A few years back I visited a hi-fi dealer, I think in West London, who had a really good selection of audiophile vinyl (Analogue Productions etc) but I can’t recall which dealer it was!
Bearing in mind I’m not far from Guildford and don’t really want to drive more than 40-50 miles in any direction does anybody know of any hi-fi dealers (or indeed record shops) that stock audiophile jazz stuff or other high-quality records? I’m starting my jazz collection really and thought I might buy some of the absolute classics on the best available pressing/label.
I must say that my recent acquisitions on the Blue Note label have been fantastic and at only £28.99 each remarkably good value…
Cultured Audio in Church Hanborough now have a good selection of Vinyl for sale. I think it’s a bit further from you, but certainly worth a visit, if you’re in the area…
Midland Audio X-Change in Belbroughton. Again, it is not near you but is not far from the M5 if you are ever passing. I bought a used 555PS from there five years ago and he had vinyl for sale in the shop also.
I guess you’re familiar with 101 at Farnham I’ve bought Music On Vinyl from them not perhaps a true audiophile label but surprisingly good the Ellington “Masterpieces “ is excellent. 101 more of a collector shop though.
Thanks guys for all the suggestions - plenty to go at from that list! Winchester Hi-Fi seem closest to me and I will endeavour to get in there I think for a look. I’ve already checked out Analogue October but they didn’t seem to stock for example Analogue Productions stuff. Then again Blue Note would be very welcome as I am building a small jazz collection pretty much from scratch. I’m surprised that the Department of Music don’t do this actually (or maybe they do and it’s just nobody has mentioned them) because they have very extensive space and are probably my nearest high-end dealer…
It strikes me that there’s money to be made by any hi-fi dealer in selling audiophile vinyl because I bet that most audiophile vinyl is probably purchased by people with existing serious audio systems.
Very grateful for all the suggestions. I suspect james_n that it was indeed Audio Venue I visited and I recall being impressed with their vinyl selection.
Audio Venue in Maidenhead have some specialist vinyl. They have a store in Ealing, too, so maybe that is where you saw other records. I haven’t bought any vinyl from either store, though I did buy a digital source from the Maidenhead store, but that is my only connection.
I have a feeling that is a question that lacks a single answer, and my response is probably audiophile heresy. I crave your indulgence. I have a significant investment in two different systems, so the way things sound to me really is important to me.
I guess the first dimension of a response is that its content has to be such that you will at least bother to listen to it, or pay it some attention, for reasons peculiar to yourself. I do not think there is any realistic means of escaping subjectivity/taste. Then I think that the sounds that emerge have to sound a combination of realistic, pleasing, and unsullied.
The last point is the odd one out, and I include it because if the live recording of the music sounds just like the concert you attended, even if it doesn’t sound quite like the studio version with which you first fell in love with that piece of music to such an extent that you bothered to go to see/hear it live, that will still qualify. I venture to suggest that these attributes hold, regardless of musical genre, or whether the source of the music is vinyl or digital.
In my defence I would argue that if “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, why would that not be true for sound?
Agreed. I found them very helpful. I wanted to audition something and they set up the demonstration for me using their components that were virtually the same as the ones in my system.
