Definitive Audiophile pressings

Russ I said:
Yeah, though I don't look to RCJ for newer stuff, I have noticed their pricing on it, especially US releases, tends to be quite high. Something to do with the fact the US stuff is imports for them?
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I get that but this is supposed to be a US distribution point, but it still seems like everything has been imported to Japan and then sent to the US judging from these prices.
 
LeeVing said:
Are the "HAL 33453" etched exactly the same? I wouldn't think they would be the same plates, but it's possible.

But if one is "HAL 33453" and the other is "H̶̶̶A̶̶̶L̶̶̶3̶̶̶3̶̶̶4̶̶̶5̶̶̶3̶̶̶", with no gap, then they aren't from the same plates.


My experience with a few different CBS Half Speed Mastersound series releases is that they really aren't that good.


The Mastersound of Born To Run sounds muddy compared to the WLP...and the promo has a bit of surface noise in parts, but it still sounds a lot better to me.
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I agree largely on the CBS half speeds, but WYWH here sounds amazing.
 
Mather said:
They should arrive on Monday. I think @Turbo and @MikeH have the same one and like it.
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So I bought a copy from a German seller on Discogs Saturday but he just got back to me that he doesn’t have after all. Might have mixed it up with another copy he had I could get at a special price:

www.discogs.com

T. Rex - The Slider

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1972 Vinyl release of "The Slider" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

It’s a first Japanese pressing also from Toshiba so I’m assuming it’s just as good as the other one?
 
The Denmarkian Wonder said:
So I bought a copy from a German seller on Discogs Saturday but he just got back to me that he doesn’t have after all. Might have mixed it up with another copy he had I could get at a special price:

www.discogs.com

T. Rex - The Slider

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1972 Vinyl release of "The Slider" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

It’s a first Japanese pressing also from Toshiba so I’m assuming it’s just as good as the other one?
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Hard to say. Mastering can be tweaked on different pressings. There's no reviews on discogs for this one unfortunately. But I guess there's also no reason to think this wouldn't be good. I basically just took a chance when I bought the later pressing because that's the one that was available at RCJ at the time (and I wanted an older pressing since the recent Slider reissues from Demon records have average reviews).
 
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Okay so early verdict.
Bookends is incredible. Huge huge stage and great bass and punch. However I have not heard the RKS so I can't compare.

Purple Rain is also really really dynamic with great punch and stage. But I can tell where KPGs is going to better it. The vocals. There's definitely an inherent harshness to the driving aspects of the vocals that I'm sure KPG will have softened. But that being said I can't wait to compare the two because this does sound really really good. Much better than I expected.

So Bookends and Purple Rain were both better than I expected. Not thin at all, great low end, great punch and separation. Both fantastic

The Slider. Er... don't particularly like this one. I find it soft and muddy. Very little punch or separation. Compared to the stream it's falls pretty short for me. But it's still a great player copy, just not gunna be the end game copy.

And the Flag Series Rubber Soul... basically the same thing as The Slider. It's fine, but it's soft and doesn't have the separation and punch of other versions. I can see why people don't like this version. Again, totally good player copy but not gunna be the end game either.

So all in I was hoping for 3 out of 4 being great, got 2 so it's cool. It'll be fun to listen through the whole albums. I only had time to spin a few tracks from each.
 
Mather said:
Okay so early verdict.
Bookends is incredible. Huge huge stage and great bass and punch. However I have not heard the RKS so I can't compare.

Purple Rain is also really really dynamic with great punch and stage. But I can tell where KPGs is going to better it. The vocals. There's definitely an inherent harshness to the driving aspects of the vocals that I'm sure KPG will have softened. But that being said I can't wait to compare the two because this does sound really really good. Much better than I expected.

So Bookends and Purple Rain were both better than I expected. Not thin at all, great low end, great punch and separation. Both fantastic

The Slider. Er... don't particularly like this one. I find it soft and muddy. Very little punch or separation. Compared to the stream it's falls pretty short for me. But it's still a great player copy, just not gunna be the end game copy.

And the Flag Series Rubber Soul... basically the same thing as The Slider. It's fine, but it's soft and doesn't have the separation and punch of other versions. I can see why people don't like this version. Again, totally good player copy but not gunna be the end game either.

So all in I was hoping for 3 out of 4 being great, got 2 so it's cool. It'll be fun to listen through the whole albums. I only had time to spin a few tracks from each.
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I really like the KG Bookends (I know...shocker...) but it's the age-old issue of being Sundazed and no way of knowing which pressing it is until you open it.
 
MikeH said:
I really like the KG Bookends (I know...shocker...) but it's the age-old issue of being Sundazed and no way of knowing which pressing it is until you open it.
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Yeah I just didn't even bother trying. It's too much of a hassle to find those old KPG Sundazed. They're all mislabeled on Cogs and a lot of them weren't pressed all that well in my experience. Also in some cases he didn't actually mix, just cut the lacquer and it's freaking impossible to figure out which he did and which he didn't... But I wish I had one to compare.
 
Mather said:
Yeah I just didn't even bother trying. It's too much of a hassle to find those old KPG Sundazed. They're all mislabeled on Cogs and a lot of them weren't pressed all that well in my experience. Also in some cases he didn't actually mix, just cut the lacquer and it's freaking impossible to figure out which he did and which he didn't... But I wish I had one to compare.
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yea--only bought one because my local had an opened one so i could see myself that it was KG. Someone on discogs said this was one was pressed at QRP. not really sure how to corroborate that.
 
MikeH said:
yea--only bought one because my local had an opened one so i could see myself that it was KG. Someone on discogs said this was one was pressed at QRP. not really sure how to corroborate that.
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There were a lot around then pressed at QRP that big Kev did for sundazed. The 3 Dylan monos of mine that are KPG at sundazed, and of that vintage, had QRP hype sticker and came in QRP branded mofi stylee anti static inner sleeves.
 
Mather said:
Yeah I just didn't even bother trying. It's too much of a hassle to find those old KPG Sundazed. They're all mislabeled on Cogs and a lot of them weren't pressed all that well in my experience. Also in some cases he didn't actually mix, just cut the lacquer and it's freaking impossible to figure out which he did and which he didn't... But I wish I had one to compare.
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Lol — my blood pressure spiked a bit when I read this b4 I confirmed that my Sundazed “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which i bought on discogs, has “KG@CA” in runout. I’m 99% certain I verified that when I bought it but didn’t know this uncertainty was a thing.
 
Portland Sheriff said:
Lol — my blood pressure spiked a bit when I read this b4 I confirmed that my Sundazed “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which i bought on discogs, has “KG@CA” in runout. I’m 99% certain I verified that when I bought it but didn’t know this uncertainty was a thing.
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To be honest I don't remember if there was any other versions of the Sundazed BOTW but with so many of the other KPG Sundazed there are so I just didn't even bother. I was speaking in generalities here, not specifically about that press. I'm just so sick of hunting mislabeled variants.
 
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