Are 45rpms worth the price?

"I got the Doors Morrison Hotel and was disappointed.. my original Doors sounds better."
I will tread slowly on that one. I have a RED label original which I also like very much. I do have the s/t, Strange Days and LA Woman on 45. The s/t is very good, Strange Days is unbelievable, and LA Woman is not far behind.
As far as the post goes, I am a fan of 45's sound wise, but it's more work! Just for example, I have Classic records Led Zep's 4th album (zoso) on 33rpm. I have that 45 RPM Stairway from the BOX set. The 45 sounds much better than the Stairway on the album. I did not like Rumors 45 too much. It seemed to lose a bit of emotion for me. I always reach for my standard pressing Rumors. Al this IMHO.

I agree with Mattmiller and Zenblaster,the results are very erratic/variable across the board. Some 45rpm albums sound very fine and others not at all.I don`t feel in most cases the 45 rpm versions are worth the premium cost.I`d rather have a good quality 33rpm pressing.Opinions will be all over the map for this topic.
Regards,

The answer may well depend what your musical tastes happen to be. If you are a jazz afficianado, $50 for the Music Matters or AP reissues looks like a screaming bargain compared to the $1,000+ prices for some original Blue Notes. OTOH, you can find original pressings of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" for $10 that will sound better than the $50 reissue...

I have the Doors HDCD Box Set and it is very good. The DVD-Audio versions of the Doors albums are even better. I find it hard to believe that the vinyl could sound as good or better than the DVD-Audio discs...

-RW-

For vinyl, I can HIGHLY recommend the DCC reissues for the Doors albums. They sound fantastic. (Of course they are VERY pricey!!!)

My two cents worth, regarding the Doors albums.

As far as the 45 rpm issue, I find most, (but not quite all), of the 45 rpm reissues to be better than the 33 rpm reissues. And to be honest, sometimes they are just different sounding, with different strengths and weaknesses.

However, if the 45 rpm is slightly better, then the deciding factor is "how much better" is it really?
In some cases it is minimally better, in which case the issue becomes: "Is it worth the hassle of getting up "three" times to change and or flip over the two 45 rpm records, versus the "one" time for the single 33 rpm record?"
(Notice it is a three to one hassle factor!)
Hmmmm....Something to think about, huh?!
I think that only the individual user can answer that.

I think someone should start a thread comparing their best 33 rpm version of a particular record with their 45 rpm reissue, and let us know what you think is better.
(And when saying better, try to determine whether it is marginally better, significantly better or very much better.)
And the first person who says "it blows away the other version" gets a boot to the head!
(Man, I hate that expression!)

My two cents on that topic too!

Have a nice weekend fellow music lovers!