Audiophile music product and associated websites - 180g Vinyl, Gold CDs, etc.

[Sonic Dreamer]

Hi all,

Thought I would share a few audiophile music product and related websites with you (which you may be familiar with already!):

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Inc., the original Audiophile "Master" music purveyor, back after a hiatus:

http://www.mofi.com/

Steve Hoffman, "Mastering" supremo who first made his mark with Mobile Fidelity back in the mists of time.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/

Audio Fidelity, who took over Mobile Fidelity's mantle in the Noughties, re-releasing classic albums on Gold CDs and Audiophile grade virgin 180 gram vinyl.

http://audiofidelity.net/

Because Sound Matters, portal for Warner Bros stable music, re-issues on SACD and Audiophile grade virgin 180 gram vinyl.

http://www.becausesoundmatters.com/

Cheers,
Sonic D

 

[shooter]

Cool.

Also eil.com 180g material from Bjork to Clapton.

 

[margetti]

Apologies if this is a daft question, but does 180gm vinyl automatically mean the product is "audiophile"...? Surely there's more to an "audiophile recording" than just that - or do only the best recorded/engineered/produced (etc etc etc) albums make it on to 180gm vinyl?

 

[shooter]

Well no actually. The vinyl doesn't have to be 180 grams it can be 200 grams or less, it's a generalised term.
I have 180 gram vinyl that isn't 'audiophile' quality.
Audiophile vinyl is pressed direct from the master tape giving the best possible recording available (unless you had the tape). There are varying technic's that can be used including half speed recording which will give you the best result.
Not all vinyl labels do audiophile pressing it's a niche market.
There's plenty of audiophile quality vinyl out there but not all releases are this so unless you enjoy what is released as audiophile you will be stuck with what is not. Luckily there is a large variety out out their so there should be something for everyone!

 

[Sonic Dreamer]

margetti:Apologies if this is a daft question, but does 180gm vinyl automatically mean the product is "audiophile"...? Surely there's more to an "audiophile recording" than just that - or do only the best recorded/engineered/produced (etc etc etc) albums make it on to 180gm vinyl?

No, it is not a daft question. I probably put the word "audiophile" in the wrong place when typing this out! Predominantly it is the recording, production and mastering processes that determine whether a musical recording and the resulting product are of "audiophile" quality, with the grade of the vinyl merely being a supporting element.

The vinyl used for pop/rock albums after the 1970s was apparently "thinner" than the vinyl used in the 1950s onwards. I'm not exactly sure when the transition to "thinner" vinyl; took place, as it was before my time. At some point there was also increased use of recycled, not "virgin" (new) vinyl, which purportedly reduced the playback quality. I read somewhere, many years ago, that classical recordings were manufactured to a higher specification, with heavier weight vinyl used as standard.

There was a story circulated that while the late Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin's manager, was visiting a manufacturing plant it was explained to him the solution (not sure what it was called or the purpose of the process) the vinyl was dipped in during manufacturing was changed more often for classical records. Grant thereafter insisted on the solution vats being changed as frequently as it was with classical records, when the band's records were being manufactured.

Cheers,
SonicD