What's Spinning

Angsty said:
Gearing up for a showdown!

Kenny Burrell - “Midnight Blue”

View attachment 110515
I picked up this DOL pressing a few weeks ago from the used bin to fill a known hole in my collection, but I found that Blue Note had copies online from the Classics series. I generally avoid buying multiple copies of the same recording, but my curiosity was piqued. I’ll do a head to head in a few days and will see what I hear!
Click to expand...
The verdict is in: the Classic Blue Note pressing wins! Although it was a TKO, there are some things to be said about the comparison. This was my first deliberate purchase of alternate pressings to compare sound quality. The BN Classic has much more immediacy and dynamic range than the DOL. The DOL sounds compressed in direct comparison.

That may be evident in how DOL managed to squeeze in an extra “bonus” track on each side, probably having to squish the grooves a bit to make room. The bass on the BN Classic is clearly superior. I’m not sure if the direct analog sourcing versus digital is the primary difference in SQ, but it does feel like more care was made in mastering the BN Classic, even though both sport clean 180g vinyl.

The DOL *does* have extra tracks of interest and a nicer gatefold cover than the BN Classic, so I may not be reselling it immediately. For the extra cost, this was a useful educational exercise.

Now onto comparing of the vinyl resissue of “Indestructible” versus the CD using my new DAC…
 
Angsty said:
The verdict is in: the Classic Blue Note pressing wins! Although it was a TKO, there are some things to be said about the comparison. This was my first deliberate purchase of alternate pressings to compare sound quality. The BN Classic has much more immediacy and dynamic range than the DOL. The DOL sounds compressed in direct comparison.

That may be evident in how DOL managed to squeeze in an extra “bonus” track on each side, probably having to squish the grooves a bit to make room. The bass on the BN Classic is clearly superior. I’m not sure if the direct analog sourcing versus digital is the primary difference in SQ, but it does feel like more care was made in mastering the BN Classic, even though both sport clean 180g vinyl.

The DOL *does* have extra tracks of interest and a nicer gatefold cover than the BN Classic, so I may not be reselling it immediately. For the extra cost, this was a useful educational exercise.

Now onto comparing of the vinyl resissue of “Indestructible” versus the CD using my new DAC…
Click to expand...
Someone else had pointed out they preferred their vintage Liberty pressing but good news nonetheless.
 
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