We get into a GROOVE.

Matt...My interpretation of what Slaw is saying is that
"new" vinyl pressings aren't as good as what was
once available?

I however do respectfully disagree. I've stated this many
times and maybe I'm just the luckiest bastard on the planet,
but I spend $300-$500 a month on new vinyl and have found,
(with a few exceptions) that the new crop of LPs are superb.

I just can't complain about my purchases. I have read many
times on here and just about everywhere else about how bad
the new pressings sound and how badly they are pressed, but
I sure don't hear and/or see it. I even took to comparing
all the different versions of some LPs that I own and know
and love and still found this to be true. It ended up being
a futile waste of time. So now I just sit back and listen
and enjoy.

Maybe I'm getting too old and really don't a care anymore.

It's the music that matters...

New vinyl can certainly sound good (and often does), but I prefer the sonics of the better third of vintage vinyl. Factor in the prices of new vinyl, those ridiculous box sets, unwieldy premium 45 RPMs, and manufacturing issues like warps -- the new stuff has turned me off. It's finally come to the point where if I can't get a good sounding vintage pressing, then I'd rather have high-res digital over reissue vinyl.

Hopefully your tastes will eventually evolve to the point
where you're just thinking about whether you're digging the
experience of listening to the record and less about the
sonics. When you reach that stage, you'll actually be
enjoying yourself. Let me give an example - I bought a copy
of Otis Redding, Dock of the Bay. Absolute shite 60's
compressed sonics. But the song is so great, it makes the
whole experience rewarding. Until you get to that point,
audiophilia will be nothing more than a source of constant
grief, whether you want to admit or not. It takes a long time
to get there, but maybe you will someday.

Like any product class, some are better than others. I have vinyl from the 50s that holds its own against MFSL and SuperDisk stuff from the 70s & 80s. I've also a picked up some new pressings like Chick Corea's The Vigil and St. Vincent's Strange Mercy and find them fully the equal of the old stuff. And, all eras are subject to warps, off-center spindle holes, inclusions and all the other defects too. You pays your money and takes your chances. Happy listening!

Mofimadness: You got the meaning of my post correct.

I guess what I'm leaning to is a better quality, more (across the board) sonic standard.

With all of the many labels and their differing pressing plants. Now, consider the differing producers, mastering engineers, ...

I think we may try to (at least) come to a reckoning that in the interest of lp playback, in the interest of lp playback at the highest level, we may need to consider a joint venture. A joint venture of major pressing plants dedicated , (not to profit from), but to THE best possible vinyl that will support their pressings?

In the end, all envolved will profit. "Even The End-User"