180g … It’s All Hype !

Check out the pressing issues on the record he received and in today’s offerings it’s an issue that happens all too often and really needs to be addressed by the record manufacturers.

@flasd: Uh, the quip about smoking LSD is what’s called a joke. The joke’s on me; I didn’t anticipate anyone not having heard it before, or of not getting it now (I am guilty of giving people too much credit). I first heard it out of the mouth of Robert Kennedy, who said it with a wink. flasd, get it now?

By the way: I first took LSD in 1967, last in 1968. How ’bout you? I would hazard a guess that I’ve forgotten more about that very dangerous drug than you will ever know. Not that that is something to be proud of.

Another point to be made is that in the comparison between an original pressing and a reissue, there may not be a clear winner: the original may better the reissue in some regards, the reissue the original in others. Another reason to characterize the statement that 180g reissues are hype as an over-simplification.

Many members of the Vinyl Community on YouTube have compared original pressings of Blue Note LP’s with the reissued versions (Tone Poet, and Blue classic Series), and prefer the original in some regards, the reissue in others. And in some cases, with a particular title the original pressing is preferred in all regards, with other titles the reissue is. Again, too over-simplify is to be foolish. Unless one has an agenda.

Another consideration is that an original pressing of a rare LP can cost one far, far more than a reissue. Some of the original Blue Note’s now sell for four figures. The Classic Series reissues sell for under $25. How much are you willing to pay for an original?

As I said above, I have LP’s dating back to the 1950’s. To say that mass-market LP’s from the 50’s through the 80’s were made with better quality control than those now made by the audiophile reissue companies is utterly ridiculous, completely untrue. Now not all reissues are done by audiophile-orientated companies; it takes knowledge to understand what reissues are worth buying.

By the way: the very rare 1994 pressing of Petty’s Wildflower LP was mastered from a digital file, the recent reissue from the analogue master tapes. Which version would you rather own?

I have one album I like so much I have it on three different LP pressings: Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King (if you like Stevie Ray Vaughan, you NEED this album). An original on Stax Records, the first reissue on Sundazed, and the new reissue on Speakers Corner. If you prefer the original, you need a better hi-fi ;-) . Bad news for 180g LP haters, the Speakers Corner BUABS is just that. Oh well, better to not believe in hype than to enjoy better sound, right?

I also own King’s Elvis Presley tribute album (entitled King, Does The King’s Thing) in two incarnations: an original on Stax, and the reissue by Vinyl Me Please. If you think Stax manufactured their LP’s with the care VMP does, I don’t think there’s anything I can say to change your mind.

And then there is Pet Sounds. I have the album in the following pressings:

- Original "rainbow label" Capitol Records issue, in mono.

- Reissue included as the second disc in the Beach Boys’ 1972 album So Tough.

- EMI (UK) "100 Series" reissue in stereo (with rainbow label).

- Capitol Records "Limited Edition Stereo" (mixed by Brian Wilson) reissue.

- 180g (oh, the horror ;-) reissue on DCC, mastered by Steve Hoffman.

- Analogue Productions reissue in mono.

- Analogue Productions reissue in stereo.

Guess which version sounds the "best"? Hint: It’s a trick question. If you think it’s the original Capitol, you need a better hi-fi.

Which LP is manufactured with the highest level of quality control? If you think it’s the original Capitol, you and I have very different opinions as to what constitutes quality.

Claiming that "all" recordings made on vinyl of a particular thickness/weight is "hype" is ignorant at best.

I'm with you that there are a lot of crap recordings that are hyped because they are on 180g vinyl.  There's also a lot of crap on 150g vinyl.  And different colored vinyl.  And CDs.  And streaming.  

I finally opened up my MFSL of Nilsson Schmilsson and played it last night and holy smokes, was it good!  So dynamic and the soundstage and imaging made my speakers completely disappear.  Everything else I listened to after that was mediocre.  

MFSL has had some duds, no doubt, but their newer releases are often revelatory.  I never really thought of the Pretenders as being "audiophile" material, but what they did with it makes it quite a treat.  Pretty much everything I've listened to from Classic Records and Analogue Productions has been outstanding. 

Speaking of media, almost all of the records I've bought that were made with Quiex vinyl are also very good.

It's already been said (better than I can say it), but there is more to making a record than the media itself and there are some places that put more care and skill into the end result than others.