Tips on Buying Quiet Quality sounding LP's

Are you referring to new or used?

If new, I recommend trying to find reviews on the LP your wanting to buy by going to a site such as acousticsounds.com.

These are some of my resent labels that I have been very satisfied with--

-Clarity vinyl 45 reissues

-Anything from Candid (stacey kent dreamsville is like heaven!!)

-Stockfisch Records (german pressings) their Sara K Waterfalls is VERY IMPRESSIVE one of my favorites.

-Pure Pleasure Records

-Most Japanese pressings are very quiet..

I have found these record labels above to have superb pressing quality.

When buying a LP from Classic records, (im sure you have heard) it is really hit or miss. This is when I like to find reviews and for the most part they have been accurate.

As far as used vinyl, I just make sure it is in top condition and then I buy blind. There is alot of mint condition used vinyl out there. The hunt is fun.

Good Luck!

Darren

Some labels are better than others (and it also depends on the years involved) but frankly it is a pretty much hit and miss affair.

Even with labels that have a good reputation, someone is going to get a record from the end of a stamper's production life or a record made with a blob of plastic that wasn't as pure as desired.

The big problem is that most people buy music because they like the artist or composition. If my favorite music happens to be on a crappy label, there is not a lot I can do about it.

The same thing is true of digital material. If my favorite music is compressed, over-processed and/or poorly mixed, it is a bit like a scrambled egg - it is pretty tough to unscramble.

At least with a new LP you can usually return a bad pressing for another try with a second copy.

For used lps, inspection by a trained eye is the best tool.

With experience, you can train your eyes to quickly inspect vinyl and determine the condition. Most vintage records that appear to be in good physical condition should be reasonably quiet and play properly, once properly cleaned.

Sometimes the trick is to be able able to distinguish a dirty record from one in good physical condition otherwise via visual inspection. It can be done reliably in most cases, but requires experience to train the eye on what to look for.

Also remember that the majority of lps exhibit some surface noise during playback and that this is normal. Its just part of the medium. lps can be near dead quiet under ideal conditions but seldom are in practice. If you want dead quiet background noise levels, that is a strength of digital, not vinyl.

For me, the greatest pleasure of vinyl these days is to pick up old lps that most no longer want for a pittance, clean them and then enjoy the quality sound often offered. With used lps, price is not an indicator of sound quality in many cases. You can pick up many fantastic sounding vintage titles from the golden age of vinyl for next to nothing at flea markets, yard sales, etc. these days.