I haven't listened to any of the Chesky vinyl in years, though I have a lot of
the classical reissues. Does that company even still release in vinyl?
My experience has been mixed- as my equipment got better and I kept
buying more records, I found that, for the most part, I didn't really find
anything special about the MFSL vinyl. I had a UHQR of Tea that I bought
new, back in the day, and I liked both the pink rim and pink label better. My
MFSL Led Zep II doesn't compare to the original US 'RL' pressing. Most of
the Sheffield's are just not that interesting musically to me. Some of the
d2d on Eastwind, like 'Hello Hank Jones' not only sound great, but are
more
interesting to me, musically, so it's not that I'm against D2D on principle. I
found
the new Beatles' Revolver to sound sterile on vinyl, but that's been pretty
well covered. I've also bought reissues of other records, pop and blues, that
sound lifeless compared to the original pressings. On the other hand, some
reissues have been pretty good, including the 45 rpm of 88 Basie St., some
of the Classic Records reissues of various classical, pop and jazz (when
not affected by the QC problems that plagued Classic); I have most of the
Lyritas, either pressed by Decca or Nimbus. The Elizabeth McConchey,
Lloyd symphonies and a few others (including that harpsichord/string one,
the name of which escapes me) were always very enjoyable, sonically and
musically and are still not expensive, used. I was blown away with a couple
of original Columbia 6-eyes recently, stuff that you can probably find
cheaper used than the audiophile remasters.
On the other hand (now up to three hands), some of the originals are
unobtanium, or very hard to find in good condition. So, I'll put up with a
reissue just to get at the music. I think it's hard to say, in a blanket way, that
all reissues are terrible, so i think you have to go record by record.
