Definitive Audiophile pressings

Selaws said:
Yeah thats exactly what I said though, that im paying the bridge offer at the moment which makes it more than affordable when considering the free postage (regardless of it being international). My point is that in my current situation (and for the next 6-7 months) it makes more sense for me to buy an AP pressing from VMP compared with places in the UK, unless of course a distibuter here makes them available at a lower cost during that time.

The selection is all personal preference, im personally not interested in the Prine for example. I have found there to be at least 1LP each month which is worth swapping for and certainly something that I found worth the £25.25, the Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Donny Hathaway and Killer Mike have all been superb selections based on my tastes. When it bumps up after 6-7 months I will have to re-evaluate but will likely call it a day.
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Oh yeah for you certainly. I was talking more globally! Focusing in on an individual’s good offer isn’t indicative and so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison overall as it’s not their list price. Their list price is mental! I think the fact that you’re paying US RRP for the AP with the free shipping is much less attractive then because you’re paying so much over the odds for their records.

Same on curation, I used to kinda forgive the odd crap month or swap for something I sorta half wanted when I was a member and on the three month plan paying $36 a month. For $49.66 I don’t think I’m even trusting their pressing quality for the ones I do want!
 
Joe Mac said:
Oh yeah for you certainly. I was talking more globally! Focusing in on an individual’s good offer isn’t indicative and so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison overall as it’s not their list price. Their list price is mental! I think the fact that you’re paying US list price for the AP with the free shipping is much less attractive then because you’re paying so much over the odds for their records.

Same on curation, I used to kinda forgive the odd crap month or swap for something I sorta half wanted when I was a member and on the three month plan paying $36 a month. For $49.66 I don’t think I’m even trusting their pressing quality for the ones I do want!
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Well yeah but I was just commenting on how much more it costs to buy an AP from the UK compared to the US, and my situation is the only one I have to comment on, and the £25.25 isn't something I consider to be over the odds. Even ignoring that, the VMP non-member international shipping of $14.95 (around £10.90) on top of the £45 makes it cheaper than the Scott Nagle for example.

Not trying to cause an argument but in your first paragraph you said that focusing on an individual's situation isn't indicative of the overall picture but in the second you are using your own preference as an argument to say the curation isn't good enough to go for any of the higher month options. Personally, there has only been one or two Classics releases in their whole series that I have not been overly enthusiastic about, so Im pretty sure that I will be able to have a record each month that I will enjoy. But that's just my personal music taste that allows that.

Again, I'm not defending VMP's non-bridge price at all, as I said I'm pretty sure I will call it a day once my sub is up.
 
Selaws said:
Well yeah but I was just commenting on how much more it costs to buy an AP from the UK compared to the US, and my situation is the only one I have to comment on, and the £25.25 isn't something I consider to be over the odds. Even ignoring that, the VMP non-member international shipping of $14.95 (around £10.90) on top of the £45 makes it cheaper than the Scott Nagle for example.

Not trying to cause an argument but in your first paragraph you said that focusing on an individual's situation isn't indicative of the overall picture but in the second you are using your own preference as an argument to say the curation isn't good enough to go for any of the higher month options. Personally, there has only been one or two Classics releases in their whole series that I have not been overly enthusiastic about, so Im pretty sure that I will be able to have a record each month that I will enjoy. But that's just my personal music taste that allows that.

Again, I'm not defending VMP's non-bridge price at all, as I said I'm pretty sure I will call it a day once my sub is up.
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The first paragraph was addressing the prices. The second the curation.

A fair comparison of prices should focus on what people are likely to pay, not on saying that your special deal is mega. It clearly is but it’s not open to us all, in fact it’s open to no one that isn’t on it anymore. And yes it’s cheaper but marginally, it much more of a “fair fight” particularly given that the only reason you wouldn’t be paying customs duty on it is because VMP aren’t declaring as they should be. The U.K. based stores are having to charge you VAT.

Im not cheering for SN either. Man are they pissing me off right now, but still I think the VMP thing isn’t 100% fair either.

Curation is personal, At the rate I’m selling off my old classics I can safely say that I don’t agree, I’ll likely only have 5 or 6 left soon and I only really feel like Otis is a miss in my collection out of the ones I don’t have. I actually hugely blame myself for falling for the hubris around that track when I was a member, for me it’s been one of the times in my life where I feel that I’ve really fallen for “An Emperors New Clothes” situation.
 
Joe Mac said:
The first paragraph was addressing the prices. The second the curation.

A fair comparison of prices should focus on what people are likely to pay, not on saying that your special deal is mega. It clearly is but it’s not open to us all, in fact it’s open to no one that isn’t on it anymore. And yes it’s cheaper but marginally, it much more of a “fair fight” particularly given that the only reason you wouldn’t be paying customs duty on it is because VMP aren’t declaring as they should be. The U.K. based stores are having to charge you VAT.

Im not cheering for SN either. Man are they pissing me off right now, but still I think the VMP thing isn’t 100% fair either.

Curation is personal, At the rate I’m selling off my old classics I can safely say that I don’t agree, I’ll likely only have 5 or 6 left soon and I only really feel like Otis is a miss in my collection out of the ones I don’t have. I actually hugely blame myself for falling for the hubris around that track when I was a member, for me it’s been one of the times in my life where I feel that I’ve really fallen for “An Emperors New Clothes” situation.
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I wasn't aware of the VAT situation and that's certainly a strange one, but even still my initial point still stands as the AP is available to anyone right now with the international shipping for less than the UK based places I listed. I picked up the Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come from VMP and I remember it being way less than anywhere I could find it here (even if I had paid the international postage) and I spent quite a long time looking, even emailing my local to see if they could get hold of it.

I have never bought from Scott Nagle but have been tempted in the past, whats going on with them at the moment?

Yeah, I fell into that with the R&HH initially. A lot of the Classics releases have been 'unknowns' for me, or at least albums I am not familiar with, and I enjoy that aspect of them as I seem to enjoy each one. The ones I am familiar with have been even better as they are generally fantastic pressings. R&HH was a similar situation but I found myself only enjoying a handful of them so I gave up on them as a regular pick-up and just cherry-pick as and when.
 
Selaws said:
I wasn't aware of the VAT situation and that's certainly a strange one, but even still my initial point still stands as the AP is available to anyone right now with the international shipping for less than the UK based places I listed. I picked up the Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come from VMP and I remember it being way less than anywhere I could find it here (even if I had paid the international postage) and I spent quite a long time looking, even emailing my local to see if they could get hold of it.

I have never bought from Scott Nagle but have been tempted in the past, whats going on with them at the moment?

Yeah, I fell into that with the R&HH initially. A lot of the Classics releases have been 'unknowns' for me, or at least albums I am not familiar with, and I enjoy that aspect of them as I seem to enjoy each one. The ones I am familiar with have been even better as they are generally fantastic pressings. R&HH was a similar situation but I found myself only enjoying a handful of them so I gave up on them as a regular pick-up and just cherry-pick as and when.
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He is basically a bit of an odd fellow and he sells and charges for things that are out of stock and on back order awaiting repress. If your whole order is in stock you’re laughing, he dispatches it quickly and it’s well packaged. I’ve bought several mofis and grado cartridges that he’s had in stock and it had been almost the perfect experience.

If all, or even worse part, is pre or back order it’s a nightmare. You have to check his stock yourself to see it come back in, remind him and then enter the twilight zone of really random, and at times incomprehensible emails.

One item I wanted wasn’t available on vinyl anymore as it had been deleted, but he had the SACD. I took 3 weeks of barely understandable emails with links articles about the universal fire and various artists selling off their publishing before he agreed that I didn’t want the SACD instead, refunded me for that vinyl and sent the rest of the order.

Currently I’m trying to get the Oh Mercy and Pet Sounds out. In October I originally ordered that mofi and 33 mono, both were showing as in stock but were actually out. The Oh Mercy came back in and mofi have announced that they’re pressing no more so I emailed him saying cancel pet sounds it’s coming back at some point and send me oh mercy. He had the 45 mono pet sounds so I agreed to pay the extra to get it out. 3 weeks and several badly typed and barely comprehensible emails later and still nothing...
 
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Andy said:
Not just me who's been waiting a while then
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Tomorrow is 3 weeks since I paid him the £20 extra to get the 45 that he said was in stock just to just get the two out. I emailed him 10 days ago and all I got in response last Tuesday was “soon you’ll get an email and text when it’s dispatched” but riddled with typos.
 
Joe Mac said:
Tomorrow is 3 weeks since I paid him the £20 extra to get the 45 that he said was in stock just to just get the two out. I emailed him 10 days ago and all I got in response last Tuesday was “soon you’ll get an email and text when it’s dispatched” but riddled with typos.
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I had an email 2 weeks ago, it's being shipped now. I'll chase again today
 
Joe Mac said:
He is basically a bit of an odd fellow and he sells and charges for things that are out of stock and on back order awaiting repress. If your whole order is in stock you’re laughing, he dispatches it quickly and it’s well packaged. I’ve bought several mofis and grado cartridges that he’s had in stock and it had been almost the perfect experience.

If all, or even worse part, is pre or back order it’s a nightmare. You have to check his stock yourself to see it come back in, remind him and then enter the twilight zone of really random, and at times incomprehensible emails.

One item I wanted wasn’t available on vinyl anymore as it had been deleted, but he had the SACD. I took 3 weeks of barely understandable emails with links articles about the universal fire and various artists selling off their publishing before he agreed that I didn’t want the SACD instead, refunded me for that vinyl and sent the rest of the order.

Currently I’m trying to get the Oh Mercy and Pet Sounds out. In October I originally ordered that mofi and 33 mono, both were showing as in stock but were actually out. The Oh Mercy came back in and mofi have announced that they’re pressing no more so I emailed him saying cancel pet sounds it’s coming back at some point and send me oh mercy. He had the 45 mono pet sounds so I agreed to pay the extra to get it out. 3 weeks and several badly typed and barely comprehensible emails later and still nothing...
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Bloody hell, what a nightmare!

Hopefully they will get to you soon!
 
Joe Mac said:
Ah come on the bridge offer is a limited time thing, it’s gone soon unless you paid for a year and that’s not a risk I’d be willing to pay for their bang average curation. I mean look at the first 3 months of this year, all 9 are underwhelming in their own individual way. Except Prine actually, that one I get.

Plus you’re soon going to be looking the actual list price of $52/$49.67/$41.60 per month. The first two of those are cloud cuckoo land. The third would be fine if they were hitting it out of the park every month with no pressing errors, hand on heart can anyone say that?
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when underwhelmed by the ROTM(s) I convert to store credit and have picked up some of the Analogue Productions.
 
Arknine said:
when underwhelmed by the ROTM(s) I convert to store credit and have picked up some of the Analogue Productions.
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Definitely the move for international subscribers and I'd do that if I were a subscriber and international customer too. It doesn't really make a ton of sense for US members because you could just buy the APs cheaper from Acoustic Sounds.
 
Arknine said:
when underwhelmed by the ROTM(s) I convert to store credit and have picked up some of the Analogue Productions.
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Yeah that’s true but it’s a limited selection so I think they’re running low on APs left that I don’t have and want. Plus I’m just too burnt with VMP at this stage and they’re just too expensive. I struggle to have the energy to want to support a company that at best I don’t recognise from 2017ish when I was first a member and at worst actively don’t like.
 
Selaws said:
Bloody hell, what a nightmare!

Hopefully they will get to you soon!
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I hope so! Thankfully mofi and APs underwhelming A&R means that as beautiful as they sound I’m not likely to need to go back to him for a while. Those damn perfect Grado cartridges though, they probably are worth the hassle lol
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah that’s true but it’s a limited selection so I think they’re running low on APs left that I don’t have and want. Plus I’m just too burnt with VMP at this stage and they’re just too expensive. I struggle to have the energy to want to support a company that at best I don’t recognise from 2017ish when I was first a member and at worst actively don’t like.
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I was going through my discogs and looking through stuff to get rid of and it's pretty crazy how many VMP albums I bought in the span of a few years when I thought they were good. The cheap swap prices made a huge difference for me with taking chances on albums. I still think they pressed a lot of good stuff that sounded great and don't regret too many purchases but I'm also completely fine with not being a member anymore from a price and curation standpoint. I'll sell off the ones I no longer listen to. Luckily I was never a completionist on any of the tracks but at least half of my top 10 valued records are VMP funny enough. I might end up selling a few of those bigger ticket items. Already sold a few for $100+ in the past year.
 
MikeH said:
I was going through my discogs and looking through stuff to get rid of and it's pretty crazy how many VMP albums I bought in the span of a few years when I thought they were good. The cheap swap prices made a huge difference for me with taking chances on albums. I still think they pressed a lot of good stuff that sounded great and don't regret too many purchases but I'm also completely fine with not being a member anymore from a price and curation standpoint. I'll sell off the ones I no longer listen to. Luckily I was never a completionist on any of the tracks but at least half of my top 10 valued records are VMP funny enough. I might end up selling a few of those bigger ticket items. Already sold a few for $100+ in the past year.
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Yeah it is mad how they hold their value, particularly the early classics that were often just bog standards from the label, not the better sources they’ve unearthed later. I’ve sold quite a few for €50-80 range on the cogs.

I think 3 feet high and rising is the only one of theirs in my top 25 but lower half of my top 100 is all them pretty much. I don’t regret being a member but I do regret going too hard in on the classics, not a fan outside the blues and the better soul releases.
 
dansomeone said:
Did anyone have any luck with the purported restock of Layla? I've seen no movement on my 4-mo-old preorder at MD, nor did I see an actual listing at Toad Hall.
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I didn't see any yet but haven't seen any restocks at all this past week or so yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's still coming. They didn't do their MoFi minute this week so I'm guessing some things got pushed back a little. Toad Hall seems to be accepting "preorders" for it if you call the store. My guess is that trucks were delayed this week with all the snow storms in the northeast.
 
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