Great thread! Yes, do us all a favor and send the lousy sounding records back with a note that they sound like crap. $25, $30, $50, $65 whatever for new pressings should definitely sound better than a $13 CD.
The pressings of new releases I have acquired most recently have been good to very good. Repressings have been excellent (50th anniversary edition of Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage on green vinyl from Blue Note) to at least decent sounding, even 180g reissues of 70 rock albums that were randomly splayed across a shelf at Fred Meyer. Lucky I guess.
I agree with all that has been said about an industry that has been rescued from the dust bin and is shaking off the rust. But even my old albums from the 60s, 70s and 80s (and my dads albums from the 50s) had “texture” in quality certainly between records, and between examples of the same recording. Everyone has had one or two ablums with sound quality that ran circles around the rest of your vinyl. And others that were meh at best. I guess this is why people pay mad money for hot stampers.
I have the luxury of buying used records at several shops that afford the ability to listen before you buy, so all factors from mastering to record care history are exposed. I often end up buying something unexpected, and maybe paying a premium for it, just because it sounds so good even through the very rudimentary gear available. Again, lucky.
The pressings of new releases I have acquired most recently have been good to very good. Repressings have been excellent (50th anniversary edition of Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage on green vinyl from Blue Note) to at least decent sounding, even 180g reissues of 70 rock albums that were randomly splayed across a shelf at Fred Meyer. Lucky I guess.
I agree with all that has been said about an industry that has been rescued from the dust bin and is shaking off the rust. But even my old albums from the 60s, 70s and 80s (and my dads albums from the 50s) had “texture” in quality certainly between records, and between examples of the same recording. Everyone has had one or two ablums with sound quality that ran circles around the rest of your vinyl. And others that were meh at best. I guess this is why people pay mad money for hot stampers.
I have the luxury of buying used records at several shops that afford the ability to listen before you buy, so all factors from mastering to record care history are exposed. I often end up buying something unexpected, and maybe paying a premium for it, just because it sounds so good even through the very rudimentary gear available. Again, lucky.