Tom Port of Better Records listens to dozens if not 50 to 100 pressings of an LP. There may or may not be a hot stamper among them. However, after 30 years in the business, he is knows which stampers, countries of origin and pressing plants have the potential to be a hot stamper. Then he cleans and grades the record. He has a full time staff doing this. So, his hot stampers maybe expensive, but you generally get the best sounding performance on LP that is available. If one has to purchase $100s of an LP to find one or two hot stampers, then there is a cost involved. He dumps the less than hot stampers for sale for $1 to $5, often at a loss. I've purchased many of his tossed LPs (Jazz reissues or late pressings, Classical issues that are just not exceptional sounding recordings). Although I'm satisfied with them, that doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer the hot stampers he sells. They do sound amazing on my high end system.
I've had to do the same thing with some of my rare ethnic recordings where I buy every copy available to find a clean and hopefully good sounding copy. It's expensive and time consuming. E.g. I'm on my 9th copy of Israel Today on Capitol with Trio Aravah without finding a clean copy. The CD reissue was made from an LP. I'm on my 7th copy of Sounds with Marshall & Manne on Capitol, all good sounding but none better than VG condition. I'd pay $50 for a clean copy.
I've had to do the same thing with some of my rare ethnic recordings where I buy every copy available to find a clean and hopefully good sounding copy. It's expensive and time consuming. E.g. I'm on my 9th copy of Israel Today on Capitol with Trio Aravah without finding a clean copy. The CD reissue was made from an LP. I'm on my 7th copy of Sounds with Marshall & Manne on Capitol, all good sounding but none better than VG condition. I'd pay $50 for a clean copy.
