I’ve recently bought several ‘vintage’ mid-80s CDs and found the SQ extraordinarily good - plenty of good tight bass and lovely treble, not shrill at all. This suggests the original masterings were all good, but the experience of many at the time was that they failed to sound like it. Hence, I think the CDPs of the day were the problem.
The releases I’ve found to be particularly good examples are:
I think you are right. My early CD’s sound fine on my modern Musical Fidelity CD player.
But maybe the whole chain has improved. As a Junior Engineer back in the Eighties, I could not afford the level of gear that I can afford now, combined with the fact that DAC’s and all the other components in the HiFi chain have improved.
Thanks for your input. I bought a Naim Nait 3 and a matching Naim CD player. I tested various other combos. I bought the Naim equipment because the sound was pretty close to vinyl. That CD player started skipping after 25/30 years of use. I replaced it with an AudioLab 6000Cdt. I’ve never looked back. Still running the Nait 3. One factory service in the same time. Very pleased. My vinyl set-up is pretty good BUT the quality of re-mastered, re-whatevered is terrible. I buy CDs almost exclusively now.
My left my copy (in blue vinyl) on top of the gas boiler and the cat slept on top of it making it a very interesting shape indeed! Still plays 40 years or so later and still sounds fab!
I started buying new vinyl again around 2010 and found a few prewarped and scratched items, one I took back 3 times before just accepting wherever it was pressed had no qc. Over the last 2 or 3 years I’ve had no issues, is vinyl quality actually improving? Seems so to me
Present-day vinyl record production standards seem to range from utterly appalling to slightly warped, but (almost) acceptable, unless you get bloody lucky!
We do have a couple of dozen LP pressings from the last 25-years and we have been quite lucky to snag some pristine specimens. That said, we have had our share of dogs, which is why I stopped buying present-day vinyl pressings.
I know that there are some very exclusive labels that make a dependably pristine job of their LP pressings, but most of them are priced well beyond what we would be prepared to pay, to try a new album. Even if it was a mint all-analog remaster of my favourite (say) 1978 album, I would still prefer to buy a NM original pressing from a reputable trader.
[Yes, there are a few reputable traders on DISCOGS with whom I regularly trust my hard-earned…]
After culling 70% of our collection of original vinyl pressings - before leaving New Zealand - we still own more than 3000 LPs and we truly love listening to them. It is a daily activity and our turntable is easily my favourite appliance. But I have to confess: If I was a younger man and listened to mostly post-Y2K music, I simply wouldn’t bother with vinyl. The new vinyl software is just too patchy and disappointing.
Besides, most recordings from the last ten years sound simply sensational - even in digital format! - so why take the risk?
I had this problem for many years and sent so many back to retailers only to be replaced with a new album which were warped. I’ve bought a Furutech record flattener to sort out this issue, and now I can buy new albums without worrying about the flatness.
Maybe I am inhabiting a different universe. Most of the new vinyl records I buy are very good. Occasionally get something terrible like Billie Eilish’s last LP (recycled vinyl and not properly mastered for vinyl) but its a rare occurrence. Far higher hit rate compared to 10 years ago (anecdotally…) Definitely not putting a coin on top of my cart!
There is a significant difference between pressings, as the mastering process varies for digital and vinyl formats. Many technicians who create lacquers for budget editions often lack the mentorship or experience necessary for high-quality vinyl production. To ensure the best sound quality, it’s advisable to purchase original pressings or editions that are known for their proven quality. We could form a good pressing group here.
Cheers
It is not always easy to know which pressing plant has produced a release. It is not necessarily listed on sleeve notes, etc.
In Europe, the most likely pressing plant will be GZ Media in the Czech Republic, as it is the largest in the world. But there are 100s of pressing facilities across Europe, with 50 or so in the UK alone, but most are small boutique units.
The sleeve and dead wax will usually give you the clues you need and Discogs can be a very helpful guide.
I reckon that Record Industry in the Netherlands is current top of the pressing heap. Pallas in Germany used to be up there too, and even Optimal, if one can ignore their periods of non-fill issues. GZ used to be reason enough to avoid a pressing, but they have upped their game considerably of late, so that’s good news. In the US it’s a choice between RTI and QRP.
Often yes but I have many LPs old and new that do not show the pressing plant on sleeves or runout. Most often the runout shows who cut the master although the numbers can at least hint at the plant or narrow it down.
lol