Todays new vinyl LP's better than LP's 40 yrs ago?

I have yet to of bought or heard a re-issue LP that sonicly beats the original pressing. A lot of the albums pressed in the 60's were very well done. Not so much in the later 70's. I wondered that in a previous thread about the quality of vynil used today and a previous poster has answered that. With the cost of a well cared for (rarer ones and higher demand) original getting quite expensive the re-issues for many are still a great way to enjoy vynil and I can see why some would conscider it a no brainer to buy the re-issue. Myself I would rather pay say a 100 bucks for a clean original copy of one album I want(if lucky to find!) than a 100 bucks for 2 different re-issues that I wasn,t completely pleased with. I,m fortunate to have a good collection of well cared for originals I owned from new or used and alot of Japanese pressings and mofi's (2500+)as it gives me the luxury of patience to add to my collection. Anyone that is now trying to build up a descent collection with the cost,s of quality used and the re-issue hit and miss I can certainly see why many seem to be questioning getting into vynil.I have purchased and been somewhat pleased with some re-issues but it does seem to be more miss than hit with them in my experience. I have had better luck albeit and admittedly at a premium price for well cared for originals but have also obtained many very clean originals for 10 bucks.Some very good points are made previously and not just the cost for used or re-issue. The condition of used can be very subjective from the seller to the buyer. The re-issues I think (for the most part )have a lesser quality vynil used, and as Audiofeil points out more warpage problems , and alot of times less sonicly pleasing than the original. The quality and condition of the mastering tapes used and with some done from digital. The one that can even ruin a quality pressed dead quiet re-issue is the sonic footprint some engineers put on it themselves. Realistically though unless vynil sales skyrocket and stay that way for sometime (fad versus dedicated vynil users) ,this is probably what we vynil users will have to deal with. I can see how for some entering or re-entering into vynil could be frustrated and even fed up to going away from it. Recently I bought 2 James Cottons re-issues recorded in 67 and 68 that I have yet to see an original of worth buying. I was surprised at how well they were done for re-issues. They were both pressed in Russia surprisingly. Cheers

>>03-03-10: Mlsstl
but I think my central point is that LP quality has always been and still is the luck of the draw.<<

That is the flaw in your argument.

There was more consistency and higher quality years ago.

One example, your Savoy Brown album, is an isolated case and does not support your position well. Everybody has at least one or two clunkers from the old days. The chance of buying junk today is far greater. I've been doing this far too long to believe otherwise.

Thank you

You will find exceptions for everything, but in general, the older LP's are MUCH better than the new ones. More silent, not so sensitive for scratches, much better vinyl mixes, top quality even with 90gr pressings for a few $...
A lot of knowledge was lost when the plants closed in the 90's.

Audiofeil wrote: That is the flaw in your argument.

There was more consistency and higher quality years ago.

You seem fond of telling me about my own experience. Interesting!

I've been transferring my well cared for LPs to digital for my music server over the past 7 or 8 years. This has involved substantially more than 2,000 LPs, many from the era you laud.

My experience is that truly pristine and exceptional pressings have never been routine or commonplace. The majority is certainly acceptable, but I don't get too excited about lauding mediocrity.

Perhaps we just looking for different things. ;-)

Back in the pre-CD era there were constant complaints about vinyl quality. The vaunted Mercury Living Presence series came in for LOT of criticism about noisy surfaces. Warps and off-center pressings were rife. One of the reasons CDs were so highly praised at the beginning was the abysmal quality of vinyl at that time. You had to be there to remember how bad things were. I was.

Today's reissues are by and large much better in terms of pressing quality, flatness and pops/clicks. I know folks have problems with this, but if they think things are bad, they should have been buying records in the past. I'm not talking sonics; sound quality (of reissues) hinges on the condition of the tapes.