Definitive Audiophile pressings

[Andy]

As always, if it's done right, digital sounds amazing. I think the part that a lot of people get stuck in their throats is vinyl from digital, why not just buy digital? Completely different discussion

Give me the "best sounding" and I'll be happy regardless of source.

Totally agree. I still think they should use the master tapes where they can, say for the next set of Beatles or Stones re-issues.

I still think vinyl mastered from digital can be great & will indeed sound better than listening through (at least my) digital source. I don't know the science like KG does, but I can hear the magic.

 

[Andy]

All kidding aside, restraint is a difficult thing and let's not even talk about FOMO, lol.

Just a small side-bar to all of this, I'm about 17 albums from concluding my complete collection play through and I would recommend everyone do this at some point and time, it takes quite a while, this took me 17 months to complete, but some of the positives that came from it were not alone a pretty ample purge of albums that have fallen from grace or were impulse buys, but also albums needing to be upgraded.

But most of all, I came to realize that I don't enjoy listening to poor pressings AT ALL, but "great" pressings don't have to be from MoFi and or AP.........which is why I appreciate this thread. I know I'm in the minority here, but the "Quality over Quantity" mantra has curbed my spending leaving more cash for grails and better albums

I'm totally behind the quality over quantity mantra, but need some tips on how to manage it

It sounds like a great thing to do, listen to the whole collection. I think it will take me about 18 months to get everything into cogs

 

[HayesWeighsIn]

I know I'm in the minority here, but the "Quality over Quantity" mantra has curbed my spending leaving more cash for grails and better albums

Right there with you, Anthony!

 

[Andy]

I ordered this today after I discovered the vinyl is AAA and that it supposedly sounds pretty good and there haven't been many pressing issues reported even though it was pressed at United. Figured it beats trying to find a MoFi version (or wait for a MoFi repress):

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2010 Vinyl release of "Bitches Brew" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Anyone else have this box?

I don't have it but it's supposed to be good. I read up on it last year as the RSD release of extras comes from the CDs in this set. Let us know what you think, I still need a decent copy of this (but don't want to spend much)

edit - the vinyl is supposed to be one of the best pressings in recent years

 

[jamieanderson1968]

I ordered this today after I discovered the vinyl is AAA and that it supposedly sounds pretty good and there haven't been many pressing issues reported even though it was pressed at United. Figured it beats trying to find a MoFi version (or wait for a MoFi repress):

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2010 Vinyl release of "Bitches Brew" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Anyone else have this box?

I have it on my Discogs Wantlist, but it tends to be a bit pricy to get here in Canada. I want the live material. I am happy with my vinyl version and might just pickup the cd/dvd only version at somepoint in the future.

 

[kafunis]

I've got it and the Mofi, the Vinyl is great and the rest of the box is sensational ! Get it if you love this album .

I ordered this today after I discovered the vinyl is AAA and that it supposedly sounds pretty good and there haven't been many pressing issues reported even though it was pressed at United. Figured it beats trying to find a MoFi version (or wait for a MoFi repress):

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2010 Vinyl release of "Bitches Brew" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Anyone else have this box?

 

[McGlam]

I've got it and the Mofi, the Vinyl is great and the rest of the box is sensational ! Get it if you love this album .

It's on Deep discount for 99.99 and you can use FLOWERS for 15% off.

 

[jamieanderson1968]

It's on Deep discount for 99.99 and you can use FLOWERS for 15% off.

Well apparently this is too heavy to ship to Canada. So my wallet thanks you

 

[HuddieLedbetter]

I ordered this today after I discovered the vinyl is AAA and that it supposedly sounds pretty good and there haven't been many pressing issues reported even though it was pressed at United. Figured it beats trying to find a MoFi version (or wait for a MoFi repress):

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2010 Vinyl release of "Bitches Brew" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Anyone else have this box?

I've got it. It's terrific -- good enough that while I own the the rest of the mofi series I never bothered to look at replacement

 

[keylime_5]

Thanks guys, I’m pumped to hear the good reviews. All I really want is the vinyl but the CDs and DVDs and bonus features are gonna be some sweet icing

 

[kafunis]

Yeah the live stuff is great, the tangle wood performance is next level, great big book too.

Thanks guys, I’m pumped to hear the good reviews. All I really want is the vinyl but the CDs and DVDs and bonus features are gonna be some sweet icing

 

[Portland Sheriff]

I have a noob question, but I’d appreciate a bit of collective input. I bought Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up” from Acoustic Sounds on Discogs. It had their typical VG+ grade (some scuffs, but vinyl otherwise clean), and they don’t play all records so that’s limited to visual. It said nothing about an off-center press.

It plays ok, but it also seems pretty off center in ways that I think I can hear. AS has offered my choice of a full refund (return) or 50% refund (keep).

Here’s a quick vid of the cart moving back and forth on Disc 1 (sound is off bc it’s hard to hear the music over someone talking in background). I have another vid showing the cart closer to the center of the record, and it’s similar.

Am I correct that this is pretty off center? I’ve read about off-center pressings, but this is my first experience with what seems to me to be a significant example.

That’s my noob question, but here are some other aspects of the situation.

Disc 2 is similar, but the spindle hole on that disc is very wide, so the previous owner may have tried to fix the problem. I haven’t yet tried to maneuver/orient Disc 2 around the spindle so that it plays centered correctly.

I want this Coltrane set, and AS charged a good price ($65). Unfortunately, I am not confident that I can fix this problem on my own. I’m willing to try to find someone who can fix it, and it could be worth it after AS gives me a 50% refund, but I don’t know if that’s a reliable solution (assuming I can find someone).

 

[kafunis]

Yes that’s off centre. Up to you what you do, I wouldn’t keep it personally,have you got that CD? It’s a live radio recording so I’m not really sure the vinyl sounds much better than the CD, great album but that’s not a good copy. You can make the whole bigger and then centre the album, but really why should you have to.

I have a noob question, but I’d appreciate a bit of collective input. I bought Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up” from Acoustic Sounds on Discogs. It had their typical VG+ grade (some scuffs, but vinyl otherwise clean), and they don’t play all records so that’s limited to visual. It said nothing about an off-center press.

It plays ok, but it also seems pretty off center in ways that I think I can hear. AS has offered my choice of a full refund (return) or 50% refund (keep).

Here’s a quick vid of the cart moving back and forth on Disc 1 (sound is off bc it’s hard to hear the music over someone talking in background). I have another vid showing the cart closer to the center of the record, and it’s similar.

Am I correct that this is pretty off center? I’ve read about off-center pressings, but this is my first experience with what seems to me to be a significant example.

That’s my noob question, but here are some other aspects of the situation.

Disc 2 is similar, but the spindle hole on that disc is very wide, so the previous owner may have tried to fix the problem. I haven’t yet tried to maneuver/orient Disc 2 around the spindle so that it plays centered correctly.

I want this Coltrane set, and AS charged a good price ($65). Unfortunately, I am not confident that I can fix this problem on my own. I’m willing to try to find someone who can fix it, and it could be worth it after AS gives me a 50% refund, but I don’t know if that’s a reliable solution (assuming I can find someone).

 

[Russ I]

I have a noob question, but I’d appreciate a bit of collective input. I bought Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up” from Acoustic Sounds on Discogs. It had their typical VG+ grade (some scuffs, but vinyl otherwise clean), and they don’t play all records so that’s limited to visual. It said nothing about an off-center press.

It plays ok, but it also seems pretty off center in ways that I think I can hear. AS has offered my choice of a full refund (return) or 50% refund (keep).

Here’s a quick vid of the cart moving back and forth on Disc 1 (sound is off bc it’s hard to hear the music over someone talking in background). I have another vid showing the cart closer to the center of the record, and it’s similar.

Am I correct that this is pretty off center? I’ve read about off-center pressings, but this is my first experience with what seems to me to be a significant example.

That’s my noob question, but here are some other aspects of the situation.

Disc 2 is similar, but the spindle hole on that disc is very wide, so the previous owner may have tried to fix the problem. I haven’t yet tried to maneuver/orient Disc 2 around the spindle so that it plays centered correctly.

I want this Coltrane set, and AS charged a good price ($65). Unfortunately, I am not confident that I can fix this problem on my own. I’m willing to try to find someone who can fix it, and it could be worth it after AS gives me a 50% refund, but I don’t know if that’s a reliable solution (assuming I can find someone).

I feel your pain. Off-center spindle holes are my #1 hair-pulling vinyl experience, and it happens way too often. What you've shown definitely is significant, and it will be worse (and more audible) the closer the arm gets to the label.

Theoretically, the way to 'fix' this problem is to enlarge the hole so that you can move the record to a centered position. Good luck with that! It's extremely difficult to accomplish this, or at least I have found it so. And even if you do, and can perhaps use a record weight to assure the record stays in place, what about the next time you want to play that record? I've tried making marks on the label to help me zero in on the proper position, but I've never found a system that actually works. My Dual turntable has a removable spindle, so, again theoretically, I wouldn't even have to enlarge the hole to be able to adjust the position of the album on the platter, and still, it's unsolvable. Worst part is that I definitely can hear it. Many times I've played a record for the first time and heard the warble, only to then check and discover that the spindle hole is off-center. Drives. Me. Crazy.

In my opinion, this would be one of the best reasons to send the record back for a full refund, and that's what I'd recommend. If there was a small scratch, or even a skip, the 50% refund would be great because you'd have over 90% of the music playing fine and pay only half. But with the off-center spindle hole, the entire album will sound like shit, so it isn't worth half the cost. Go for the refund.

 

[Ghost]

I feel your pain. Off-center spindle holes are my #1 hair-pulling vinyl experience, and it happens way too often. What you've shown definitely is significant, and it will be worse (and more audible) the closer the arm gets to the label.

Theoretically, the way to 'fix' this problem is to enlarge the hole so that you can move the record to a centered position. Good luck with that! It's extremely difficult to accomplish this, or at least I have found it so. And even if you do, and can perhaps use a record weight to assure the record stays in place, what about the next time you want to play that record? I've tried making marks on the label to help me zero in on the proper position, but I've never found a system that actually works. My Dual turntable has a removable spindle, so, again theoretically, I wouldn't even have to enlarge the hole to be able to adjust the position of the album on the platter, and still, it's unsolvable. Worst part is that I definitely can hear it. Many times I've played a record for the first time and heard the warble, only to then check and discover that the spindle hole is off-center. Drives. Me. Crazy.

In my opinion, this would be one of the best reasons to send the record back for a full refund, and that's what I'd recommend. If there was a small scratch, or even a skip, the 50% refund would be great because you'd have over 90% of the music playing fine and pay only half. But with the off-center spindle hole, the entire album will sound like shit, so it isn't worth half the cost. Go for the refund.

What do you hear from off center presses?

 

[Russ I]

What do you hear from off center presses?

Think of an extended piano chord that instead of staying true to its sound warbles back and forth (with each rotation of the record) between a sound that's slightly off key and the true sound of the chord. It's something you won't necessarily hear if there's a lot going on with the music, but any extended notes, be they voice or music, will be noticeably off. This (below) is the best example I could find online:

I Really Hate Off-Center Pressings!

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I am a big-time record nerd. I love records. I love everything about records. Almost. There is one ...

floweringtoilet.blogspot.com

EDIT: Okay, looked this up and the appropriate term for what I hear with an off-center spindle hole is 'wow,' defined as "a once-per-revolution pitch variation which could result from warping of the record or from a pressing plate that was not precisely centered." So it's a specific type of distortion related to the swaying of the arm as the record spins. And the reason this becomes more audible as the arm moves towards the label is that the distortion happens more frequently as the circumference traveled by the stylus decreases.

 

[Selaws]

My copy of the Yusef Lateef Craft One Step is due to be delivered today according to the tracking info.

Really hope the tracking is correct!

 

[MikeH]

I have a noob question, but I’d appreciate a bit of collective input. I bought Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up” from Acoustic Sounds on Discogs. It had their typical VG+ grade (some scuffs, but vinyl otherwise clean), and they don’t play all records so that’s limited to visual. It said nothing about an off-center press.

It plays ok, but it also seems pretty off center in ways that I think I can hear. AS has offered my choice of a full refund (return) or 50% refund (keep).

Here’s a quick vid of the cart moving back and forth on Disc 1 (sound is off bc it’s hard to hear the music over someone talking in background). I have another vid showing the cart closer to the center of the record, and it’s similar.

Am I correct that this is pretty off center? I’ve read about off-center pressings, but this is my first experience with what seems to me to be a significant example.

That’s my noob question, but here are some other aspects of the situation.

Disc 2 is similar, but the spindle hole on that disc is very wide, so the previous owner may have tried to fix the problem. I haven’t yet tried to maneuver/orient Disc 2 around the spindle so that it plays centered correctly.

I want this Coltrane set, and AS charged a good price ($65). Unfortunately, I am not confident that I can fix this problem on my own. I’m willing to try to find someone who can fix it, and it could be worth it after AS gives me a 50% refund, but I don’t know if that’s a reliable solution (assuming I can find someone).

Sadly I would return it as well. It’s not an easy fix and if you’re anything like me, it would bother me every time I played it haha

 

[HuddieLedbetter]

Sadly I would return it as well. It’s not an easy fix and if you’re anything like me, it would bother me every time I played it haha

I'm in this camp. I love the record -- and I think (total confirmation bias here, not even a little) that the Classic records sounds better than the CD. It's worth having a good copy. There is a Mint on Discogs now for $100 -- though the seller only has six ratings the album is new/sealed in the comments. I'm not sure what you paid AS but it might be worth a shot or making an offer.

(I'd share the dang listing here, but apparently I'm still learning how to us the dang app...sorry)

 

[Selaws]

Yusef has arrived!

Packaging actually looked less secure compared to last time, but no damage that I can see so no complaints.