What in the world is going on.....

I can give a somewhat similar example, comparing cd and youtube.
Yngwie Malmsteen with Japanese orchestra. Great music. First, I listened to it on youtube through Grado phones, no external dac, and it sounded acceptable. Then I got the cd and it sounded terrible on my rig, I threw the cd away. Somehow they managed to completely screw up that cd, I don't know how. My expectations were not high, yet I couldn't really tolerate that crap. Still listen to it on youtube.

The first sign that the recording was at least mastered, if not recorded digitally is the download card that accompanies the record. Not that all digital is bad- I have some wonderful sounding records on vinyl that were natively recorded in digital; indeed, a lot of stuff since the ’80s was recorded digitally. Remasters are a different story- the difference between an old analog record and a digital remaster is often noticeable, but in some cases, like some of the Steve Wilson remixes, the trade off of a better mix (e.g. Aqualung) is worth the price of admission, particularly if the original analog recording isn’t very good.

As to why this record sounds lousy on your "big" system, it could be that little care was taken in mastering it to vinyl. Or perhaps it isn’t a very good recording to begin with. I don’t know enough about the record, haven’t heard it, and don’t even know who mastered it. What sounds good over an MP3 is very different than what sounds good over a wideband playback system. (Think back to the days when pop records were created to sound punchy on the car radio - some sound great over a good hi-fi rig, but some are really dead and lifeless sounding). My suspicion is, another copy isn’t going to sound better, but if there are others who have this pressing, they can chime in.

I'm sorry that you are disappointed in the vinyl version of the new Paul Simon record, "Stranger to Stranger." I bought the CD the day it came out and played it in the car on the way home, and played it again listening to headphones later that day. I like it! So, just ignore the poor quality of the vinyl and buy the CD. After all, we're in it for the music, right?

Have you not noticed how loud this album is? Usually that is a sure sign of heavy handed compression. I'm going to make a digital transfer and will check the wav file. My guess is that I'll see plenty 9f chopped off peaks.

Do not have this CD but other recent Paul Simon CD I do have was definitely mastered to be "loud".