Definitive Audiophile pressings

Mather said:
Le Creuset are absolutely bomb proof and in many cases can be bought at yard sales for about 5 dollars and they are simply the best iron pots and pans you can find. Incredible stuff.
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Omg, I want a Le Creuset pot now!!! They are so good-looking too! They're so expensive though! I would be jumping with joy if I found one for 5 dollars at a yard sale!!!
 
trickyseven said:
If it helps you are one of my favorite forum people and I value your perspective. I feel your pain when you get warps (which now that we are talking about it, doesn't seem like it's happened in awhile?).
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Mather too is definitely one of my favourites! I love him and I honestly couldn't imagine the forum without him! Would be absolutely heartbroken if he left the forum for whatever reason!
 
trickyseven said:
If it helps you are one of my favorite forum people and I value your perspective. I feel your pain when you get warps (which now that we are talking about it, doesn't seem like it's happened in awhile?).
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Okay, flattery will get you everywhere.

I'M BACK BABY.

As for the warps, I'm still getting a fair bit, but since I got the Furutech flattener I tend to care less about them personally. It still annoys me to no end, especially for others who don't have the ability to flatten, but now I'm more frequently outraged about the price of new vinyl vs the actual pressing quality which I think is just getting worse and worse.
 
Mather said:
Okay, flattery will get you everywhere.

I'M BACK BABY.

As for the warps, I'm still getting a fair bit, but since I got the Furutech flattener I tend to care less about them personally. It still annoys me to no end, especially for others who don't have the ability to flatten, but now I'm more frequently outraged about the price of new vinyl vs the actual pressing quality which I think is just getting worse and worse.
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To be honest, I rarely get a warp of any significance. Having said that, I have received two severe warps this year, one I can directly attribute to July heat and Covid delays, the other likely the same.

As to the prices, yeah, they have been going up, and I am told in the industry that there are several reasons. First, and largest, is Amazon. Amazon cheerfully accepts returns for any and no reason, and charges that back to the label. Your local shops cannot, they must eat the cost of any returns.

Because Amazon can be so free with returns, people feel free to return a record simply because they dont like it, or it has a bent corner or seam split, or any number of reasons, few legitimate.

Someone has to absorb those costs. The label does not. They factor it in to MSLP - which has to go up.

Second, lesser reason - costs are up. In particular, lacquer costs have risen, but so have others. Most of the labels have their own online stores now, and to compete with Amazon, many must offer free shipping. There is no such thing as free shipping. It is in the (higher) price of the product.

Third reason - again Amazon. Too large a % of sales go through this monopoly wannabe, and they beat the shit out of manufacturers on wholesale price. Again, it has to come from somewhere, so prices go up.

Quality, it seems to me, has actually improved across the board. I get far fewer flaws than 10 or 15 years ago. Vinyl is never going to be perfect. The ability and machinery to make consistently perfect vinyl simply does not exist any longer and the few manufacturers still around really do wonders to hold it together. It is simply wrong to think that the people at these plants don't care. They all want to put out a good product. Nobody wins if they don't.

Perfect - get the CD. Believe me, record labels, particularly the majors, don't want to be in vinyl. They dismantled their physical distribution operations long ago. Vinyl is nothing but headaches to them. All their energies are focused on streaming.

Personally I am very grateful for the many imperfect yet still amazing records coming out today.
 
This will be the pressing I choose as my demo record if I have any, and have anyone who is interested in vinyl listen to my setup (which isn’t anything special, but I’m sure they’ll love hearing this)!

Along with the Thelonius Monk, this is my favourite One-Step! But this one really is #1! 🏆

1CE78600-A754-47C9-943F-3475E34EFA3F.jpeg

Also, I was very impressed to see this in Rollingstones Top 500 albums of all-time on the updated 2020 list! 😍
 
RHANDMJ said:
To be honest, I rarely get a warp of any significance. Having said that, I have received two severe warps this year, one I can directly attribute to July heat and Covid delays, the other likely the same.

As to the prices, yeah, they have been going up, and I am told in the industry that there are several reasons. First, and largest, is Amazon. Amazon cheerfully accepts returns for any and no reason, and charges that back to the label. Your local shops cannot, they must eat the cost of any returns.

Because Amazon can be so free with returns, people feel free to return a record simply because they dont like it, or it has a bent corner or seam split, or any number of reasons, few legitimate.

Someone has to absorb those costs. The label does not. They factor it in to MSLP - which has to go up.

Second, lesser reason - costs are up. In particular, lacquer costs have risen, but so have others. Most of the labels have their own online stores now, and to compete with Amazon, many must offer free shipping. There is no such thing as free shipping. It is in the (higher) price of the product.

Third reason - again Amazon. Too large a % of sales go through this monopoly wannabe, and they beat the shit out of manufacturers on wholesale price. Again, it has to come from somewhere, so prices go up.

Quality, it seems to me, has actually improved across the board. I get far fewer flaws than 10 or 15 years ago. Vinyl is never going to be perfect. The ability and machinery to make consistently perfect vinyl simply does not exist any longer and the few manufacturers still around really do wonders to hold it together. It is simply wrong to think that the people at these plants don't care. They all want to put out a good product. Nobody wins if they don't.

Perfect - get the CD. Believe me, record labels, particularly the majors, don't want to be in vinyl. They dismantled their physical distribution operations long ago. Vinyl is nothing but headaches to them. All their energies are focused on streaming.

Personally I am very grateful for the many imperfect yet still amazing records coming out today.
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Can I get a "fuck Amazon" going in the chat?
 
NathanRicaud said:
This will be the pressing I choose as my demo record if I have any, and have anyone who is interested in vinyl listen to my setup (which isn’t anything special, but I’m sure they’ll love hearing this)!

Along with the Thelonius Monk, this is my favourite One-Step! But this one really is #1! 🏆

View attachment 74627

Also, I was very impressed to see this in Rollingstones Top 500 albums of all-time on the updated 2020 list! 😍
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The Dylan is my favorite One Step but Mingus and Monk are up there too. Marvin Gaye is good but mine might just need a good clean...Or maybe my cart needs some realigning but there’s some sibilance on his vocals on some tracks.
 
My only One-Step is the Mingus, and man do I wish I had jumped on that Blood on the Tracks back when it was in stock and "only" $125.
 
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