Definitive Audiophile pressings

Russ I said:
A 1975 US original and 2016 Grundman remaster/reissue. (Huh, back on the hot-stamper trail....)

www.discogs.com

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1975 Vinyl release of "Wish You Were Here" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com

www.discogs.com

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1975 Vinyl release of "Wish You Were Here" on Discogs.
www.discogs.com www.discogs.com
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Very eager to hear what you think. I've been going back and forth on that one and the later JP press, not sure if they'll beat the Half Speed. But curious.
 
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Hemotep said:
This is new, Plaid Room put up a bunch of used stock including some 👀 LPs - Audiophile
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The three AP CCR's I have are fabulous. Only Willie & The Poor Boys, Pendulum and Mardis Gras remained when I ordered them. I should spin that Willie & The Poor Boys again some time. I have the 33rpm versions. Anyway, Mardis Gras is not the best CCR, but it does sound amazing and that's a great price.
 
Turbo said:
The three AP CCR's I have are fabulous. Only Willie & The Poor Boys, Pendulum and Mardis Gras remained when I ordered them. I should spin that Willie & The Poor Boys again some time. I have the 33rpm versions. Anyway, Mardis Gras is not the best CCR, but it does sound amazing and that's a great price.
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I got the Half Speed Cosmos Factory and I was pleasantly surprised. It's pretty good! No AP but, not bad.
 
Mather said:
I got the Half Speed Cosmos Factory and I was pleasantly surprised. It's pretty good! No AP but, not bad.
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The Cosmos's Factory I have uses the AP plates. QRP press too. Sounds pretty good, but not as clear as the actual AP's for some reason (though it's not the same album, so hard to say what's going on there). I also have the cheaper Bayou County from the AP plates, but that one is pretty noisy. The paper sleeve got to it IIRC.
 
Mather said:
Very eager to hear what you think. I've been going back and forth on that one and the later JP press, not sure if they'll beat the Half Speed. But curious.
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Okay, listened to Shine on You Crazy Diamond from each of the three pressings, back and forth, back and forth, etc., etc. All three sounded good, and it took a while to identify the last few minutes of the song as best for listening for differences. There's a lot going on at this point, as vocals end, leading into an intense instrumental finale. There's a sax solo, dueling guitar melodies (beautiful, I might add) left and right (a bit more prominent in the right channel), a thumping bass line, and lots of hi-hat. It surprised me to find that the Japan pressing didn't do justice to the complexity of the music, with the guitar melodies lost to the background, especially in the left channel where the guitar was basically absent. As a result, there didn't seem to be quite the soundstage the other pressings presented.

Even more surprising to me was that the OG US pressing held its own against the 2016 Grundman, with both giving ample space to the separate elements of the mix, creating a bigger soundstage and providing more detail to pick out from the music. If the 2016 edged the OG, it probably can be chalked up to a different vinyl formulation because the mix sounds very similar. The Grundman is on a much heavier vinyl, and while my OG is pretty clean, the new record is quieter.
 
Russ I said:
Okay, listened to Shine on You Crazy Diamond from each of the three pressings, back and forth, back and forth, etc., etc. All three sounded good, and it took a while to identify the last few minutes of the song as best for listening for differences. There's a lot going on at this point, as vocals end, leading into an intense instrumental finale. There's a sax solo, dueling guitar melodies (beautiful, I might add) left and right (a bit more prominent in the right channel), a thumping bass line, and lots of hi-hat. It surprised me to find that the Japan pressing didn't do justice to the complexity of the music, with the guitar melodies lost to the background, especially in the left channel where the guitar was basically absent. As a result, there didn't seem to be quite the soundstage the other pressings presented.

Even more surprising to me was that the OG US pressing held its own against the 2016 Grundman, with both giving ample space to the separate elements of the mix, creating a bigger soundstage and providing more detail to pick out from the music. If the 2016 edged the OG, it probably can be chalked up to a different vinyl formulation because the mix sounds very similar. The Grundman is on a much heavier vinyl, and while my OG is pretty clean, the new record is quieter.
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Awesome thanks for the in depth review! That pretty much tells me I'm correct in aiming the direction I am with this one.
 
I came to the conclusion JP pressings are not mastered like US on multiple LPs in many cases (not all).
There is never a JP mastering initial etched or stamped.

Leaves the buyer with basically user feedback to rely on, otherwise it is a crap shoot.
 
There are JP pressings using US/UK mastering though . Eg.
Jbraswell said:
I came to the conclusion JP pressings are not mastered like US on multiple LPs in many cases (not all).
There is never a JP mastering initial etched or stamped.

Leaves the buyer with basically user feedback to rely on, otherwise it is a crap shoot.
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Tusk – Fleetwood Mac

Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (P-10233W1 7-5 M-A-23 3 MASTERED BY CAPITOL)

Mirage - Fleetwood Mac (US Stamper Numbers)

Tango In The Night – Fleetwood Mac

Tonight’s The Night – Neil Young

Zuma – Neil Young

The Long Run - The Eagles (Sterling)

Hearts & Bones – Paul Simon

It’s Hard – The Who (TML)

The Stranger – Billy Joel

90125 – Yes (Masterdisk RL)

The Nightfly – Donald Fagan (Masterdisk RL)

Bop Till You Drop – Ry Cooder

Live Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Capricorn 2CX-0131 (U.S. '74)

Beginnings - The Allman Brothers -Capricorn/Atco 2CX-0132 (U.S. '74)

Some Girls - Rolling Stones (Sterling)

Presence - Led Zeppelin (US Stampers, Atlantic Studios)

The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin (US stampers, ST-SS-7636 83-G)

Straight Between The Eyes - Rainbow (STERLING)

Bad Company - Run With The Pack (STERLING)

Simon & Garfunkel - Concert in Central Park (STERLING)

Deep Purple - Live in Japan (Porky, George Peckham)

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (STERLING)

Wings - London Town (Mastered by Nick Webb)

Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door (Strawberry)

Neil Young - Reactor (dg = David Gold)
 
kafunis said:
There are JP pressings using US/UK mastering though . Eg.


Tusk – Fleetwood Mac

Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (P-10233W1 7-5 M-A-23 3 MASTERED BY CAPITOL)

Mirage - Fleetwood Mac (US Stamper Numbers)

Tango In The Night – Fleetwood Mac

Tonight’s The Night – Neil Young

Zuma – Neil Young

The Long Run - The Eagles (Sterling)

Hearts & Bones – Paul Simon

It’s Hard – The Who (TML)

The Stranger – Billy Joel

90125 – Yes (Masterdisk RL)

The Nightfly – Donald Fagan (Masterdisk RL)

Bop Till You Drop – Ry Cooder

Live Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Capricorn 2CX-0131 (U.S. '74)

Beginnings - The Allman Brothers -Capricorn/Atco 2CX-0132 (U.S. '74)

Some Girls - Rolling Stones (Sterling)

Presence - Led Zeppelin (US Stampers, Atlantic Studios)

The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin (US stampers, ST-SS-7636 83-G)

Straight Between The Eyes - Rainbow (STERLING)

Bad Company - Run With The Pack (STERLING)

Simon & Garfunkel - Concert in Central Park (STERLING)

Deep Purple - Live in Japan (Porky, George Peckham)

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (STERLING)

Wings - London Town (Mastered by Nick Webb)

Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door (Strawberry)

Neil Young - Reactor (dg = David Gold)
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That is interesting info.
Jp 1st year only or how would you bound it?
 
tvham said:
agreed, I just hate when someone says "so and so engineer says thing sucks so thing must suck" without actually hearing them for yourself.
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I've been burnt though, so I'm going to be cautious on new issues and will rely on other peoples ears or easy return policies.

I got the Dusty first, which is great, and I expected others to be great also. I was really looking forward to the Bob Marley Live album, and was really disappointed. I ended up buying a NM OG which turned out to be unlistenable (this is what bugs me with buying original copies) and ended up with 3 versions of the same album. ( I should have stuck with the CD on that one). I'll maybe try it again when I change my cart (it could be my system).

I do have others that are good, but I would never buy a Miles Showell issue on a pre-order without being able to return it easily or it having some good reviews. The thing that bugs me is they are more expensive than Speakers Corner & the same price as the Tone Poets, so I want something that sounds good

I did hear recently (not sure it's true), that the process is difficult when cutting from analogue tape and that accounts for many of the inconsistencies. When it's cut from digital they can sound great.

I bought an early UK copy of who's next at the weekend from a market for £10, I'm hoping that'll satisfy my Who vinyl quota for the moment. I might get tempted by one of the Tommy reissues
 
Russ I said:
Okay, listened to Shine on You Crazy Diamond from each of the three pressings, back and forth, back and forth, etc., etc. All three sounded good, and it took a while to identify the last few minutes of the song as best for listening for differences. There's a lot going on at this point, as vocals end, leading into an intense instrumental finale. There's a sax solo, dueling guitar melodies (beautiful, I might add) left and right (a bit more prominent in the right channel), a thumping bass line, and lots of hi-hat. It surprised me to find that the Japan pressing didn't do justice to the complexity of the music, with the guitar melodies lost to the background, especially in the left channel where the guitar was basically absent. As a result, there didn't seem to be quite the soundstage the other pressings presented.

Even more surprising to me was that the OG US pressing held its own against the 2016 Grundman, with both giving ample space to the separate elements of the mix, creating a bigger soundstage and providing more detail to pick out from the music. If the 2016 edged the OG, it probably can be chalked up to a different vinyl formulation because the mix sounds very similar. The Grundman is on a much heavier vinyl, and while my OG is pretty clean, the new record is quieter.
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great insight. I might just pick up the BG 2106 one. I've been indecisive on this one. I don't want to end up with multiple copies.
 
Russ I said:
Okay, listened to Shine on You Crazy Diamond from each of the three pressings, back and forth, back and forth, etc., etc. All three sounded good, and it took a while to identify the last few minutes of the song as best for listening for differences. There's a lot going on at this point, as vocals end, leading into an intense instrumental finale. There's a sax solo, dueling guitar melodies (beautiful, I might add) left and right (a bit more prominent in the right channel), a thumping bass line, and lots of hi-hat. It surprised me to find that the Japan pressing didn't do justice to the complexity of the music, with the guitar melodies lost to the background, especially in the left channel where the guitar was basically absent. As a result, there didn't seem to be quite the soundstage the other pressings presented.

Even more surprising to me was that the OG US pressing held its own against the 2016 Grundman, with both giving ample space to the separate elements of the mix, creating a bigger soundstage and providing more detail to pick out from the music. If the 2016 edged the OG, it probably can be chalked up to a different vinyl formulation because the mix sounds very similar. The Grundman is on a much heavier vinyl, and while my OG is pretty clean, the new record is quieter.
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To me, the issue with the Pink Floyd releases is that their music demands quiet vinyl because there are so many intricate little things happening. If you can find an original press that's mint, you pay big money. If it's VG+ or worse, the price lines up better, but then you suffer through noise and pops. The BG cuts seem to solve that problem, at least for the most part. They're dynamic and typically well pressed, and the price is right. I don't think a $100+ clean OG is going to sound $75 better than the BG reissues.
 
I'm going to be a contrarian a little and say that I actually prefer my Japanese 2nd press of WYWH over the BG. It's marginal and I agree with what @Russ I said. It probably comes down to personal preference. Most of all, I prefer the bass on the japanese issue. It's tighter and more organic to me. It's a bit more forward in the BG, which is fine, but I prefer the funk it produces on the japanese issue. The soundstage seems a bit better defined on the japanese issue as well, but that may be the fact that the vinyl is quieter in terms of background hiss.

Anyway, it's probably not worth the extra price over the BG for most people. The BG leaves a little to be desired to me so I was looking for something better (as with a lot here, it's one of those records I could own multiples of without issue). Can't put my finger on it, but the playback seems wall-of-sound-y in parts on the BG (not sure if it's the dynamics... maybe that comes down to the bass being more up front?). Bottom line, I wasn't as satisfied with the BG WYWH as I am with the BG DSOTM (even though my Canadian 1973 Harvest beats that one). And I say this even though I'm not fully happy with this japanese WYWH copy I have - there's one of these splotches causing repetitive clicks in the closing synths of side 2 (wtf, GZ was pressing in japan in 1976?).
 
marshall said:
To me, the issue with the Pink Floyd releases is that their music demands quiet vinyl because there are so many intricate little things happening. If you can find an original press that's mint, you pay big money. If it's VG+ or worse, the price lines up better, but then you suffer through noise and pops. The BG cuts seem to solve that problem, at least for the most part. They're dynamic and typically well pressed, and the price is right. I don't think a $100+ clean OG is going to sound $75 better than the BG reissues.
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I'm with you. I need completely silent vinyl for Floyd albums, which is difficult with vintage pressings. I typically grab the BG reissues when I listen at home because I dont want any noise or distractions from the medium. I will say, I've found the BG versions of the Wall, WYWH, Animals, DSOTM, and Meddle to all sound phenomenal. Granted my system likely isnt as revealing as others and my ears are 40 years old and have been going to live shows for 27 of them (starting with punk/metal shows in my teens).
 
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