Definitive Audiophile pressings

[Russ I]

I have this 1974 German “STERLING RL” copy of Houses of the Holy, my fav Zep album, and it is also really dynamic and just a fun listen, with only minor surface noise.

Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1973 Vinyl release of "Houses Of The Holy" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Yeah, I didn't mention the surface noise on my German pressing, which definitely is evident but not distracting....And now I'm going to have to check out the deadwax on my other Zeppelin titles!

EDIT: Turns out I have a US OG "STERLING RL" copy of Houses of the Holy. I'll have to give it a listen. I think it's this one:

Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1973 Vinyl release of "Houses Of The Holy" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[TenderLovingKiller®]

Yeah, I am happy to own Zep I-IV and HOTH on vinyl and have probably paid like $60 total for them all. That seems to be about right for the amount I listen to Zep. Those albums are a lot of fun but for whatever reason I just don’t spin them very often enough to justify spending big bucks on em.

 

[Mather]

Yeah, I am happy to own Zep I-IV and HOTH on vinyl and have probably paid like $60 total for them all. That seems to be about right for the amount I listen to Zep. Those albums are a lot of fun but for whatever reason I just don’t spin them very often enough to justify spending big bucks on em.

Oh I know, I just got in the mode you know? Like, here is my new task I have assigned myself for this week... get the best Zep presses I can find that aren't $600.

 

[RHANDMJ]

What's the story with how Classic went down? I don't think I ever heard it...

Near the end, Classic was pretty shaky financially. Remember that at that time, before FOMO, vinyl took a long time to sell out. Vinyl was mostly sold through audio dealers, and big box mail order shops like Elusive Disc and Music Direct.

Classic had issues with 200g pressing at RTI which caused a lot of returns. They pressed a lot of classical titles that never sold well.

So Classic got shady. They started pressing big quantities of popular titles at Bill Smith Custom Pressing, but apparently not reporting or under-reporting those pressings to the license holder. The biggest was Zep, and Zep management are known to crush those who cross them.

In the end, it was an issue of exceeding license quantities by wide margin, and under-reporting licensing fees by a wide margin. And my recall is that the Zep series was what brought it crashing down.

Never say never, but Zep has never been licensed since, not for digital or vinyl.

 

[AudioAce]

Recently got the 30th Anniversary pressing of Nevermind. is it the same plates as the Pallas pressing that has been out there? I noticed the 30th is pressed at GZ.

 

[Turbo]

Recently got the 30th Anniversary pressing of Nevermind. is it the same plates as the Pallas pressing that has been out there? I noticed the 30th is pressed at GZ.

I don't think they're the same. The Pallas is cut by Bernie. I believe the 30th is a different cut by Ryan K Smith.

 

[Mather]

Recently got the 30th Anniversary pressing of Nevermind. is it the same plates as the Pallas pressing that has been out there? I noticed the 30th is pressed at GZ.

I believe there may have been some talk of the BG being AAA too, whereas the RKS is digital. I think, in theory

 

[dansomeone]

Turns out I have a US OG "STERLING RL" copy of Houses of the Holy. I'll have to give it a listen. I think it's this one:

Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1973 Vinyl release of "Houses Of The Holy" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

I just checked and I have the same RL pressing of Houses. I'm going to listen to it later tonight!

I should note that the George Piros cuts are very very good too and can actually be found clean. I had a clean GP as my player forever. I don’t think the price difference between Ludwig copies and Piros copies are really justified. Never heard any other pressings outside of GP or RL copies though.

I have a Piros LZ IV, and it does sound really good

Led Zeppelin - Untitled

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1971 Vinyl release of "Untitled" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[AudioAce]

I don't think they're the same. The Pallas is cut by Bernie. I believe the 30th is a different cut by Ryan K Smith.

I believe there may have been some talk of the BG being AAA too, whereas the RKS is digital. I think, in theory

Ooooof

Might need to get a Pallas version in the future. At least the 7-inch is a nice bonus.

 

[MikeH]

Ooooof

Might need to get a Pallas version in the future. At least the 7-inch is a nice bonus.

I have both and the 30th isn’t bad at all. I thought it sounded quite good. And IIRC the packaging is so much nicer plus the 7” is cool. I haven’t A/Bed the 30th and the BG Pallas cut back to back but they are both solid. The Pallas one has the Pallas sticker on it in most cases.

 

[Jbraswell]

Recently got the 30th Anniversary pressing of Nevermind. is it the same plates as the Pallas pressing that has been out there? I noticed the 30th is pressed at GZ.

Do you have the runout code to look it up? Discogs will be very helpful

 

[MikeH]

Oh I know, I just got in the mode you know? Like, here is my new task I have assigned myself for this week... get the best Zep presses I can find that aren't $600.

The AMJYs are incredible! And not $600. AND Japanese!

 

[Jbraswell]

I just checked and I have the same RL pressing of Houses. I'm going to listen to it later tonight!

I have a Piros LZ IV, and it does sound really good

Led Zeppelin - Untitled

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1971 Vinyl release of "Untitled" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

I can't believe you guys weren't paying attention to these earlier? This must be like Christmas morning now

 

[Mather]

The AMJYs are incredible! And not $600. AND Japanese!

I know I keep my eyes open for those ones! Don't have one yet though. But for NM they're mostly like $300 CAD. That's too much for me...

 

[Jbraswell]

@dansomeone you got a Porky cut on IV.

similar to mine and it's killer

 

[tvham]

I have both and the 30th isn’t bad at all. I thought it sounded quite good. And IIRC the packaging is so much nicer plus the 7” is cool. I haven’t A/Bed the 30th and the BG Pallas cut back to back but they are both solid. The Pallas one has the Pallas sticker on it in most cases.

I agree - I remember people shitting on the 30th but once I bought it and spun it I thought it was really good.

 

[Russ I]

I just checked and I have the same RL pressing of Houses. I'm going to listen to it later tonight!

I have a Piros LZ IV, and it does sound really good

Led Zeppelin - Untitled

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1971 Vinyl release of "Untitled" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Listened to some of HOTH and it sounds good. Not as dynamic as the German LZ II, but a good deal better than the US version of that album I mentioned earlier. Drums are much more present, but not in the room like with the German pressing of LZ II.

 

[Jbraswell]

I haven't heard the 30th.
When I dropped the needle on the BG Pallas, I could tell it was pretty special right off the start.
In Bloom sounds incredible.

The 2019 reissue is still really affordable too.

Nirvana - Nevermind

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

www.discogs.com

I also have the BG Unplugged. Pretty good too.
Would highly recommend both.

 

[Mather]

I would also add on the Nirvana tip, the Nirvana Live at the Paramount pressing is very nice. Also Pallas. Great audio quality, well recorded.

 

[Turbo]

I would also add on the Nirvana tip, the Nirvana Live at the Paramount pressing is very nice. Also Pallas. Great audio quality, well recorded.

Is Live at Paramount better than Reading? I love the energy of the Reading show.