Shout out for Better Records

If aHot Stamper isthe Storeowners view that this or that record is really a great pressing then why not call any of the good onesa "Stamper"..I supposedly got awhole boxset of such records Bernstein's recordings of the Beethoven 9 symphonies with the NY Philharmonic.Made for the "producers" yea right.I can say they do sound very good but not appreciably better than other good recordings I have that are not labeled hot or cold. My question is does this refer to the actual temperature of the stamping master, if it cools off to the point that it no longer makes shallow deteriorated impressions of the grooves which in return yield gad awful sonics why risk destroying the image of your marque. That would be sheer idiocy although examples of that are abundant. What's the point to bum people out and produce waste. Clearly that cut disc "stamper" is kept hot. If it is not I just patented the rights to the idea ,how ridiculous.

I still undecided on the "hot stamper" thing. I've bought several. Some are amazing, two are ok. What better records has done is inspire me to search out the fascinating correlation between matrix numbers and "better" sounding copies. Truly fascinating. Vinyl reporduction is an art and it makes sense to me that sound can depend on the artist.

honestly, i've bought a few records--including one hot stamper. yeah, it's the real deal. but, tom charges about 25% more then the things are worth. he has a good thing and is taking advantage.

Mariasplunge: My father was a session player for Capitol Records in the golden years (played with everyone from Sinatra to Rawls). I personally collect albums he played on and can tell you that there are can be significant and subtle differences between individual records. I know what he sounds like and I have heard him get buried in the mix too often on dead sounding albums. Pristine records are rare and I have worked 25 years to find a complete and sonically correct album collection of his work. Almost in all cases, the original pressing date and stampers is the best. Within that press run, I find that there is indeed a correlation between stamper numbers with some of the copies I own. Around the issue of quality, each usually has a slightly different soundstage and instrument emphasis, especially with the horns. Each record took 45 seconds to produce and I think the albums that had significant runs to meet the "hit" demand (shipped in excess of 100,000 copies) seem to be more problematic.

I agree with Rlawdry. Seperate from the high prices he charges, Tom Port is one of the few retailers that does a good job at pointing out the substandard copies of 180 and 200 gram vinyl that is being sold as audiophile products that are a poor imitation of the original master tapes. Chad at Acoutic Sounds will give you opinions on problematic issues by phone when you grill him, but I never see him not offering them up as inventory when there are known problems, especially with Classic Records.

Like Ghosthouse above, I myself have never bought a "hot stamper." I have been able to find other albums that are in great condition within this site without paying the hundreds of dollars price for his best product. Tom tends to focus on and offer up the "known" 60s and 70s albums by the popular bands of the era ("Dark Side", "Aja"). You can find some buried treasure in his inventory that is reasonably priced around lessor artists and titles. I recently got a mint unplayed 2 record set album from Paul Kelly, Australia's Bob Dylan, for $10, that just smokes.

Absolutely, you can go to used record stores just like Tom does, buy a bunch of pressings of a title, go home and clean them, and listen to see if there is a "hot stamper" in the bunch. I have done just this with Heart Dreamboat Annie, some Cat Stevens titles, and others. If you have the time and patience to do this, you can approximate what Tom does. And if he lists a hot stamper, it gives you hope that some do indeed exist. However, as a record dealer for many years, I am sure Tom is a lot more familiar with which pressings sound best, and furthermore, I don't have the time to do this often. I just pay him to do this for me. I have never bought his really expensive hot stampers, just the ones listed for between $50 and $200. I figure I am getting darn close to his best anyway. I can tell you that I tried for years to find a better-sounding pressing of Steely Dan Katy Lied to no avail and thought such a thing didn't exist. I loved this record but hated the bland and mediocre sound. When I reluctantly bought one of Tom's hot stampers I couldn't believe it. It sounded like a completely different recording, so much so that I thought it had come from a different master or recording session, or that somehow Tom was treating the records in some way. Not all of the HS pressings are that dramatically better, but on certain recordings it makes a serious improvement in the sound.