Great Quality Vinyl

[DIB]

Far and away the best "audiophile" LP in my collection is Thelma Houston's "I've Got The Music In Me", released in 1975 on the Sheffield Lab label. I only bought it as it was brought up on another forum as a truly fantastic pressing due to the techniques used in the recording process, and I picked it up off Ebay for a fiver out of curiosity. You can tell it is something out of the ordinary from the first few notes of the opening title track. It is so clear, and vibrant that you just wish all LP's had been engineered and mastered to this level.

However, unfortunately, whilst the technical brilliance of the recording is undeniable, in all honesty the actual songs are quite ordinary, apart from the opening track which is superb. If you ever find a copy on the Sheffield Lab label going cheap,I 'd buy it just to see how good vinyl really can be.

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[margetti]

DIB:
If you ever find a copy on the Sheffield Lab label going cheap,I 'd buy it just to see how good vinyl really can be.

Just picked up a copy off ebay... grrr these threads and a couple of glasses of red wine

Certainly seems to get rated - read enough to click "buy now" at least

 

[DIB]

margetti:DIB:
If you ever find a copy on the Sheffield Lab label going cheap,I 'd buy it just to see how good vinyl really can be.

Just picked up a copy off ebay... grrr these threads and a couple of glasses of red wine

Certainly seems to get rated - read enough to click "buy now" at least

Nice one, not the greatest songs as I say but the sound is superb if you follow my drift.

.

 

[bretty]

floyd droid:
Setting aside that Mr duncan appears not to be all that keen on Dire Straits, all of their albums are cracking pressings bretty.

Massive attacks Heligoland is a brilliant example of how good vinyl can be if done properly. Another of those 'did i lower the arm' albums.

I really like most of Massive attack's stuff, especially the early to mid nineties stuff, but I couldn't get on with that album. I found the bass too strong and it was distracting. That was on CD, though. Maybe the vinyl mix is different.

 

[margetti]

DIB:margetti:DIB:
If you ever find a copy on the Sheffield Lab label going cheap,I 'd buy it just to see how good vinyl really can be.

Just picked up a copy off ebay... grrr these threads and a couple of glasses of red wine

Certainly seems to get rated - read enough to click "buy now" at least

Nice one, not the greatest songs as I say but the sound is superb if you follow my drift.

Yep, expectations set regarding the songs themselves but you never know... a few people on Amazon seem to like the songs as well as the production quality...

Some people are very against buying music just for the production value alone, and I know where they're coming from, but I've discovered more than a few artists by taking a punt on such things, so I'm more than happy to give this a go. And like you say, at worst I've got myself a very good "reference" record

 

[margetti]

On the subject of "great quality vinyl", can anyone tell me if there are any decent pressings of Nirvana's Nevermind?

I try not to buy vinyl I already have on CD (that would be a very expensive road to go down), but do have some exceptions (Pink Floyd being the most obvious one).

Nevermind seems to go for quite a high price for a "modern" recording and just wondering if that is only down to "rarity" value (something I'm not interested in really) or that there are actually copies that can give a CD a run for its money...

 

[bretty]

margetti:
On the subject of "great quality vinyl", can anyone tell me if there are any decent pressings of Nirvana's Nevermind?

I try not to buy vinyl I already have on CD (that would be a very expensive road to go down), but do have some exceptions (Pink Floyd being the most obvious one).

Nevermind seems to go for quite a high price for a "modern" recording and just wondering if that is only down to "rarity" value (something I'm not interested in really) or that there are actually copies that can give a CD a run for its money...

MFSL did a remaster of 'Nevermind'. If it's anything like the work they did on 'In Utero', it'll be fantastic. They are like hen's teeth to get hold of, as they're out of print, and i'd expect, if you could find one, it'd be about £100, maybe more.

 

[mitch65]

margetti:
On the subject of "great quality vinyl", can anyone tell me if there are any decent pressings of Nirvana's Nevermind?

I try not to buy vinyl I already have on CD (that would be a very expensive road to go down), but do have some exceptions (Pink Floyd being the most obvious one).

Nevermind seems to go for quite a high price for a "modern" recording and just wondering if that is only down to "rarity" value (something I'm not interested in really) or that there are actually copies that can give a CD a run for its money...

There's a few vinyl editions available

The original -Good used bet

Simply Vinyl 180g - used to do decent releases but I can't say if recent releases are that good or not.

Back to Black 180g - Universal records, added benefir of an MP3 download if that floats your boat

Japanese 200g - considered the best by those in the know

and as Bretty has just mentioned, the MFSL version who are consistantly great but getting hold of one.......

 

[mitch65]

mitch65:margetti:
On the subject of "great quality vinyl", can anyone tell me if there are any decent pressings of Nirvana's Nevermind?

I try not to buy vinyl I already have on CD (that would be a very expensive road to go down), but do have some exceptions (Pink Floyd being the most obvious one).

Nevermind seems to go for quite a high price for a "modern" recording and just wondering if that is only down to "rarity" value (something I'm not interested in really) or that there are actually copies that can give a CD a run for its money...

There's a few vinyl editions available

The original -Good used bet

Simply Vinyl 180g - used to do decent releases but I can't say if recent releases are that good or not.

Back to Black 180g - Universal records, added benefir of an MP3 download if that floats your boat

Japanese 200g - considered the best by those in the know

and as Bretty has just mentioned, the MFSL version who are consistantly great but getting hold of one.......

Actually, just looking at the international traders on ebay and the prices foe that particular version are.....................interesting to say the least

 

[margetti]

Cheers for the replies guys - I think I might have to rely on somebody not knowing what they're selling at the next car boot sale I go to

Good to have some label names etc - I saw a copy of Nevermind in a shop in central London on the way home on Friday for £20 and was tempted, but didn't have a clue whether that was a good price for that pressing etc etc so ended up leaving it...

I swore when I got back into vinyl I wouldn't be one of those people who differentiated between pressings and all that... that I'd stick to charity shop and car boot bargains... now look at me, lol!

 

[margetti]

mitch65:
Actually, just looking at the international traders on ebay and the prices foe that particular version are.....................interesting to say the least

US$260 - yikes!

 

[mitch65]

margetti:
Cheers for the replies guys - I think I might have to rely on somebody not knowing what they're selling at the next car boot sale I go to

Good to have some label names etc - I saw a copy of Nevermind in a shop in central London on the way home on Friday for £20 and was tempted, but didn't have a clue whether that was a good price for that pressing etc etc so ended up leaving it...

I swore when I got back into vinyl I wouldn't be one of those people who differentiated between pressings and all that... that I'd stick to charity shop and car boot bargains... now look at me, lol!

If it was a new copy then it was probably the Back to Black 180g version, which you can pick up for 17 quid on ebay with free delivery, personally I would get an original release or the japanese version (£50!!). The back to black version will, more than likely, be a copy from the digital masters (do not quote!) judging by the relatively inexpensive price tag.

 

[margetti]

cheers mitch... will keep an eye out - it's coming up to that time of year when 'with Christmas coming up...' makes for a good excuse for a bit of a spend

 

[mitch65]

margetti:cheers mitch... will keep an eye out - it's coming up to that time of year when 'with Christmas coming up...' makes for a good excuse for a bit of a spend

You need an excuse?? everyday is Christmas Day!! Right Bretty?

 

[bretty]

mitch65:
margetti:cheers mitch... will keep an eye out - it's coming up to that time of year when 'with Christmas coming up...' makes for a good excuse for a bit of a spend

You need an excuse?? everyday is Christmas Day!! Right Bretty?

Too right! Every morning is Christmas morning for me, waiting for Santa to bring me my next little pressie (he looks remarkably like a Royal Mail postie, these days).

 

[floyd droid]

Your enthusiasm for this propper music mullarky makes a fun read Bretty. Just remember to fire up your ceedee player now and again just to make sure it reads the frisser,like mine dosnt !!,lol.

Oh , i nearly forgot. Spinning as i type Marillions Script. Their early albums ( with Mr Fish ) are good pressings.

 

[bretty]

floyd droid:Your enthusiasm for this propper music mullarky makes a fun read Bretty. Just remember to fire up your ceedee player now and again just to make sure it reads the frisser,like mine dosnt !!,lol.

Haha! Will do!

Time for a weird admission...

I was having fellings of almost guilt for not playing the beloved Rotel CDP, and worrying that because I love the sound of Vinyl so much that I wouldn't be able to listen to my CDP again. I know, FREAK, right? Probably an overshare, but, Meh, who cares!

Aaaanyhoo, I played the Rotel quite a bit during the week, sort of expecting to be disappointed, but I wasn't at all. It's still a stonkingly good sound. As mitch is getting to find out, it's about as analogue as you can get in a CDP for the detail that it chucks out. So, the Rotel won't be getting relegated to the cupboard under the stairs, it'll live below the Gyro (when it eventually turns up. But that's another story) for the foreseeable future.

 

[floyd droid]

Ah but be honest Bretts, it aint quite the same is it

.

Nowt wrong with my frisser spinner sonicaly, i spose, but i just prefer vinyl. Oh to hell with it, vinyl is better, if done properly.

 

[bretty]

floyd droid:
Ah but be honest Bretts, it aint quite the same is it

.

Nowt wrong with my frisser spinner sonicaly, i spose, but i just prefer vinyl. Oh to hell with it, vinyl is better, if done properly.

Well, i'm using a three hundred quid deck now and the sound is different to my CDP, but to say better is difficult. However, let's see how CD stacks up against the Gyro. I'm excited to hear it!

On a different note, do 'Stock' arms ever come with acoustic foam installed into the tonearm? If not, then my Pro-Ject has been modded, and I wonder how far the last owner went with those mods?

 

[bretty]

Stumbled across a great pressing this morning. Having a walk through the old town with girlie and saw a stack of records outside a Bric-A-Brac store. There was some great titles there, but the condition of the vinyl itself was terrible. One looked ok, so I bought it for £2. It sounds great. Very little background noise. It was:

Prince - LoveSexy

 

[Anonymous]

Can I suggest an Okki Nokki or the Clearaudio equivalent? It's amazing how many of those c****y records sound great after a clean. Just bought a whole stack of vinyl being chucked out for 1 euro and only one failed to come up well.

That one, fortunately perhaps, was Sting.

 

[floyd droid]

Ok i will clarify Bretty. To my ears vinyl is better. So thats all that matters. Pointless stacking one against the other if you think about it.

 

[margetti]

bretty:
floyd droid:Your enthusiasm for this propper music mullarky makes a fun read Bretty. Just remember to fire up your ceedee player now and again just to make sure it reads the frisser,like mine dosnt !!,lol.

Haha! Will do!

Time for a weird admission...

I was having fellings of almost guilt for not playing the beloved Rotel CDP, and worrying that because I love the sound of Vinyl so much that I wouldn't be able to listen to my CDP again. I know, FREAK, right? Probably an overshare, but, Meh, who cares!

Aaaanyhoo, I played the Rotel quite a bit during the week, sort of expecting to be disappointed, but I wasn't at all. It's still a stonkingly good sound. As mitch is getting to find out, it's about as analogue as you can get in a CDP for the detail that it chucks out. So, the Rotel won't be getting relegated to the cupboard under the stairs, it'll live below the Gyro (when it eventually turns up. But that's another story) for the foreseeable future.

I know what you mean! My CDP doesn't get half the attention it used to, but when I do put it on I'm not disappointed... which is as is should be - it retails at 3 times what I've spent on my vinyl setup... funnily enough the cdp just wins out at present because its more laid back (makes for a much easier listen over a long listening session). But I reckon upgrading the stylus to a Blue, and moving up to the next level of phono stage (around the £300 second-hand mark) and my vinyl system will simply annihilate the cdp...

 

[margetti]

Btw, a big thanks for the thread Bretty... I had no real plans for the weekend but I've ended up having the most fabulous time listening to some of my existing collection and some new purchases off the back of this thread - nice one

 

[bretty]

margetti:bretty:

floyd droid:Your enthusiasm for this propper music mullarky makes a fun read Bretty. Just remember to fire up your ceedee player now and again just to make sure it reads the frisser,like mine dosnt !!,lol.

Haha! Will do!

Time for a weird admission...

I was having fellings of almost guilt for not playing the beloved Rotel CDP, and worrying that because I love the sound of Vinyl so much that I wouldn't be able to listen to my CDP again. I know, FREAK, right? Probably an overshare, but, Meh, who cares!

Aaaanyhoo, I played the Rotel quite a bit during the week, sort of expecting to be disappointed, but I wasn't at all. It's still a stonkingly good sound. As mitch is getting to find out, it's about as analogue as you can get in a CDP for the detail that it chucks out. So, the Rotel won't be getting relegated to the cupboard under the stairs, it'll live below the Gyro (when it eventually turns up. But that's another story) for the foreseeable future.

I know what you mean! My CDP doesn't get half the attention it used to, but when I do put it on I'm not disappointed... which is as is should be - it retails at 3 times what I've spent on my vinyl setup... funnily enough the cdp just wins out at present because its more laid back (makes for a much easier listen over a long listening session). But I reckon upgrading the stylus to a Blue, and moving up to the next level of phono stage (around the £300 second-hand mark) and my vinyl system will simply annihilate the cdp...

I had to google your CDP. If it's the one below, then well done you, cos it's a beaut:

I've got to have a cartridge upgrade, myself. I've decided to switch to moving coil. My phono stage was designed to be used with an MC, so i've recently heard (although it accepts both MM and MC), so i'm going for the Denon 103. I'm interested to see what the differences are, sonically, between MM and MC.

Are you planning on performing your upgrades soon? Keep us in the loop, when you do it/them, ok?