MoFi v/s UHQR

I have several of the MoFi releases variety with 'Original Master Recording' at the top of the jacket.  I find these are around 70/30 or maybe a bit better in their favor to be good releases.  Several of mine where I have a good copy of the original release I find that sounds better.  Often the MoFi has less gain which messes with my brain and also I have found several to have a somewhat thin presentation.  I haven't ever collected anything in my life and find a lot of joy in having special releases that often appreciate in value....and sound fantastic!  I have no plans of selling my records but it is comforting to know I could.  All the Analog Productions albums I have are fantastic.  I have not been disappointed in a single release from the $60 variety and definitely not on the few UHQR that I own.  They have a new sticker on their releases showing 100% analog! : )  

I went in a different direction about 20 years ago-- I’m pretty much good on classic rock and where I wanted a better pressing due to mastering, I sought it out, but I rarely spend money on new audiophile reissues of the same old. To me, an incrementally "better" sounding copy of a record (that may be a subject of dispute) is less interesting than "new to me" music. That isn’t to say I don’t spend on records, but the stuff I chased was more obscure, typically not reissued by the usual suspects (though, on occasion, you’ll find something- for example, Bernie G did a recut of bobby Hamilton’s dream queen, a lounge slo-fi sexy late night record that was easily over a grand). The reissue is 30 bucks. Tone Poet did Katanga!-- killer and I think it is back in stock.

I get the "OMG the sonics" thing, but at a certain point, I’m more interested in music I have not experienced. Recently, Pure Pleasure, who is cagey about sources, did a live Cecil McBee record that is worth checking out. But, my taste these days leans towards spare post-bop jazz. A lot of the heavy rock I collected back in the day was reissued from questionable sources, and I doubt it will ever be done properly, so I bought the OGs.

My punchline: Don’t limit yourself to audiophile warhorses and the usual suspects. Explore more. You may find things that tickle your fancy. Given the inflation in LP pricing and corresponding decline in accurate grading, it’s a jungle out there, but there are so many records that aren’t reissued, let alone by these two houses.

PS: I was a Chad customer when he was selling old shaded dogs and Living Presence LPs from his mom’s place. That was a different era.

+1, @mikelavigne 

I am with Mike on MoFi One Step releases. Even though these records sounds incredibly good, they are not better than their digital counterparts. You’re paying for tactile experience and fancy packaging. They may appreciate in value over time due to their limited run.

If your digital rig is good, you can pretty much defer the temptation of picking every new vinyl release :-) 

I think a lot of people fail to realize or just ignore, the vast majority of recordings made since the 80s go through a digital processor of one type or another (limiers, compressors, reverb, etc). So regardless of the master multi track being analog or digital, it has at least one step in the digital domain anyway. So, for those who say "but it's not analog anymore" it never was in the first place.

I think a lot of people fail to realize or just ignore, the vast majority of recordings made since the 80s go through a digital processor of one type or another (limiers, compressors, reverb, etc). So regardless of the master multi track being analog or digital, it has at least one step in the digital domain anyway. So, for those who say "but it’s not analog anymore" it never was in the first place.

@roadwhorerecords

purchasing any of these one step expensive pressings, whether with a digital step or not, are 100% pre-1980’s. so there is always an all analog alternative to any of them. which is the main issue.

digitally sourced post-1980 pressings don’t have that alternative, it’s simply a matter of preference for the Lp or file/disc version according to taste. there is never an all analog alternative. so you just follow your ear to the way you prefer your music. and don’t worry about it.

so you cannot really compare the choices, they are fundamentally different. the only question is whether you like the music enough to acquire it.