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What constitutes an AUDIOPHILE recording

Lately when i browse thru vinyl at the music store or on the net I'm seeing the term Audiophile recording. Lately there has been a plethra of recordings that are 150,180 and 200 gram records that are being sold from 20 dollars to 40 dollars and they tell me there worth the price. For me if it isn't mastered or cut from the ORIGINAL MASTER it isn't an audiophile recording and are not worth the price. When I ask the person and they don't know I just move on. At the music store it says Audiophile pressing but nothing about it's source. Another question is if you have an original pressing of a recording I'm assuming it has been cut from the original master but lately I've been told by people that is not true because of volume and demand for certian artists constituted making stamps and used for mass production.The further the stamp was from the master the further the sound suffered. So my question is if it sounds good does this MAKE IT an audiophile recording?
qdrone
tobias
1,534 posts
 
Eldartford, wonderful clear list of what it takes for vinyl, thank you very much.

I can truly relate to JGH and all those who as much as say that the word as applied to recordings may be appropriate, but when applied to music it groans.

As for digital, I like what I find on this page, where I have not found the word "audiophile" :

http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=93/

It includes descriptions of the sound of great digital recordings with notes on how they were made that way.
wc65mustang
524 posts
 
IMO it's a nebulous term used all too often as a marketing tool. All of Eldartford's points are well taken but there is no guarantee that the end product, for lack of a better description, "sounds good". I have some contemporary "audiophile" pressings that are quite mediocre. A good example is the 200 gram pressing of Peter Gabriel's "So". The original Geffen release smokes the "audiophile" version. There are many releases from the 60's and 70's that are far superior to their current audiophile counterparts. The first release A&M brown label pressings of Cat Stevens' "Tea for the Tillerman" and "Teaser and the Firecat" are without question superior to the current re-masters.
Ultimately and again IMO, audiophile recordings are those special pieces of vinyl that play with clarity, transparency, depth, and minimal dynamic compression.
r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
Ahhh! The dreaded "Audiophile" recording. Unfortunately, one that makes a Hifi system sound "great", regardless of content. Enjoy!
qdrone OP
1,039 posts
 
Wow Eldartford you know your stuff. Thanks for the insight. I guess to me an Audiophile Recording is a record that just leaps off the turntable when you play it.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
Qdrone, I had a warped record that did just that... had to chase it under the buffet... very badly warped :)
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