I bought over 80 Classic Records in the last 12 month. Most of them are in a great quality, especially the 1S box sets. From time to time there are records which I have to send back. Mostly because they are scratched. The noise on the records are from band hiss. I have to point out that I am talking about classical music, recordings from the 50/60. Lately I bought some 45 rpm Mercury Living Presence (Classic Records) which make a odd noise. It sounds like a pressing bubble, but not repeatedly. Like a quiet pop. At first I thought there is something wrong with my system. But I found out that I don't have it with other records. Only with the 4 45rpm records from Mercury. 6 month ago I had some big trouble with the reissues from Speakers Corner. Almost every record was damaged. They had a scratch from a wire. So as if someone takes a wire and scratches the LP several times. And then there is TheMusic.com. I think they are somehow connected to Classic Records, anyways. They have a so called "Hand Select" service. Which apparently does not work. I received some LP's which had quite some damage. I did send them back for return. The LPs which came back had even more damage. I gave up on them. I mostly order now from Acoustic Sounds. And I gave up to send every LP with a small scratch back. Otherwise I have to pay more for shipment than the whole LP costs. This is just how LPs are. If I want perfection I have to buy CDs. But then, the sound from a LP is still unbeatable. At least to my ears with my system.
