You know I have just gotten into vinyl again, and I cannot believe how much better the new vinyl is than the old. I am playing a 180g Kind of Blue right now that is sublime. But I just took off a Madman Across the Water, that was cleaned, no scratches, not warped, and it just sounded terrible!!! Very harsh, not nearly as good as the SACD version, and vinyl is in v good shape. Actually, with a few rare exception, almost all of the "old" vinyl I have bought, even pristine sealed older versions don't hold up to the new pressings. Even old technology seems to get better!! |
I hear bad things about some classic record titles but I gotta say I've had nothing but GREAT sounding LPs from them:
1. Miles "Kind of Blue" is super wonderful
2. Miles "Sketches of spain" same
3. Carol King "Tapestry" super killer sound
4. Peter Gabriel 1st solo "car" - super
5. Louis Armstrong "Satchmo plays King Oliver" great sound
I have a few others/can't remember.. all great |
>>I cannot believe how much better the new vinyl is than the old.<<
I'd guess you haven't had much experience with pristine original pressings.
"Madman Across the Water" (UNI 93105) is a superlative example.
By and large the preponderance of original pressings will smoke the reissues. |
Xiekitchen,
is the peter gabriel 1 much better on the classic reissue because the original issue sounds pretty great.
I don't like the sound of peter gabriel 4 that much and was thinking of getting that from classic records
As for the miles davis kind of blue, have you heard it on sacd? is the vinyl much better than the sacd because I already have it on sacd?
audiofeil,
Perhaps the original issue are also great or even much better (not sure if I believe that in the case of the axis bold as love that is possible but it probably is subjective) but the reality is that many original issues are super expensive (not that the classic records are cheap) and more importantly the original issues are often not in mint condition. |
I have the original "Axis" pressing (REPRISE RS 6281).
You'd enjoy hearing this if you think the reissue is good.
To your point that original issues are often not in mint condition, I think you'd be surprised how many of us have maintained pristine copies/collections over the years. |
>>I cannot believe how much better the new vinyl is than the old.<<
...
By and large the preponderance of original pressings will smoke the reissues.
I've experienced both. Some of the new re-release I have are exceptionally good, like Muddy Water's 'Folk Singer' and Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue,' but some were not quite good, like 'The best of Lenard Cohen.' I have an original issue of 'Kind of Blue' in very good condition, but it just does not match to the new release. I guess the new release is just better than the original one. Same guess to 'Folk Singer.' But I am not sure about Lenard Cohen if the new re-release is just plain worse than the original or the original was just as bad. |
My experience with reissues has been very mixed, especially with Classic pressings.
For example, my Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain have so much surface noise, you'd think they were 40 years old and had been lying around outside of the jacket for all that time.
I am now finding that a lot of my old vinyl, while not perfectly quiet, sounds superior to most reissues. YMMV. |
Jazz reissues on Blue Note and Prestige have been excellent. I have compared originals such as Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch" between my near mint original pressing and the reissue and the reissue stands up shockingly well.
I still think the original has a deeper soundstage, a 'blacker' background (if you will), and more detailed highs. But the reissue is damn good.
Other reissues that have impressed me are the Sun Ra saturns and Coltrane's impulse recordings such as "A Love Supreme" and "Sun Ship". |
well I guess I will stick with the sacd miles Davis kind of blue then!
What about coltrane "bluetrane" on heavyweight vinyl versus sacd? |
I'm having good luck with the Analogue Productions vinyl I have tried so far. I'm listening to Bill Evan's "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" right now and it's sounds wonderful. It's like I'm in the club. Kills my CD of the same music. |
Dear Audiohifila,
I had the original U.S. Atco Peter Gabriel (as usual, the US pressing had distortion and noisy vinyl, then found the original UK pressing Charisma label and thought how could it be any better?
Decided to try the Classic and WOW IMHO much better in every way over US and UK pressings. |
cruz123,
Do you prefer bills Evans lp to the cd version or the sacd. The sacd sounds great |
Audiophilia, I haven't heard the SACD version, only CD. |
The main thing abut the classic reissue is they have the mono mix, which is a rather expensive record in first state. It's a great mix and a great classic product. Not all of their stuff lives up to that standard however. |
I have the original axis and the classic mono repro, they are both great! I think the mono mix sets this album apart, the bass is definitely better, I swear to god it sounds like a 4/10 with an18 cab on top driven by a sunn! Maybe because the mono has bass squarely locked in both channels? Regardless, I never knew mono could sound so good!
However I can't tell you how many warped scratched and defective classic records reissues I have bought! It is beyond frustrating! If I'm paying forty bucks a pop, I expect a good product and NO disputes when I return it!
I have some 50 cent thrift finds with sonics as good as the reissues as well.
Sighhhh... Vinyl. |
