I created this post a little while ago and am revisiting it. Please read on.
There were many answers that gave me an idea, though alas, I can not see the album before purchase as I live in regional Victoria, Australia, without any music stores; thus, everything is purchased online unseen.
When purchasing online other than Discogs, are there presses from certain stores that are worth purchasing for an LP12, or should I choose a CD?
MOFI OneStep and other MOFI albums are quite expensive, though maybe worth the dollars. Other stores I subscribe to are:
DECCA, DG, Presto, MOFI, Gramophone Magazine or someone else.
The answer may be to purchase an ND5XS2, though it is not within the budget. It’s just the odd CD treat, maybe once a month or possibly a stretch for an LP, though which manufacturer?
I’d think JB hi-fi are a good source. I use them in NZ. There must be other on-line stores in Australia that offer high quality record labels, we have several in NZ.
Thank you for your reply. There are a few online LP shops in Oz, and I am just wondering what is worth spending my money on an LP or if I should just purchase a CD.
My Linn LP12 is at the Akurate level and I am wondering where I would obtain the most value for an LP against the cost of a CD. This may sound confusing.
However, if you recommend JB HIFI for LPs, then that is fine. I am wondering if a Cd might be better value for money instead of an LP from JB HIFI. There are MOFI One Step albums available from other dealers, and MOFI Silver might be the point that I chose an LP instead of a CD.
As an extreme example, there are UHQR LPs that are completely out of my price range and affordability, though maybe this is what I should treat myself to, maybe once a year, if there is an artist of my liking.
However, if you have recommended JB HIFI for my LP12, then it opens up a lot of potential purchases.
Hi Mitch, there’s probably a few things to consider here.
As a general guide, I typically use my original vinyl from the 70’s, which are almost all analogue recordings. Most of my new vinyl is old recordings from the analogue era that I bought to fill gaps in my collection. I have bought a few new recordings on record, but generally find the hi-res download versions (in WAV) sound better, using these or ripped CD. So, a general rule for me is LP’s for older analogue recordings and hi-res WAV (or CD/SACD/Bluray audio) for new recordings.
Having said that, your LP12 at Accurate level is well up there and I’d say say well ahead of the CD5 XS, so even new LPs may beat streaming. Ideally, you need to A/B some if you know they are the same recording/mastering. You could compare a record you have against the same version on CD and see how they compare.
Off course, the cost and quality control of new records is another factor. But the tactile experience with records is certainly appealing.
@Bevo might have some ideas for you on where to source good records from in Australia.
Red Eye Records is my fave record shop in Sydney and they ship across Australia.
Having said that, I rarely purchase in-store as I either buy larger orders from online stores (like Earache Records) or buy directly from the band themselves.
JB Hifi is overpriced and only stocks mainstream slop.
Dear Mike thank you for your reply. As a comparison, I have compared MOFI Love Over Gold 45rpm against Private Investigations HDCD, and I like both very much and it is hard to tell the difference. However, I could tell the difference between 33 1/3 rpm Love over Gold Studio Album and prefer the former two albums.
For convenience, I have The Private Investigations HDCD sitting on my CD5X in its case, plus other CD purchases I wish to try out or a couple of favourites. Thank you for your help.
Dear Mike, I took you up on your Red Eye suggestion and found a blue vinyl double album of Midnight Oil for $98 AUD. I then searched Descrpency Records and found two albums of the same name for $213.99 and $259.99. A further search of JB HIFI revealed the same album for $105 dollars. I am confused by all the significant price differences. I will enquire with Descrpency Records if they have any idea. Though would you have ideas, Mike?
I would have supplied links, though I do not think that is allowable on this forum.
I have contacted Discrepancy Records and am awaiting their reply. It may take 24 hours or so.
Third edit. I should also state that there is a CD of the same Album at JB HIFI for $14.99
Anybody else, please answer as well. I am most curious and would love to validate a vinyl purchase.
I can see you have located our suppliers listing for this Midnight Oil release. This is still available at a much higher price as determined by our supplier."
"As the barcode 889853601516 is featured on all 3 listings, we can confirm these are all the same Blue Australian Variant.
Unfortunately we have now sold out of our $107 listing and it appears that the remaining stock is now being sold at a higher wholesale price, which then reflects the price on our listings.
If there’s anything else we can help you with please let us know.
Kind regards,
Caity "
I have left out the links associated with this email reply.
