FWIW, I just got a first press UK a2/b2 of LZII- it is, as the rockitman and
jsman both said, a really worthwhile, 'go to' quality sounding pressing; I
find it darker sounding, overall, than the 'RL,' has profound bass and real
image depth; it also has a sock-it-to-me quality (something that is the
essence of the RL) , but is a little less in your face than the RL (maybe
because it is darker at the top, which could explain why jsman thinks the RL
is a little noisier- maybe it is also the quality of the vinyl itself). My copies of
both are in roughly the same condition: NM-/EX+ (I think my go to RL is a
PR, not a Monarch,FWIW). Given the prices being sought for RLs in VG+
condition, and the difficulty of finding minty ones, let alone at a price, the
UK plum is an interesting, comparable, somewhat different sounding
alternative. And they seem to be available at somewhat more reasonable
prices than the RL these days.
