Led Zeppelin 11

Better Records’ Tom Port obscures the pressing info contained in the run out groove of the LP’s he sells by adding his own scratches (not cool, imo), in order to make identifying a white hot stamper (as defined by him. When I visited his apartment in the early-mid-90’s, his hi-fi was decidedly mid-fi---a receiver, record changer, and bookshelf loudspeakers. Perhaps he has a more transparent, resolving system today. Or perhaps not. Rare record dealers are most often not audiophiles) impossible.

RL pressings of LZ 2 are not that that to find; I found one in VG+ condition locally for $40. Was it a white hot stamped pressing? I don’t know---I’m not a fan of LZ, and left the LP for someone who is. Unlike TP, I’m not a greedy pig.

Hmm, I have not noticed anything amiss in the runout grooves of any of my "better records". Id have to say, his records do sound better. I’ve spent what amounts to a small fortune on his records, and I’ve been very satisfied with what I received.

You guys got me to do some random needle drops. My analysis... Often relentlessly multi-miked.. Vocals are by turns excellent or edgy, trebly and a hair distorted. Jimmy's guitar is tone is okay if not world-beating. Drums are punchy, spacious, naturally miked and altogether beautiful. Bass is very natural  I like the harmonica, too. Dead silent, utterly flat pressing.

@edcyn is that the RL pressing you did a needle drop on?

@bdp24 I just again checked about 6 better records pressings, 5 out of 6 have the dead wax info intact,, nothing added or omitted. On 1, there are some scratch outs of some info, but who ever did it did not do a good job obscuring it, as it is still readable. I do believe that when you look at discogs, which I often do, they indicate in the fine details of each pressing, that some info in dead wax is scratched out and something added beside it. However, this is done at the pressing plant. Scratch outs are not uncommon. I'll give Tom the benefit of the doubt, as only 1 out of 6 had something scratched out.