurance of a quality pressing simply because it is vintage. Back at the peak of my vinyl buying days (1980) I had a vinyl collection that exceeded 1500 albums. There was a record store in Portland, Oregon (wish I could remember the name), but they came to know me very well, not only because I spent a fair amount of money there, but also because I returned an average of three out of five albums (60%) for defects. The defects ranged from off center holes, pops and ticks that exceeded acceptability, and warps (some minor, some ski jumps). It finally got a point where the store owner would open my albums before purchase. He would place them on his turntable behind the counter, and spin them for me to insure no warps or off center holes. I always witnessed this, but never allowed his stylus to touch my vinyl. Once this policy was implimented my returns to the store dropped dramatically. There were times when the owner had to open as many as three albums to find a flat one.

In the hay day of vinyl, the recording companies, and the lacquer masterer and stamper producers were doing a fair job, but the stamping factories were not paying close enough attention to quality. Albums were being sleeved before they were cooled enough, shrink wrapped too tightly causing torquing of the album covers and warpage, then cased and stacked with little care. All of this lead to a less than perfect product being sold to the consumer. Granted, I am a very particular individual, and expect to receive exactly what I am paying for, but some, in my opinion the majority, don't give a hoot. The albums play, and that is all they are concerned about. I have known people who shuffled vinyl albums, out of there jackets and sleeves, like they were a deck of playing cards. It would raise the hair on my neck to watch it.

I said all this simply to point out that vintage album purchases, in and of themselves, are no guarantee of quality, or immunity from defects.

Good points there Dan, but one advantage when buying used is that I can inspect the LP for deformities & scratches. I can't do that with a new sealed in plastic LP. 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. Of course, if a person did buy a new record and it had scratches or was warped hopefully the vendor would give a even exchange or their money back.
I got really lucky with buying used LP's because the owner of that used bookstore rejects any records that are in bad shape to begin with and only accepts near mint condition LP's for sale.

[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.