Re-issue vinyl vs. the original pressing

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Arthur Salvatore's Supreme LP Recordings list and commentary:
www.high-endaudio.com/supreme.html

Arthur Salvatore is only one person and certainly entitled to his opinions. Many will disagree with him on this and other issues particularly his love affair with a manufacturer/friend whose speakers and cables appear in disproportionate articles/reviews on Arthur's website.

However, his feud with Michael Fremer and the letter/email exchanges printed on the website, are worth the price of admission alone.

Thouigh I love to read the Salvatore web pages.He is not the last word in reference recordings.I think he,like me,tends to be a bit controversial.Which in his case,keeps his web-site very interesting.In my case,it does not work,so well.
As to the re-issue vs originals.....The re-issues are superb,mostly,and should be purchased when price is important.BUT....Salvatore is not correct in his impressions(maybe on his own system,actually)of quite a few of his reference discs.In MANY cases the "early" pressings(English)are considerably more lifelike(timbres/harmonics)to the re-issues,and later(Dutch....."you have to be kidding")pressings.Deccas in this case.Though the best Mercury(Really early,plum labels)KILL the re-issues.
I have many very well heeled "collector/former reviewer" friends,who actually laugh at some of Salvator's comments,regarding the superiority of the Dutch(Deccas),or some of the Re-issues!
I own the Dutch,and English pressings(First edition)of The Prince of the Pagodas,and the British pressings is clearly the superior.Salvatore "waxes poetic" over the Dutch,which is just not true.We have compared many of his choices to the originals,and re-issues he likes,and have come to the conclusion that his system surely must be in need of a second look/listen!I think many hobbyists should consider getting the record lists of guys like Jerry Cantor(A Classical Collector....the name of his list)instead of E-Bay stuff.You get quiet/clean originals from guys like him,and the "beauty" of good originals may become more obvious.
That being said,I LOVE Salvatore,and read his site regularly,as all should.

Salvatore's comments are mainly directed to classical reissues. He says in the text that:

"The original pressings of Rock, Pop and Jazz LPs are almost always preferable to the vast majority of their respective reissues."

I can certainly vouch for that in my experience. I listen mostly to jazz from the 1950's and 60's, and original pressings can sound much better than reissues including the latest reissues by Classic and other labels. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to locate the original pressings in good condition. They are all too often damaged from excessive playing.

For my tastes, I would rather listen to an older copy with a few ticks and pops and a little distortion in the inner grooves than a pristine quiet reissue where the magic has been scrubbed out along with the noise.

Example: I have a stereo 6-eye Sketches of Spain (Miles Davis) that sounds excellent despite a bit of noise and distortion on peaks. I bought a reissue on an audiophile label (I forget which one) and it's quiet and clean, but it doesn't have the natural tonality and coherency of the original.

Another example: One of the very best sounding records I have is an old Mono copy of the The Jazztet. It is one of most dynamic and exciting recordings of a jazz combo ever---rich, warm and vibrant. I ran across a reissue from the 70's in stereo. The newer pressing is cleaner and quieter, but the music isn't nearly as lifelike. It's like the difference between a high quality tube preamp and a cheap transistor unit from the 1970's. In fact, that may be the explanation on the Jazztet---the original pressing was mastered using all tube equipment, and the reissue probably went through some early generation transistor gear.

Dave