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Thread: Contemporary pressings suck?

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2010

    Location: Vancouver, Canada

    Posts: 2,166
    I'm Alex.

    Angry Contemporary pressings suck?

    Yesterday I experienced a bit of a shock. I purchased a brand new, sealed LP "Abbey Road" by the Beatles. It is a 2012 180 gram pressing from the 2009 remastered source. The outer shrink wrap had a label "Made in Germany", which, to my mind, spells quality.

    I washed the new LP, vacuumed it, rinsed it with distilled water, vacuumed again, and then sat down for a listen, expecting to be blown away. Hmmm, for some reason the LP sounds kind of dull. Muddy, murky. Yes, the bass is voluminous, deep and strong, but where is the sparkle?

    OK, maybe I'm imagining things. I pulled my old scratchy Abbey Road copy, the one I bought many moons ago on a garage sale, simply for the iconic cover. I put that sorry old beater of an LP on, and my jaw dropped on the floor -- this old LP sounds so superior compared to the brand new remaster, that it is simply unreal! How can this be? The bass is much deeper, much stronger, the highs are crystal clear, the entire sound is so much livelier. Yes, the record is horribly scratched, was obviously badly abused in its previous life, but nevertheless it still sounds brilliant.

    This made me wonder: is it perhaps true that all the good pressing plants are now history, that even in Germany one cannot get a decent LP pressed anymore? Or is this wimpy pale sound caused by the digital source -- the remaster used for cutting the LP is a digital remaster from 2009?

    Any ideas?
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    Alex.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Oct 2015

    Location: KL, Malaysia

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    I'm shahrin.

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    Can't agree more, I bought some quite expensive new pressings that sounded shit.

    bte Why did u clean, wash , vacuum, rinse, vacuum as it was 'new'?
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  3. #3
    Join Date: Jun 2010

    Location: N. Ireland

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    I'm Steve.

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    You washed the Fidelity off!
    Steve

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  4. #4
    Join Date: May 2010

    Location: Vancouver, Canada

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    I'm Alex.

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    Quote Originally Posted by drSM View Post
    Can't agree more, I bought some quite expensive new pressings that sounded shit.

    bte Why did u clean, wash , vacuum, rinse, vacuum as it was 'new'?
    New records are incredibly dirty. As I was washing the new Abbey Road LP, a fairly large thin string of black vinyl dislodged itself from the grooves. If if view the brand new LP under the microscope, you will be shocked how dirty it is. Those pressing plants are not the cleanest places.
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  5. #5
    Join Date: May 2010

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    I'm Alex.

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    Quote Originally Posted by zygote23 View Post
    You washed the Fidelity off!
    It wasn't much of a fidelity if it was that easy to wash it off.
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  6. #6
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

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    I'm Chris.

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    I think it's the mastering, the recent abbey road just doesn't sound right? I have a copy myself but last year I found a nice condition 1975 Harry Moss cut reissue complete with laminated sleeve, it sounds glorious.
    Chris

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  7. #7
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: Denmark

    Posts: 37
    I'm Soren.

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    Quote Originally Posted by chris@panteg View Post
    I think it's the mastering
    I agree, and take a look at this about 180 gram records http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/ne...ht-180g-vinyl/
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  8. #8
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

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    I'm Chris.

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    Interesting but I'm not convinced at all by that theory? You see if heavier vinyl was sonically inferior then why do the old decca classical recordings from the 50s and 60s sound so Damn good and the Mercury living presence one's I have, they are all on heavier vinyl.

    Many old pressings from the 60s in general are thicker vinyl, not quite 180 gm but certainly 160 to 170, no I'm not buying that argument, I think poor mastering using badly digitised recordings and poor pressing seems more likely to me?
    Chris

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  9. #9
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: Denmark

    Posts: 37
    I'm Soren.

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    Early Deccas are great because of the technique and tube microphones, and they are analogue all the way. Who knows if they would sound even better on thinner vinyl?

    I think Lake and Brinkmann could be right about more resonance. The question is how much it affects SQ.
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  10. #10
    Join Date: Jul 2011

    Location: Northamptonshire

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    I'm Peter.

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    There's quite a lot of debate on the web, e.g. http://www.vinylspin.ca/blog/does-di...y-sound-better

    I like the comment that it takes a 'village' to make a successful record. There are skills there that may well now be in short supply.

    I agree about the mastering ... GIGO ... garbage in, garbage out. If the source material is crap, then the whole process is hobbled from the start.

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