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Last song on most LP's pressed with compression

Over the last few yrs, I have spent more time with my cd player than analog rig. Anyway, the winter is here and I'm feelin the groove and started listening critically to LP again. What bothers me is the last song on a side is often compressed. You have hear this as a reduction in sound quality, akin to what an MP3 does to a cd original. Now if you inspect the LP closely that bothers you. You can see visually that the grooves towards the end are actually cut into the record differently. They are compressed together. I don't care what cartridge or equipment you use, the distortion is there..period . Once your brain locks onto it, listening thru this distortion is very difficult. Now before the experts chime in, I'm not talking about inner groove distortion here. Nor is there anything wrong with my alignment,VTA, tracking,azimuth etc. If you can't hear this on your rig (with an LP that is cut compressed on the last track- not all are)then no doubt your system is not resolved enough. Part of my LP collection (about 500 records)are 12" singles. These do not suffer from this problem for obvious reasons. But I'd bet that 60% or more of regular LP's do. What all this means for me is that the days of investing big $$$ on LP playback are over. What I have is what I have and when it eventually wears out, I doubt that I'll replace it. Yup, I am that bugged by wasting a portion of my valuable listening time listening to a lower quality signal. I modify my own equipment to achieve the highest quality signal that I possibly can. So subjecting myself to a flawed LP format is a step backwards. Before I play an LP now, I examine that groove pattern towards the end. If it looks extra compressed, then back on the shelf that title goes. I'll pick the original (non maximized) cd version every time.

Feel free to chime in.
reb1208
hxt1
141 posts
 
Ha! I just went thru vinyl HELL!!! the humming, the buzzing, the wondering if my alignment was right, the wriggling in my seat, listening for hum, giving up on it all...... Finally cursing records, my stupid noisy (when it wants to be)! tube phono preamp, my stupid 'high resolution' cables, and even cursing my TT.
Sickened, I turned the whole works off, and watched some tv.
Yes, vinyl is a flawed medium... there are SO many variables, and so much that can go 'wrong' but when it all goes right.....
I think from now on, when I come stumbling in after a 14hr workday, and have 1 hour to eat, drink a cup of tea, and 'decompress' with some music, I'll put on a CD, grin, and bear it! There, I said it.
I was listening the other night, and I must admit, there are a few albums that I do notice lack of dynamics on the innermost tracks on...... but on the majority of my favorite albums, they just sound good thru and thru...
Thanks for giving me one more annoying thing to listen for! arg!
reb1208 OP
518 posts
 
I just spent a good amount of time meticulously going over my setup. The only thing I found that might be slightly off (and its not getting easier to see these days)is the spindle to pivot point. I increased the distance about .05MM to what appears to be spot on. Then of course spent considerable time resetting alignment, VTA, VTF and anti-skate. The result is a small but noticeable improvement tracking some of those problem LPs. The improvement is basically that of increased transparency but the loss of resolution is still there. So I conclude (as another member stated) the best result is minimizing the problem. Hopefully to the point of acceptance rather than distraction. Again, keep in mind that I lean to the perfectionist side of the spectrum. About 12yrs ago, I got back into vinyl and also started collecting 12" singles. I suppose that next to analog tape itself, the 12" single has the potential for the highest quality home playback. The real challenge to vinyl IMO came about recently in the advent of 24/192 with upsampling. (Yes I tried SACD and DVD-A, definitely preferring DVD-A. But lack of titles ended that journey) I started modifying my own cd players, using vinyl as the A/B benchmark comparison. The differences are still there but not nearly as drastic as once was the case. Depending on the title/pressing/mastering, one might prefer the LP or CD.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
If you want the best possible sound try to find direct cut records. Very limited catalog but amazing sound. Were made in late 70s and early 80s.
jdaniel13
129 posts
 
The Perfectionist side...try not to go there. I've done it, but thank Darwin I don't have endless amounts of cash and therefore limit wasted time--it's so bad for the music. The first thing that happens is the culling of great performances for so-so performances on other formats. If you're like me, you'll be buying back (or digging in the closet for) the imperfectly rendered great or favorite performances again.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
01-25-09: Jdaniel13
The Perfectionist side...The first thing that happens is the culling of great performances for so-so performances on other formats. If you're like me, you'll be buying back (or digging in the closet for) the imperfectly rendered great or favorite performances again.
Your experience reminds me of one of J. Gordon Holt's early maxims: The quality of the recording is inversely proportional to the quality of the performance.

--or something like that.

Of course there are great exceptions, but back when he first wrote that, the LP bins were rife with the middle-of-the-road (MOR) "bachelor pad" drivel put out on Command Records, superbly recorded on 35mm mag film like the 1st gen. Everest recordings vs., for example, the RCA mono pressings of Toscanini's Beethoven Symphonies.

It seems to me that the true potential of the analog record was never really reached. Imagine what great sound we could have had on 45 rpm 16" discs, played back with the minimal tracking angle error of a 12" tonearm. A 16" disc would have allowed at least 20 mins per side (like a 12" 33-1/3), but with seriously higher groove speed for less compression and more clarity owing to greater space for the groove modulations.

I also concur that the direct-to-disc recordings offer the most superb, transparent, and dynamic home playback I've heard in any format. The first couple of Sheffield discs were also pretty MOR, but I have later recordings they did with the Harry James Big Band and the great Oakland funk band, Tower of Power. I also have a couple of Buddy Rich D2Ds on American Grammophone, one featuring Mel Torme! Now THOSE have both superb sonics and legendary performances.
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