Definitive Audiophile pressings

wmeugene said:
Nope, when it ships.

"What about Pre-Orders & Special Orders for exclusive and limited edition vinyl?
Due to the ever-increasing complications of the vinyl industry, Zia Records cannot guarantee each order placed until after confirmation is made with labels and distributors, which may occur up to a few weeks after your order is placed. Placing a special order with us usually means we'll be able to get exactly what you're after, but production delays and other complications may prevent us from obtaining your order. We won’t charge your card until we have it stock."

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Good to know, thanks. For some reason I though they were charge immediately. Must have them mixed up.
 
MikeH said:
Oh I've had the exact opposite experience with MPO. They have been pretty solid in my experience. The DeAgostini jazz at 33 series was pressed there and all of mine are flat with no surface noise, so are all the LNT compilations and numerous others I own. They are nowhere near a deal breaker for me when I buy records.
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Hmm, maybe I’ve just been unlucky with them. Warps and non- fill galore. They are definitely on my no buy list.
 
MikeH said:
Oh I've had the exact opposite experience with MPO. They have been pretty solid in my experience. The DeAgostini jazz at 33 series was pressed there and all of mine are flat with no surface noise, so are all the LNT compilations and numerous others I own. They are nowhere near a deal breaker for me when I buy records.
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Same for me... solid 2nd tier plant from personal experience, at least over the last few years. I probably had less issues from MPO than I did from Optimal recently. The most frequent issue I get from MPO is warps but I can correct them with the VF. All of my Springsteen reissues, the Lou Reed Arista years box, some Jazz Dispensary, LNT, Tame Impala Currents box, the latest Thundercat, all my Metronomy records, Courtney Barnett... all pretty good pressings.
 
MikeH said:
Weird! Well I think that one is pretty safe to buy if you're still looking for it. Not sure if anybody else here ended up buying it and has any thoughts. i think @Crabbers bought one?
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I think that ship has sailed unfortunately, though I do appreciate the advice. @Dead C was kind enough to alert me to some Discogs listings at retail price closer to RSD but I passed based on MPO, and the prices are quite a bit higher now.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
A nice little write up I saw over on the Reddit that seemed like it should also be over here…

audiophilereview.com

Do I Need To Be Collecting Original Pressings Of Old Records Anymore?

Mark Smotroff reconsiders his initial reasons for collecting physical releases on vinyl…
audiophilereview.com audiophilereview.com

Knowing how this thread loves an excellent reissue, I think I can guess all of your answer.
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Personally would rather have a VG+ or greater original if it can be had for similar or less in many cases if the original press is highly regarded. Sadly with the crazy spike in prices last year that is becoming much harder to do.
 
I think from a pure "listening" perspective, the argument is becoming more limited as companies start to acquire and utilize talent to match or exceed the quality of these original pressings and match the artwork/sleeve quality/etc. These companies seem to be "getting it" and dedicating the right resources to doing it well.

With that said, there are still a lot of records in all genres not getting re-pressings due to demand or getting pressed poorly compared to the original or ones where you can still get VG+ or better on at a lower cost, especially in non-jazz realms. Like, I have a small collection of Ruth Brown LPs. BAM/Charles on 2nd put out a reissue of one of her records from the late 60's recently, and I'm sure it's great, but the original is cheaper, has high quality packaging, and sounds great. This is true of a slew of 70s and 80s rock albums that still sound perfectly great and are cheap with more expensive re-pressings out there. Even a great re-pressing can't change original recordings really.

This may be different in the audiophile realm to be fair. I think of something like Elton John's GYBR. The recent reissue from 2014 or so are $25-35 and well regarded. You can regularly find used copies, early represses mostly, in the $15-$20 realm (I finally pulled the trigger on one for $8 that sounds fine). This feels like a different realm than audiophile version where a Speakers Corner or MoFi GYBR will set you back well into the three digits.

Edit: I also think that value of collectability and re-sale is, for many, a consideration. Like, there's going to be a subset of future buyers who are going to want the originals regardless of any repress quality. That is often a tiebreaker.
 
Hard to beat a VG+ original unless it's one of these amazing AAA reissues done by Bellman, Grundman, Gray, RKS, etc. and even then, the original still wins in some cases. Price is a big factor too. I can get a VG+ copy of a great original US pressing of Disraeli Gears for less than the digitally remastered Miles Showell mono reissue.
 
waruv said:
I think from a pure "listening" perspective, the argument is becoming more limited as companies start to acquire and utilize talent to match or exceed the quality of these original pressings and match the artwork/sleeve quality/etc. These companies seem to be "getting it" and dedicating the right resources to doing it well.

With that said, there are still a lot of records in all genres not getting re-pressings due to demand or getting pressed poorly compared to the original or ones where you can still get VG+ or better on at a lower cost, especially in non-jazz realms. Like, I have a small collection of Ruth Brown LPs. BAM/Charles on 2nd put out a reissue of one of her records from the late 60's recently, and I'm sure it's great, but the original is cheaper, has high quality packaging, and sounds great. This is true of a slew of 70s and 80s rock albums that still sound perfectly great and are cheap with more expensive re-pressings out there.

This may be different in the audiophile realm to be fair. I think of something like Elton John's GYBR. The recent reissue from 2014 or so are $25-35 and well regarded. You can regularly find used copies, early represses mostly, in the $15-$20 realm (I finally pulled the trigger on one for $8 that sounds fine). This feels like a different realm than audiophile version where a Speakers Corner or MoFi GYBR will set you back well into the three digits.
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I agree with ya. Some labels really GET it and do really nice overall packaging and remasters with great sources by great engineers. More and more labels are starting to understand that. The price on used records has also skyrocketed in the past few years. When I first started really buying vinyl about 7 or 8 years ago, you could find good copies of classic albums for $10 and under. Now I can't seem to walk into a shop and find those albums for under $25 and not even in NM condition.

i wish the SC or MoFi was cheaper on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but I was able to snag the SuperDisk version for around $30 on eBay the other day. Also grabbed the SuperDisk Greatest Hits for a good price last month.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
A nice little write up I saw over on the Reddit that seemed like it should also be over here…

audiophilereview.com

Do I Need To Be Collecting Original Pressings Of Old Records Anymore?

Mark Smotroff reconsiders his initial reasons for collecting physical releases on vinyl…
audiophilereview.com audiophilereview.com

Knowing how this thread loves an excellent reissue, I think I can guess all of your answer.
Click to expand...

The collector in me really likes having both. So in an ideal world my ideal collection would be a NM OG and a top quality audiophile reissue for everything I deemed important.

Sadly, I got into jazz way to late to fill my shelves with the likes of original Blue Notes. But, the audiophile jazz reissues are fantastic so its a small compromise.
 
POGunter said:
The collector in me really likes having both. So in an ideal world my ideal collection would be a NM OG and a top quality audiophile reissue for everything I deemed important.

Sadly, I got into jazz way to late to fill my shelves with the likes of original Blue Notes. But, the audiophile jazz reissues are fantastic so its a small compromise.
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I was right on the cusp when it comes to BN and Impulse. I started buying up a bunch of those right before prices skyrocketed. I frequented eBay a lot. Now it's VERY hard to find good deals on things anywhere it seems.
 
MikeH said:
I was right on the cusp when it comes to BN and Impulse. I started buying up a bunch of those right before prices skyrocketed. I frequented eBay a lot. Now it's VERY hard to find good deals on things anywhere it seems.
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I definutely wish I gave up my nomadic lifestyle early enough to get Impulse! originals at decent prices. But I'm pretty okay with reissues, so it ain't the end 0f the world. But certainly some head shaking here and there.
 
avecigrec said:
I definutely wish I gave up my nomadic lifestyle early enough to get Impulse! originals at decent prices. But I'm pretty okay with reissues, so it ain't the end 0f the world. But certainly some head shaking here and there.
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I miss the days of scoring things easily on eBay...now I see G+ albums listed for $100+. I do wish I got more Impulse! since the tapes are mostly gone now.
 
MikeH said:
I miss the days of scoring things easily on eBay...now I see G+ albums listed for $100+. I do wish I got more Impulse! since the tapes are mostly gone now.
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I know at some point I'll allow myself to pay way too much for OG version of the Impulse! Sun Ra releases (most of which were reissues themselves, anyhow) but those are likely the only ones I'll chase down - and not any time soon as I'm between careers with a baby on the way, so other priorities and cheaper reissues in the meanwhile!
 
Not a bad article and it may be true of Jazz reissues, But I think a lot of Rock/Pop First Issues from country of origin still beat a lot of the later reissues ( Bowie, LZ for example) . And it' s also true that the Tone Poets are not replicating the sound of the old Blue Note pressings, but are trying to give us more of the sound that was originally recorded, So a different listening experience. we are certainly blessed to have Tone Poet , AP , Speakers Corner etc releasing all this stuff, But who remasters this stuff and where it's pressed comes into the equation.
 
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