Vintage vinyl or new reissues?

Several of us would surely like you to elaborate on the "more so" comparisons if you have the time to do so.

Congratulations on your considerable investment into the
45's working out.

Many of my reissue purchases have never been unsealed due to out of service turntables for a period of years. Now,
just like rare originals, many of them may be too valuable to open and play.

In particular almost all the riverside Wes Montgomerys sound better on the reissue (45) except Bags meets Wes which is a tie between the original and the 45. All the Bill Evans sound much better on the reissue (45) except Cannonball with Bill which is also a draw and in fact I may prefer the 33 reissue overall. The Vince Guaraldi Black Orpheus is a poor recording on both my original and the 45 so theres an example of something that couldnt be improved in mastering. Most of the 45's improve on or equal the originals that I own and then give me an opportunity to have great copys of titles Ill probably never aquire. As far as the fantasy 45's are concerned the down side is the sides are to short for really relaxing listening and they arent neccessarily the titles I would have chosen but I felt that it was a good opportunity to pick up a nice colletion at what I think is a fair price considering what some of the originals would cost if you could find them. Ill be paying it off for a while but Im happy to have them in my collection. I think if your a new collector or someone replacing worn copys in your collection many of the reissues including the classics and ojc can get you close to the originals if not just as good. Of course this is only what my ears hear on my system.

Interesting thread. As audiophiles the sound quality as opposed to performance quality is often a main concern and sometimes our primary concern. As I see it, the reissue market is a very healthy and positive development in that it frees us from the clutches of the mercenary collectors and E-bay pirates who prey on those individuals who beleive that anything new cannot be good and that old and original (and therefore exclusive) is the way to go.
Sometimes these mouldy figs are correct and sometimes they are not. I for one do a little research and try to CHOOSE WISELY.

I really enjoy my repressing of Hendrix Axis Bold as Love (mono) pressed by Classic at RTI. Sounds positevely psychedelic and it cost me 30 bucks. Of couse I could pay 500 or more for a suspect original. The Dylan mono on Sundazed are generally excellent with the possible exception of Blond on Blond which seems to have had some pressing issues (noisy vinyl). Of course we could look around for some early originals ($$$) or mediocre mid eighties flexi discs that sound like bad cassette recordings !!

The OJC jazz re-issues were without a doubt the bargain of the decade but now seem to be disappearing as Concord Music take control of the Fantasy / Riverside catalog.

What does it all mean? Simple. Choose wisely. And if possible try and borrow a friends shiny new re-issue to see if it makes the sonic grade. Oh yeah, one last thing. For those of you hoarding and saving those limited edition re-releases as a possible investment? Sad, very very sad........

*As audiophiles the sound quality as opposed to performance quality is often a main concern and sometimes our primary concern*

I'd rather listen to bob dylan on a transistor radio than britney spears on a good sounding system if it came down to artistry, but if i was listening for tone, timbre and naturalness at that particular moment than it would be britney spears but if it came down to the two artists being heard through the musical system , I'd always choose to listen to bob dylan over britney, one, because of his artistry and two, because of the fidelity. Somedays i couldnt care less if the tone and timbre and all the hifi stuff we look for isnt there, i can enjoy a great artist on any playback system but its fun, enjoyable and interesting to also hear it "in hi fidelity" but if the only way you can enjoy it if its perfect than your going to be frustrated and unhappy often. So, I'm grateful that we have a chance to build systems that can sound good, its a blessing, we would still enjoy bob on transistor radios but we're lucky we have the means and the technology to take it to a kind of higher level.

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Vertigo,
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Nicely said and Thanks.
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Rgds,
Larry
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