Definitive Audiophile pressings

Mather said:
Check yo deadwax. Look for the KPG @ CA etching. You can also look for the date on the back of the jacket should be 2010 only, but the etching is the only surefire way to tell.

Yeah the 2 LP 45 is ORG and mastered by Grundman and pressed at RTI. It's the holy grail of "Grace". Some people on here have it. I am not one of those people.
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Oh right, duh. My copy is from 2015, no etching other than a bunch of numbers and pressed in the EU. Well, now the hunt begins
 
Splunders said:
Oh right, duh. My copy is from 2015, no etching other than a bunch of numbers and pressed in the EU. Well, now the hunt begins
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Well hey, maybe it's better. To me the KPG sounds incredible BUT the pressing is far from clean. There are pops, and I went through five copies and they all had varying amounts of pops. But it's dead quiet in terms of noise floor and dynamic as hell. It destroys the "Mastered By Captitol" one that VMP put out.
 
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Mather said:
Well hey, maybe it's better. To me the KPG sounds incredible BUT the pressing is far from clean. There are pops, and I went through five copies and they all had varying amounts of pops. But the it's dead quiet in terms of noise floor and dynamic as hell. It destroys the "Mastered By Captitol" one that VMP put out.
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That album is worth a couple swings and misses for me. Thanks for the info!
 
mitchwagz said:
You prefer the MoFi LZII to the RL press??? :oops: I’ve never heard it but I cannot imagine a better sounding hard rock album than that. It’s like the template on how hard rock should sound imo. I’ve had several RL copies but prefer the Monarch pressing. I’ve never heard a clean one though and probably never will. All of mine have been VG or worse.

I also did like the Original American Beauty MoFi that I had for a long time but the OG press does it for me. Can’t really go wrong either way with that album. I’ll hopefully get the 45 if it comes back in stock. I also prefer the 70’s pressing -4, -3 matrix Abbey Road . The MoFi seemed bloated on my system even though it’s a bass heavy album at times.
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I’ve been on a LZ kick lately and was eyeing MoFi and RL pressings for shits and giggs. They are all so insanely expensive now (classics records pressings too). But I listened to some of the zepp pressings I have and they all sound pretty great. I can imagine them sounding better but am still happy with them for now! I doubt I will find good deals on the MoFi or Classics pressings these days.
 
Splunders said:
That album is worth a couple swings and misses for me. Thanks for the info!
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If you want to take a shot this WAS the Amazon code for the KG press. Now I believe they did send me a different press once, but the rest were all the 2010 KG. Could be worth a shot of you can't physically go to a store and inspect the jacket.

B00447G2NY
 
TheAcademy said:
I have a general question...

Why are OG pressings still typically regarded as better than a reissue? I realize this won’t apply to all, but seems like the majority.

I assume when a reissue is AAA and cut by Gray or Grundman to target the modern “audiophile” that they would be better - or as good but virgin, and with several decades less dust and grime.
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MikeH said:
It depends. Some people simply like hearing albums "the way they were meant to be heard". That's always a topic that comes up especially with jazz and Blue Note. Would RVG have made different choices if he had access to today's tech? Would it sound better? Original Blue Notes tended to be cut very hot and they sound awesome. The MMJs sound very different. Still great, but just different. Every time a new engineer cuts laquers, it's likely a different sound, even if it's slight.

And different people like different mastering. There have also been different trends in mastering such as smiley face EQ we were talking about above where engineers boosted the lows and highs and lowered the midrange. You also had different vinyl formulations and different QC over the years. There are tons of factors. Sometimes the value simply comes from having an OG press in good condition being harder to find.
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There's also something to be said for fresh tapes. Tapes deteriorate with age, especially if not stored in perfect conditions and used over and over again through the years. Pressing plants in some years/decades also seemed to be a lot more consistently good back then (sometimes as bad or worse though).
 
MikeH said:
I’ve been on a LZ kick lately and was eyeing MoFi and RL pressings for shits and giggs. They are all so insanely expensive now (classics records pressings too). But I listened to some of the zepp pressings I have and they all sound pretty great. I can imagine them sounding better but am still happy with them for now! I doubt I will find good deals on the MoFi or Classics pressings these days.
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I’ve sniped all of my LZII copies off of EBay. If it is an original Broadway pressing from either presswell or monarch and has a tight deadwax on both sides then I’ll buy it regardless of condition if it’s a reasonable price. I’ve bought four in the past few years and never paid more than $20 for any of them. Takes a lot of time though and a lot of checking on eBay haha! To be fair though, the Piros pressing sounds quite good too as do all the records pressed by him.
 
mitchwagz said:
You prefer the MoFi LZII to the RL press??? :oops: I’ve never heard it but I cannot imagine a better sounding hard rock album than that. It’s like the template on how hard rock should sound imo. I’ve had several RL copies but prefer the Monarch pressing. I’ve never heard a clean one though and probably never will. All of mine have been VG or worse.

I also did like the Original American Beauty MoFi that I had for a long time but the OG press does it for me. Can’t really go wrong either way with that album. I’ll hopefully get the 45 if it comes back in stock. I also prefer the 70’s pressing -4, -3 matrix Abbey Road . The MoFi seemed bloated on my system even though it’s a bass heavy album at times.
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I haven’t heard a clean Monarch but have had 3 RLs over the last fifteen years or so and each time I go back to the MFSL. The RL is a great sounding record but the MFSL has more life to me. Also, try as I might I have not found an RL that plays better than VG+, even though my last two have looked dead mint. I also think the RL has become a SH forum white whale.
 
MikeH said:
It depends. Some people simply like hearing albums "the way they were meant to be heard". That's always a topic that comes up especially with jazz and Blue Note. Would RVG have made different choices if he had access to today's tech? Would it sound better? Original Blue Notes tended to be cut very hot and they sound awesome. The MMJs sound very different. Still great, but just different. Every time a new engineer cuts laquers, it's likely a different sound, even if it's slight.

And different people like different mastering. There have also been different trends in mastering such as smiley face EQ we were talking about above where engineers boosted the lows and highs and lowered the midrange. You also had different vinyl formulations and different QC over the years. There are tons of factors. Sometimes the value simply comes from having an OG press in good condition being harder to find.
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Thank you. This makes sense.
 
These two came in the mail today. The T. Rex is the AAA KG Rocktober cut that was randomly in stock at Deep Discount. I have the MoFi as well so will be interesting to do an A/B test.

Stevie was a discogs late night purchase but it sounds awesome despite being a silver label. Probably my favorite Stevie album.


IMG_1653.jpg
 
MikeH said:
These two came in the mail today. The T. Rex is the AAA KG Rocktober cut that was randomly in stock at Deep Discount. I have the MoFi as well so will be interesting to do an A/B test.

Stevie was a discogs late night purchase but it sounds awesome despite being a silver label. Probably my favorite Stevie album.


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I have that T.Rex and can say it sounds fantastic! I wouldn’t mind getting the Mofi to compare, but really can’t imagine it'd be much better than the Rocktober.
 
greeny400 said:
I have that T.Rex and can say it sounds fantastic! I wouldn’t mind getting the Mofi to compare, but really can’t imagine it'd be much better than the Rocktober.
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Does anyone have an idea when the mofi will come back in stock? I have one on order from Music Direct. I have a Porky Fly OG pressing that sounds huge too. That one is awesome but the Kevin Gray cut is slightly more clear and I usually pull that one out if I’m going to listen to it. Plus the gatefold cover is perfect, way better than the OG.
 
mitchwagz said:
Does anyone have an idea when the mofi will come back in stock? I have one on order from Music Direct. I have a Porky Fly OG pressing that sounds huge too. That one is awesome but the Kevin Gray cut is slightly more clear and I usually pull that one out if I’m going to listen to it. Plus the gatefold cover is perfect, way better than the OG.
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No idea. They are being repressed at random times on all OOS items. Typically with the newer releases, MoFi does two or three batches of pressings. Originally they said it would be limited to 3,000 or something but then I think they took that info off. I REALLY like the MoFi but will do an A/B at some point soon when I can really blast them. My fiancee is on zoom calls all day today for work so can't blast them yet!
 
MikeH said:
No idea. They are being repressed at random times on all OOS items. Typically with the newer releases, MoFi does two or three batches of pressings. Originally they said it would be limited to 3,000 or something but then I think they took that info off. I REALLY like the MoFi but will do an A/B at some point soon when I can really blast them. My fiancee is on zoom calls all day today for work so can't blast them yet!
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Cannot wait to hear your thoughts on those two superb pressings!!! I love the album Electric Warrior! 😍
 
MikeH said:
These two came in the mail today. The T. Rex is the AAA KG Rocktober cut that was randomly in stock at Deep Discount. I have the MoFi as well so will be interesting to do an A/B test.

Stevie was a discogs late night purchase but it sounds awesome despite being a silver label. Probably my favorite Stevie album.


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Omg, I had no idea they had a MOFI on that Stevie Wonder album! That’s amazing!
 
Just got that $15 Pink Floyd Wish You Were Deal off Amazon’s Walmart price matching thingy and WOW, this sounds fanfuckintastic, always nice when albums as coveted as this are available in high quality and wide availability. Now need to scoop up the Meddle, DSOTM and Animals pressings from this series. That first guitar pluck on “Wish You Were Here” made my spine tingle 😂.
 
Ghost said:
Just got that $15 Pink Floyd Wish You Were Deal off Amazon’s Walmart price matching thingy and WOW, this sounds fanfuckintastic, always nice when albums as coveted as this are available in high quality and wide availability. Now need to scoop up the Meddle, DSOTM and Animals pressings from this series. That first guitar pluck on “Wish You Were Here” made my spine tingle 😂.
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I was blown away by the WYWH. I’m sure there are better pressings out there but for the price it can’t be beat.
 
Ghost said:
For real and as a casual Floyd fan I don’t see myself needing to chase down a marginally more impressive pressing for 10x the price.
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They have some amazing music and I weirdly only got into them after buying some of their albums on vinyl. They are a great band to just put the record on and sit down and do nothing but listen to the music.
 
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