What does it mean when the vinyl pressing is labeled 'audiophile'?

[Macca]

just a suggestion but could the 'dull' sound being described be as a result of incorrect RIAA equalisation? Either at the production end or at the reproduction end? Or both?

[magiccarpetride]

just a suggestion but could the 'dull' sound being described be as a result of incorrect RIAA equalisation? Either at the production end or at the reproduction end? Or both?

Yeah, could be. So through some comedy of errors, I may be using the botched chain that does RIAA equalization incorrectly, making the quality LPs sound dull, while making crappy LPs sound sparkly and lively? That would be so awesome if it were indeed possible!

[alphaGT]

So far, all the brand new 180 gram pressings I've purchased sound dull to me. It must be the thickness of the record messing with the VTA, or it is true that the new pressing plants were forced to invent new ways of producing LPs. Could it perhaps be that, in the effort to demonstrate how different vinyl sounds compared to digital files, the new way of pressing LPs intentionally leans toward the darker, duller, more muffled sound?

(I remember my buddy, who was at the time working in a hi fi store, relating to me the story about one of his patients... er, customers: he went to the customer's home to install some expensive new component, and then the guy started bragging how his ultra pricey digital rig sounds so 'analogue'. My friend noticed something's odd, in a major way, with the sound. When he checked, turned out that the tweeters got totally disconnected for some reason. So the customer thought that, due to the lack of highs in the sound reproduction, it had more analogue quality?)

Maybe it's that line of reasoning that is informing the new practices in the LP pressing?

That has not been my experience for the most part. New 180g records aren't overly dark. Darker than my old records? I haven't really noticed. But it could be a VTA thing? As I said I adjust for the thicker records, so the thinner ones have a steeper angle.

And the RIAA thing may have something to do with it. Perhaps they, the master cutters, are applying more RIAA equalization? So they are lacking on both ends if the preamp is not applying enough gain to the highs and lows.?

[cre009]

For my main decks that I use most for listening I do not have an issue with 180g pressings sounding dull on my system. I am a bit similar to Russell in that I have not gone out of my way to purchase new pressings for old material and not sure if I have any that I can do a direct comparison with.

I have a lot of decks so do quite a bit of cartridge swapping with the objective of trying to get the performance up to the level of my best sounding decks. I don't set up my decks specifically for the 180g pressings but look for an average. If I have set the deck up correctly and it sounds dull then I will initially check VTA and tracking force. If the arm height is lower than parallel then it may lead toward a duller sound while higher than parallel may be too bright. The tracking force ideally needs to be somewhere in the middle of the recommended range but if too heavy could also result in a dull sound. If I cant get the sound I want after messing about with VTA and VTF then I blame the cartridge and switch to another.

Given a straight comparison of a thick record with a thin record of same material on the same deck then I would expect the thin record to sound brighter all other things being equal. Whether brighter means better will be down to your personal tastes and expectations as a listener.

[magiccarpetride]

For my main decks that I use most for listening I do not have an issue with 180g pressings sounding dull on my system. I am a bit similar to Russell in that I have not gone out of my way to purchase new pressings for old material and not sure if I have any that I can do a direct comparison with.

I have a lot of decks so do quite a bit of cartridge swapping with the objective of trying to get the performance up to the level of my best sounding decks. I don't set up my decks specifically for the 180g pressings but look for an average. If I have set the deck up correctly and it sounds dull then I will initially check VTA and tracking force. If the arm height is lower than parallel then it may lead toward a duller sound while higher than parallel may be too bright. The tracking force ideally needs to be somewhere in the middle of the recommended range but if too heavy could also result in a dull sound. If I cant get the sound I want after messing about with VTA and VTF then I blame the cartridge and switch to another.

Given a straight comparison of a thick record with a thin record of same material on the same deck then I would expect the thin record to sound brighter all other things being equal. Whether brighter means better will be down to your personal tastes and expectations as a listener.

Thanks, that's a good answer. My experiences when comparing 180 gram remaster with the old pressing of the same album is not that the old pressing sounds brighter, it's that it has more sparkle. And 180 gram remaster has noticeably less sparkle, which I call dark, dull.

One explanation is that the new remaster was cut from the aged tapes, which have deteriorated over time. The old pressing was cut in the days when the master tapes were still in a good shape. Another explanation is that the new pressing plants are staffed with people who are still learning their craft on the job. Pressing an LP is not a simple 'push the button' process. It is critical to employ staff who are very skilled not only at managing and maintaining the process, but also with spotting defects and in general, doing good quality assurance.

[struth]

I think pretty much 90% of my 180/200 gm cuts are excellent. Only had a couple i,d say were disappointing. Still think the vinyl used in 50,s and early 60's was the best stuff especially for hardness and resilliannce to scratching. Have to say though my library vinyl wise has been getting smaller as i am getting infirm and using tt is difficult often. Thats sad as its still the best medium imo, at least at my pricepoint. If i could afford a chord dac i might change my mind of course. Lol. Ive collected vinyl all my life ... since i was 10 actually, and its a disease lol

[Stratmangler]

Another explanation for the difference in top end could be down to the tweeters in the speakers in the mastering suite.
Abbey Road Studios have a set of B&W 801D speakers, which are reckoned by some to be a bit on the bright side.
If someone is eq'ing the mix to sound balanced on those speakers then it might come across as dull on less upfront speakers.

[magiccarpetride]

Another explanation for the difference in top end could be down to the tweeters in the speakers in the mastering suite.
Abbey Road Studios have a set of B&W 801D speakers, which are reckoned by some to be a bit on the bright side.
If someone is eq'ing the mix to sound balanced on those speakers then it might come across as dull on less upfront speakers.

Sounds reasonable. But wasn't the original mastering also done at the same facility? If yes, how come the old school pressings have much more sparkle than the new ones?

[Stratmangler]

Sounds reasonable. But wasn't the original mastering also done at the same facility? If yes, how come the old school pressings have much more sparkle than the new ones?

Back then Harry Moss had the big Tannoys.
Different beast altogether.

[Stratmangler]

Another thing to consider is that the cutting engineer would have most certainly been aware that the record would be played in the main on something like a Dansette, or a Pye Black Box.
Any mastering would have had these rudimentary record players in mind.