MoFi v/s UHQR

@dhite71 

I do own the Analogue Productions 45rpm of L.A. Woman. The UHQR version shipped yesterday and expected to arrive by Friday. 

@lalitk 

Do you have the Analogue Productions 45rpm of L.A. Woman?  Wondering about it vs the new UHQR.  I have a 1971 standard release that is clean and plays quiet but does not sound good.  I streamed it last night and that HR version from my Aurender was much better.  

@dhite71 

I have not had a chance to play Bill Evans UHQR records cause my TT won’t be ready until Labor Day weekend. I would post my impressions by following week including LA Woman UHQR going up against Analog Production QRP 45RPM LP’s. 

@lalitk Thanks for the heads up on LA Woman...am considering tonight(with scotch)

You haven't commented on the Bill Evans so that worries me you were not impressed with the UHQR in comparison to your Riverside Recordings copies.

Don’t make the mistake I just made when looking at the link for the Analogue Productions reissue of La Woman, posted by lalitk above. I initially thought I have this AP disc, what’s the big deal? I then reread the information about this new UHQR disc and realized this is a very special reissue of the recording, limited to 4,500 disc, mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog master tapes. Also pressed with extreme care, top quality vinyl and hand inspected for quality. No wonder this is a $125 disc (+tax and shipping). And yes, I have ordered the disc! Can’t wait to hear it. palasr, you appear to have made the same mistake I made when commenting on this AP reissue.

^^^Nope. 

Already own the AP 45 versions of the entire Doors catalog, and they sound mighty fine.  As I recall, they were $40 or $45 each upon their initial release back in 2012.  

OMG!!! One of my all time favorite album on UHQR. 

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/184580/The_Doors-LA_Woman-UHQR_Vinyl_Record

I have loved the 2 Van Halen releases of 1 step, but been really disappointed by both Hotel California (great packaging, flawless silent vinyl, but sibilant and bright) which is not in the same league as my 2009 pressing that is the best pressing I’ve ever heard, and Stevie Ray Vaughn Texas Flood, which I thought was lifeless compared to other newer pressings.  I won’t buy the MOFI One Steps anymore.  They pale to me in comparison to the UHQR’s from Acoustic Sounds, and the Rhino High Fidelity pressings.  The numbered Rhino pressing of Black Sabbath is the best sounding album I’ve ever heard, and I’m not even much of a Sabbath fan.

Oops, not 15kHz, but rather 15K ohms. The Deccas (and to a lesser extent the Londons) can benefit from a lower than standard 47K ohms input impedance, and a little extra capacitance.

In the late-1980’s I was graced with a phone call from Decca uber-enthusiast (and New York Audio Labs owner, as well as a very entertaining hi-fi writer) Harvey Rosenberg, in which he shared with me a lot of his wisdom regarding the idiosyncratic nature of the Decca design. At that time the changes made when John Wright took over management of the company (and changed the name to London) had yet to transpire, and sample-to-sample variability was notoriously inconsistent. Harvey advised me to load Deccas with an input impedance of anywhere from 10K ohms and up, and 200-300 pF of capacitance.

That variability was greatly reduced by John Wright, and London’s were made to a significantly higher standard than were the Deccas. John Wright retired a coupla years back, and the new owners are working on getting the company’s products back into production. I am very happy to already own a London Super Gold (with Decapod mounting system and Line Contact stylus) and a London Reference, neither of which would I sell at any price.

Yeah @sokogear, while with mc pickups you need to have enough gain, with the Londons and Deccas you need to have not too much (for low noise and freedom from overload distortion). In their Mani phone amp, Schitt Audio includes a gain setting of 33dB, specifically for those pickups. In their Andros phono amp, Zesto Audio includes an input impedance setting of 15kHz, specifically for the Londons/Deccas. They have quite a rabid cult fan base.

Grado has long offered both very inexpensive entry-level pickups and (relatively) high-priced statement models. I had a cheap one back in the 1980's, but have never heard their higher priced offerings.

@bdp24 - over in the US I think Soundsmith is more popular with the higher end audio market than Grade which makes some very inexpensive cartridges. 5mv output sounds like it would blow up my phono stage!

@lalitk - that's exactly what I said - they (Elusive Disc) charge tax if you live in a state that charges it. That changed fairly recently - you used to be able to buy records from them in sales tax states without paying it. Then the Amazon rule kicked in that removed the advantage that on line vendors had over brick and mortar companies. There is some minimum of sales in a state that a company has to do to force them to collect the tax.

@sokogear: The two best known moving iron pickups are from Grado (U.S.A.) and London/Decca (England). Both are very high output designs, the London/Decca 5mv!

@sokogear 

I am in Texas, so no tax for me whenever I buy from Elusive. 

The guy from Music direct said the Sunday at Village Vanguard is analog. They did not used DSD. Why it was not included on the lawsuit.I was waiting if there will be returns but none. Iam so happy it was reissue on UHQR .

Lalitk I bought the Sunday at Village Vanguard UHQR . I prefer it over my friend UDS1 Mofi. Though I enjoy listening to uDS1 Mofi version.Iam not decided to get the Waltz for Debby UHQR.I will both buy them on SAcd when in stock.

@lalitk  I thought elusive disc charges sales tax if the state you live in collects it (that's what they told me). For the cost of shipping alone, you will get a lower pressing number direct from AS and the peace of mind and quicker availability is worth it to me. 

@larsman - that's why I said forget that generalization too. @bdp24 - sorry for not mentioning moving iron - don't know much about them other than they are mainly sold by Soundsmith and are a small niche, so of course any model can be compared to any other cartridge. My personal choice - VDH MC One Special with a Sutherland Insight. The VDH has a great long lasting stylus and sounds excellent. The Insight with the LPS is another great value out there (and Ron Sutherland is a great guy).

@lalitk oh boy!  now I feel the pressure!!!  

@dhite71 

Thank you for letting me know. I wasn’t sure about double dipping since I own the Riverside collection as well and they sound pretty darn good! I am going to place an order now.

@lalitk too much scotch and late night record spinning occurred and yes, I have both;  I have the Riverside collection as well and both UHQR are superior;  You definitely get a greater feel of being there...there are subtle sounds throughout all 4 records that I did not notice on the collection records;  I get those from Elusive Disc as there is no shipping nor tax

I have both. and generally prefer the AP releases. Each recording varies on performance. Being a jazz man I recently acquired a Mofi 45 rpm limited pressing of an Aretha Franklin Gold pressing that sells for $200, and up from many sellers, for $85. At that price the purchase was a no brainer and the recording was very impressive for an album from the early 60’s. I then acquired a limited Mofi Whitney Houston 180 gram lp for $140. That’s as high as I go for a single lp, but both recordings were worth the price. One has to have a bit of soul in their life!

Why the ignoring of moving iron pickups? 

@sokogear - I've got a Clearaudio Charisma II MM cartridge; it's a $2K cart and it sounds awesome; my guess is it sounds better than a lot of MC carts, not just the 'worst' ones. 

We are very fortunate that there are several companies making high level audiophile records these days from $38 for Blue Note Tone Poet series to AP UHQRs at $150. Comparisons between MOFI (I assume you are referring to the One Steps from Music Direct) and UHQR (now AP, previous MOFI in the early 80s) is moot because there are NO titles where they compete directly.

The closest one is Kind of Blue, but MOFI's is NOT a One Step, it is a "regular" MOFI on 45, which by the way is excellent, it's just the the 45 of the UHQR is tied for the best sounding record I own, and surpasses the MOFI by a noticeable amount. It is tied with Aja which is phenomenal. I do wish they offered the records in the regular 45 packaging and save $50-$75. I am counting a little extra for the better vinyl they use.

I have been very happy with the One Steps I have, all are tremendous, especially Hotel California, Still Crazy and Somethin' Else. I don't care if they are similar to a HiRez download since I only listen to vinyl. Also wish the packaging was made like their 45's and cut the cost.

The older MOFIs typically play at a lower volume so you have to turn them up a bit, but if you have a very good amp, that should not be an issue and many are excellent. The old MOFI UHQRs are fantastic, especially Sgt Pepper (which is a good step up from the one in the Beatles Collection). Dark Side, Finger Paintings Crime of the Century and I Robot are all in my top 10 best sounding records. Sgt Pepper is the only record I will ever keep 2 copies of since I would never break up the Collection. I wonder how much better the old UHQRs would sound if they were made in the 45 format. In all cases, a 45 will improve the sound, and I can use the exercise getting up twice as often to flip the record.

I would be surprised if there are many people like Mike Lavigne who go all out on analogue and digital, I would think most have a preference. I have to think the analogue would sound different, even if the had a digital step in there. Maybe not if both formats are super high end. I'm not there even in my analogue set up. BUT, I can appreciate the different mastering and pressing qualities of all the different options.

Lets avoid generalizations in comparisons....tubes/solid state, belt drive/direct, gimbal/unipivot (although I hate the unipivot bounciness) analogue/digital, it depends on the specific options you are looking at. The only one that I think is universally accepted is that Moving Coil is better than Moving Magnet, although I bet the best MM is better than the worst MC, so forget that one too.

bdp24

I had both Mobile Fidelity versions of Carole King's Tapestry album ... While the sq isn't great, the original on Ode is really, really bad.

That is so true. I was actually stunned when I first heard the MoFi pressing because there was no hint of that sound and dynamic range on the Ode original. The MoFi is still no sonic spectacular, though, as you note.

@cundare2: I have another "problem" with Tea For The Tillerman: I just don't like Cat Stevens that much .

Do you have the 2-LP/45RPM version of the Analogue Productions UHQR Kind Of Blue, or the single LP/33-1/3 version? I went with the single disc version; while the 45RPM version reportedly sounds better, I'm willing to forfeit that difference to get the original musical format and flow.

I had both Mobile Fidelity versions of Carole King's Tapestry album, and kept the 1-Step version, returning the other for a refund. Though both were made using the same digital file as source material, the 1-Step is considerably better sounding than the standard MoFi. While the sq isn't great, the original on Ode is really, really bad. While Lou Adler may have been a good producer in musical terms, in terms of sq he was not so hot.

@bdp24 I’m definitely enjoying the Tillerman discussion, especially your interesting anecdotes.

Over the years, I’ve accumulated far too many LP versions of this album -- including the pink label Island and the 45RPM AP (the two best-sounding IMHO, despite being very different-sounding), but I’ve found the source material itself to be problematic. I’ve never been a fan of plastic guitars, and this album is the best example of why: the Ovation just *sounds* plastic-y (or at least strummed too close to the bridge) and the better the SQ, the more that’s true. (And, yes, Ornette fans, I do understand that "plastic" doesn’t always mean "inferior.")

But even worse, the exaggerated phase-shifty vocal sibilance on tunes like "I Might Die Tonight" also drives me nuts -- to the point that I rarely play my vinyl copies of this album any more -- I prefer Tidal FLAC, and those who know how strongly I prefer vinyl understand why that’s such a strong statement. Jeez, I never could convince a cartridge to could even track those transients cleanly until I bought into WAM Engineering’s WallyTools alignment procedures.

But I digress. I agree with those here who believe that you can’t generalize about the sound quality of a label’s reissues. MoFi’s 1-Step digitization "scandal" simply doesn’t seem to be as big an issue as some make it out to be. Analog is not only about signal-processing -- playback mechanisms are, IMO, at least as important. As is, obviously, the quality of an analog source -- I hear greater differences between MoFi 1-Step releases than I do, in aggregate, between MoFi’s 1-Steps and those released by other labels.

Anyway, to reply to the OP’s original question, the best, absoutely most realistic remastering I’ve ever heard was the UHQR box of "Kind of Blue." Incredible 3-dimensional soundstage, profound physical presence of each player. No other AP or MoFi release -- not even any other UHQR or vintage London, Mercury, etc. recordings -- can match its "you are there"-ness, at least on my system in my room. Every time I play it, I’m knocked out.

Did anyone order these two gems yet? 
https://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=results&artistid=3146&LabelID=507

@cleeds: It wouldn’t surprise me if Fremer also covered the Tea For The Tillerman subject in his Stereophile column. This would have been quite a few years back now, but may be available in the mag’s archives.

I have a lot of Harmonia Mundi LP’s (my favorite Classical label), and just about all the original Sheffield’s (I’m a big fan of direct-2-disk LP’s). Only a few Windham Hill’s (I don’t care for Stan Rickter’s mastering. He applied the "smile" equalization to his MoFi records), a lot of RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence LP’s, but no ERC’s (silly pricing, variable quality). Another great label is Bear Family Records, a German company.

When I speak of the quality of an LP pressing, that is not the same as the sound quality of any given title.

bdp24

The information regarding the Dolby issue came from Bernie Grundman, Chad Kassem, and Michael Fremer. Fremer posted a video on his Analog Corner website telling the story, which was subsequently further discussed with Grundman in another video.

I couldn't find the video, but I did find this:

“Both albums [Jakon and Tillerman] were recorded onto 3M or Studer machines on 16-track two-inch tape at 15 inches per second,” Samwell-Smith explained in the liner notes to the 2008 2CD “Deluxe” edition of Tillerman, “with Dolby noise reduction and mixed onto quarter-inch tape at 15 IPS with Dolby [noise reduction]. “ According to Sound on Sound’s Joe Matera, Samwell-Smith “played with the Dolby system during mastering to add compression and treble to the entire mix.” (Exactly how he did this isn’t clear, though producer/engineer André Perry has speculated that Samwell-Smith didn’t decode the Dolby noise reduction in order to create “a very present, dynamic, bright sound.”)

I also found this:

“The tapes are in still excellent condition, the Dolby A encoded BASF tape used has held up very well compared with other formulations used in the mid 70’s and later. The tapes sound excellent. I’ve done no limiting or compression on these files at all. Playback was done on an Ampex ATR100, and the A/D converter was a prototype MSB unit that David Chesky was good enough to loan us.” — Ted Jensen, Sterling Sound

Perhaps the truth here is lost to time.

bdp24 - QRP (Quality Record Pressing, ... is making the best LP's the world has ever seen...

That simply nonsense...

Perhaps, in some, more limited LP collections AP is best, but not in mine. I own, or have owned, LPs from most of the common labels, (~4,000 titles) and AP/QRP LPs are NOT the best in my collection (though many are excellent).  To say so would be a lie.

Three/four labels that are almost always BETTER than AP: Harmonia Mundi, ERC (rare and expensive), Windham Hill (Stan Ricker, 1/2 speed mastered), as well as some Mofi, Impex and Sheffield Labs recordings.  Many LPs from 'boutique' European labels are nearly as good. Even some of my original pressings have better SQ than some of my AP pressings (EMI, Mercury, some Columbia and even one very special Philips release).   

dhite71 - with so many contributions giving specific examples of, in their opinion, other labels being preferrable to AP - your 'its unanimous' comment seems to deny reality.

Sorry for calling-out these issues, but such hyperbole should be addressed.

Thanks, @bdp24. I haven't been able to find that video but I'll keep looking.

@cleeds: The information regarding the Dolby issue came from Bernie Grundman, Chad Kassem, and Michael Fremer. Fremer posted a video on his Analog Corner website telling the story, which was subsequently further discussed with Grundman in another video.

A number of years back Fremer got a call from Grundman, informing him of the situation. The Tea For The Tillerman tape boxes were marked indicating that Dolby noise reduction had NOT been used in the recording of the album, so Bernie mastered the LP for release by Chad Kassem on his Analogue Productions record label without the Dolby playback circuit engaged. He told Fremer that when so mastered, the resulting sound was very bright, far brighter than the Island copy of the LP Fremer had supplied him with for a reference (comparing a new remaster with the original is very common in high end mastering).

Grundman sent Fremer a test pressing, asking him if he thought the remaster should be made with the high frequencies decreased somewhat, as he didn’t think audiophiles would like the sound of the LP mastered "flat". Fremer said no, to cut the lacquer flat, brightness and all. Hearing that first lacquer is when Fremer realized the characteristic sound of the Ovation guitar used on the album was muted, lacking it’s inherent "bite". As I said above, I heard the high frequency sheen of the drumset cymbals missing, along with the overtones of the snare drum, toms, and bass drum.

The first pressing "pink label" Island LP had been on Harry Pearson’s Super Disc list for years, and I assumed the problem I heard with my copy of the LP was a result of it being a later "sunray" Island label pressing. Nope, the Island LP (as well as the U.S.A. pressing) had been incorrectly mastered with the Dolby noise reduction circuit engaged, reducing the frequency response with a declining slope as frequency rose.

The Analogue Productions pressing of Tea For The Tillerman album is THE Version to own. By the way, it was also Grundman who discovered the mistake made in the mastering of the Kind Of Blue album, for it’s entire history! That topic was also discussed by Grundman, Fremer, and Kassem in a long YouTube video.

Sorry, but it seems that the train has gone off the tracks...

First, gross generalizations about SQ are entirely inappropriate and misleading. The SQ of both of these companies' LPs are highly variable, and for logical reasons.  Neither company participated in the original recordings (microphone selection, placement, cables, amps, boards, studio modifications, distances, etc.) 

Furthermore, over time the personnel and equipment used to remaster recordings changed - especially for MoFi, which has been in business longer (1977) than AP (1992). 

It is helpful to compare individual releases, even compares eras, but to discount the entire company's product-line is absurd. 

I own MoFi LPs that are superior to some AP releases, and vice-versa.  Not convinced?  Remember when the MoFi release of Abraxas was touted as the BEST REMASTERED LP EVER!  Later - many of the same folks, upon learning it included a digital clean-up step, declared it unworthy (Micky...?).   Either the digital-step was an improvement (or at least did-no-harm), or many self-proclaimed Audiophiles have selective memory-loss.

On the other side of the coin, the AP release of The Wonderful Sounds of Female Vocals was a dog - until AP fixed the production issues and replaced the bad records with better ones (upon request).  I have a good copy. 

IMO, the SQ on many AP releases are 'good, but not great': The same can be said for MoFi, Speakers Corner, TACET, Sheffield Labs, Impex, King, RR, etc...

On the MoFi side, many great LPs, including 1-Step, and many dogs as well.  Still, Stan Ricker and Bernie Grundman did some great work, but the portfolio varies. 

Bottom line - it would be wise to provide specific comments and criticisms - generalizations about the SQ of audiophile LPs lack creditability.

bdp24

Grundman got the master tape from Island ... he discovered an amazing fact: the tapes were made without employing Dolby noise reduction. In spite of that fact, all precious issues of the album (on both LP and CD) had been made assuming Dolby WAS employed.

That sounds far-fetched. How would Grundman even know how previous versions from the masters were made? Do you have any reference for this claim, @bdp24 ??

That’s interesting.  I listen primarily to classical but Tea for the Tillerman was one of my favorite pop albums in my teens.  I always wondered at people who thought that Digital sounded awful (in Classical, imo, digital blows away analog about 99% of the time), but when I heard the CD version of Tea then I understood.  I wondered if there many pop albums similarly afflicted.  Bro 24 explanation is revealing 

++++1 bdp24 - totally agree that you HAVE to look at who did the mastering. For re-mastered versions of whatever on whatever label, I always look. My personal fav is Stan Ricker. - he did Gino Vanelli; Miles Davis and many, many others - Discogs has a full listing. Some of my fav and best sounding albums are stuff he did in the 70's, 80's....  And some labels are better/more consistent than others, IMHO AP is the best, MoFI a close second. Pure Pleasure is also good and a couple of other labels our of UK, Germany, France, Italy. But you have to do your homework and use your own ears, as YMMV for sure depending on your system.

Regarding Cat Stevens’ Tea For The Tillerman (the recorded sound quality of which is stunning):

For years the go-to version was the original "pink label" Island Records pressing. When Chad Kassem acquired the rights to reissue it on his Analogue Productions label, he hired Bernie Grundman to cut the lacquer and do the remastering. Grundman got the master tape from Island, and upon examining the notes included in the tape boxes, along with listening to the tapes, he discovered an amazing fact: the tapes were made without employing Dolby noise reduction. In spite of that fact, all precious issues of the album (on both LP and CD) had been made assuming Dolby WAS employed. So in playback, all previous mastering had been done with the Dolby system engaged, with it’s mid-to-high frequency slope reducing those frequencies.

I always wondered why the sound of the drumset cymbals and bass drum (which was missing it's high frequency overtones, which provide that drum's "snap") didn’t sound right to me. Fremer talks about how the sound of the Ovation acoustic guitar (which is known for it’s unique sound owing to it’s plastic body) is missing it’s signature high frequency-emphasized sound. Now we know. The Analogue Productions Tea For The Tillerman was made sans Dolby, so it sounds most like the master tape, with high frequencies fully intact.

Grundman is also credited with discovering the fact that all versions of Kind Of Blue had been made with one side of the album mastered with the tape running at the wrong speed. He discovered that fact while doing the reissue for Classic Records in the late-90’s. Chad Kassem bought Classic Records, and used Grundman’s "metal works" (which are manufactured from the lacquer he cut for Classic) for the AP reissue of Kind Of Blue, restoring the full album to it’s correct running speed and musical pitch.

Got you. I don't have any of those.

Chain reaction from the Crusaders is pretty good too. However these were very early releases in late seventies, Crime #5, Columbus #13 and Crusaders #10. It mainly went downhill as years went by imo.

I was speaking of the MoFi UHQRs, of which only eight were made, not the regular line. Waiting For Columbus, and Chain Reaction were in the standard line, Crime of the Century was available as a standard release and as a UHQR.

https://www.discogs.com/release/2617987-Supertramp-Crime-Of-The-Century

+1 on Cryme of the century. Little Feat Waiting for Columbus is one of their best also. These two are pure analog.

Why not have both in one? The original MoFi UHQRs are, IMHO, fantastic, and more importantly, they dont spread the records across two discs.

Supertramp Crime of the Century

Earl Klugh Finger Paintings

Alan Parsons I Robot

Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon

Cat Steven's Tea for the Tillerman

Beatles Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Holst The Planets (Solti)

Fest Romane (Mazel)

Nice..I got a few nice records at my favorite shop in Memphis Saturday after me and my audio buddy met for a BBQ sandwich at Payne's on Lamar.  One of those hole in the wall joints with a couple that do it all and turn out some of the best in Memphis.  Then we hit up Goner Records.  Last night I was having some scotch watching what I think is Michael Fremer's latest tour of his room/system.  Never seen him go through each component like that before.  He ended it with a few recommendations so I got 3 shipping in from Discogs as well.  

In hindsight, the title should have been UD1S v/s UHQR but it has been apparent that we all get it.  Seems pretty unanimous that Analog Productions is the king.

I should have mentioned that original pressings of 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s LP’s are plentiful, and often available at low cost if you live in a city/town with a good used record store. Just yesterday I found a NM copy of the original pressing of the debut Wings album for five bucks at Music Millennium, just one of the many (a couple dozen) Portland Oregon shops stocked with thousands of used LP’s (even more new releases).

I prefer to buy used LP's in person when possible, as my grading standards are higher than those of sellers on ebay and even Discogs.

For those wanting to access the quality of MoFi  vs. Analogue Productions versions of the same album, compare the pressings of Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis. AP offers the album in both 1-LP/33-1/3 RPM and 2-LP 45 RPM versions.

Lumping all MoFi LP's together is to over-simplify the situation. There are quite a few MoFI LP's that were mastered in pure analogue fashion, including three Ry Cooder albums, all of which sound excellent. By the way, for those wanting to boycott Mobile Fidelity for their outright deceitful lying when claiming all their LP's were made free of a digital conversion step (even when asked point blank), the German company Speakers Corner also offers some of Ry's albums made in pure analogue fashion.

The best way to buy LP reissues is to look at who is cutting the lacquer. Kevin Gray does all his mastering through a custom-made, all-tube, pure analogue system, and is amongst the best engineers now working. Other names to look for are Bernie Grundman, Ryan Smith, Chris Bellman, Steve Hoffman, Robert Ludwig, and Doug Sax.

As for pressings, QRP (Quality Record Pressing, a division of Acoustic Sounds, along with AP all owned and managed by Chad Kassem in Salina, KS.) is making the best LP's the world has ever seen. Single Analogue Productions LP's sell for about $40, doubles $60. You don't have to buy a MoFi 1-Step or Analogue Productions UHQR to get a great sounding reissue.

The are another couple dozen or so smaller companies doing great LP reissues, including Intervention Records, Rhino Hi-Fi ($40 for a 1-LP pressing), Light In The Attic, Music Matters, Blue Note Records, IMPEX, and Vinyl Me Please.

There are also new albums being released on LP in numbers not seen since the mid-to-late 80's. Some of them were recorded digitally, some purely analogue (I've been in studios lately that contained both a 2" multi-track analogue recorder and a full digital work station). YouTube is full of videos in which new and reissue LP's are reviewed, many commenting on sound quality (of new releases), even comparisons of different pressings (of reissues).

If you want good sounding LP's, you have to do your homework, just like you did to assemble your hi-fi.

I've owned perhaps 75 different MFSL LPs over the past 35 years.  Regardless of whether they were from back in the day (mastered by Stan Ricker and pressed on JVC Super vinyl, with the smiley EQ curve), or modern releases within the past five years or so, I now own ZERO MFSL pressings.  The last through the door, the 45 RPM 'Making Movies' from Dire Straits was indeed dire, and screamed its digital-ness; it was a lifeless, soulless abomination.  I've probably profited more than I've lost over the years with the liquidation of those LPs.

I've had nothing but joy from Analogue Productions' efforts over the years.  Not everything is (or can be) perfect, but there are some real gems that Chad and company have released, and that I'm happy to own.  The recent Atlantic 75 series is a case in point - some amazing sonics on several of them that easily better the original releases.  Can't say that ever occurred with a MFSL release (disclaimer:  I've never heard the Santana Abraxas 1-step, some people say it's special).  Just my 2¢.

@whart 

Very well said!  I agree with you that the focus should be on finding those gems and new music to enjoy.  It takes more effort too...it's much easier to replace an album you have or simply buy the latest audiophile of an album you don't have on vinyl but already know.  I do both and definitely enjoy both!

@mikempls 

You made me remember my success with Rhino records' audiophile releases.  If I recall correctly, they are only $40 and are excellent quality and sound.  I recently bought a Devo Van Morrison and Black Sabbath and they were all great pressings, flat, quiet, great sonics and packaging.