Definitive Audiophile pressings

Found sealed copies this month (local/eBay), looking forward to comparing them both. I'm hoping I'm happy with the half speed since the Classic has a constant click on the title track, dammit.



I got a sealed copy of the Classic last month and it's awesome but I also have a click, but it's through the opening of El Condor Pasa so like, I'm good, if it's gunna be on any song, that's the one and that's the part of the track I'd aim for.
 
Just getting around to listening to the 2xlp version of Lady In Satin. Sounds great when you play it at 45rpm. Sounds like I have taken laudanum when I play it at 33rpm.
Hey just curious. What copies of Hunky Dory do you have? Do you have the EMI 100 from 97?
 
Hey just curious. What copies of Hunky Dory do you have? Do you have the EMI 100 from 97?
Crazy but I only have the Parlaphone box set version left. I have sold off most of my duplicates to pay for the later boxes. I had a UK OG and the Japanese reissue from the early 80s. Both sounded great. I have not the EMI 100 pressing but have read great things about it.
 
Crazy but I only have the Parlaphone box set version left. I have sold off most of my duplicates to pay for the later boxes. I had a UK OG and the Japanese reissue from the early 80s. Both sounded great. I have not the EMI 100 pressing but have read great things about it.

If only that box set was reissued.... the only one I'm missing and it's so insanely expensive.

I'm pretty sure the copy of Hunky Dory I have is the same as the box set though - the 2016 Parlophone. Is that right? It sounds pretty good to me and it's inexpensive.
 
If only that box set was reissued.... the only one I'm missing and it's so insanely expensive.

I'm pretty sure the copy of Hunky Dory I have is the same as the box set though - the 2016 Parlophone. Is that right? It sounds pretty good to me and it's inexpensive.
Yeah I've got that one too but I'm down the rabbit hole. I've got the 1980 UK Bilbo and it's incredible but my copy is VG+ and I'm just looking around at comparables.
 
If only that box set was reissued.... the only one I'm missing and it's so insanely expensive.

I'm pretty sure the copy of Hunky Dory I have is the same as the box set though - the 2016 Parlophone. Is that right? It sounds pretty good to me and it's inexpensive.
I’m so curious as to why they won’t repress that box set, it’s like the Beatles Mono, I know so many people who would buy it even if it was listed $100-150 over its original price.
 
I’m so curious as to why they won’t repress that box set, it’s like the Beatles Mono, I know so many people who would buy it even if it was listed $100-150 over its original price.

I know right? I wonder why that is? I get the impression that Who Can I Be Now? and New Career In A New Town have been continually pressed since their release. Unless they just made an incredible amount from the get-go - because they remain easy to find, even if their price has crept up (I got both under CAN$200 at the time).
 
Today I received my copy of Eva Cassidy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra - I Can Only be Me (Blix Street Records). I pre-ordered this back in November during Target's last B2G1 sale. My understanding is that the London Philharmonic Orchestra created arrangements to accompany Eva's recorded vocals from previous releases. It's a 2LP set cut at 45 RPM and the sound is otherworldly. I have three other of her multi-LP releases from Blix Street, two of them also cut at 45 RPM, all of which are very good, but the vocals on this newest pressing sound the best by far. Full, deep and rich, without the slightest hint of sibilance, which the other records seem to flirt with on occasion. I'm not fully bought in to the orchestral arrangements, which seem a bit much, or maybe a bit out of place at times, but it almost doesn't matter what's accompanying that voice. If I ever want to demonstrate how good the human voice can sound on my system, this record will be at the ready.

 
I know right? I wonder why that is? I get the impression that Who Can I Be Now? and New Career In A New Town have been continually pressed since their release. Unless they just made an incredible amount from the get-go - because they remain easy to find, even if their price has crept up (I got both under CAN$200 at the time).

stores got very little or the first one and it sold out really quickly. It came out in September and I got the last one at my local with Christmas money on New Year’s Eve. 2015 was really early in the boom and I think they underestimated demand. The next two years they pressed loads more and that, combined with them not containing the big glam hits, makes me think they didn’t sell out, rather than they stayed in press.
 
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stores got very little or the first one and it sold out really quickly. It came out in September and I got the last one at my local with Christmas money on New Year’s Eve. 2015 was really early in the boom and I think they underestimated demand. The next two years they pressed loads more and that, combined with them not containing the big glam hits, makes me think they didn’t sell out, rather than they stayed in press.

I picked up my copy from Amazon Italy upon receiving a deal alert from Super Deluxe Edition in January 2016.

The cost including shipping was 167 euro. It was a great deal, but that also put me on the completist path for these Bowie box sets. ;)
 
Yeah I've got that one too but I'm down the rabbit hole. I've got the 1980 UK Bilbo and it's incredible but my copy is VG+ and I'm just looking around at comparables.

Glad to hear you like the Bilbo pressing. Out of interest which other pressings do you have? And how do they compare? I’ve a bit of an ongoing rabbit hole with this but never got the EMI 100.
 
Glad to hear you like the Bilbo pressing. Out of interest which other pressings do you have? And how do they compare? I’ve a bit of an ongoing rabbit hole with this but never got the EMI 100.
I just had the break out box set pressing from 2017. The Bilbo absolutely runs circles around it however it's got too much noise for me to stick with this one. If I find a NM Bilbo I will absolutely grab it but Fremer and others have pointed towards this 82 JP as being close to or on par with the Bilbo so I figured I'd give it a shot. I want that EMI 100 as well but at $500 CAD I just can't. But the jump in quality from the 2017 to the Bilbo is big enough that I'd be perfectly happy to stick with these vs spending $500 for something that can't possibly be THAT much beyond what I've got. I've seen many people say that the EMI is too clean and CD like for their liking so it's certainly not universal that it's the "best" copy.

That being said I still really want to hear it, my EMI Millennium Aladdin Sane is fantastic.
 
I just had the break out box set pressing from 2017. The Bilbo absolutely runs circles around it however it's got too much noise for me to stick with this one. If I find a NM Bilbo I will absolutely grab it but Fremer and others have pointed towards this 82 JP as being close to or on par with the Bilbo so I figured I'd give it a shot. I want that EMI 100 as well but at $500 CAD I just can't. But the jump in quality from the 2017 to the Bilbo is big enough that I'd be perfectly happy to stick with these vs spending $500 for something that can't possibly be THAT much beyond what I've got. I've seen many people say that the EMI is too clean and CD like for their liking so it's certainly not universal that it's the "best" copy.

That being said I still really want to hear it, my EMI Millennium Aladdin Sane is fantastic.

Yeah. I couldn’t justify the EMI price tag, I have a 73 Japan pressing and think I might have a slightly beaten up 82, but would need to check when I’m back home. It does sound great but is beaten up a little, from memory has a little more low end than the Bilbo, but not quite as clear in the mid. But it’s a while since I listened to it. I also have an 82 Japanese Ziggy which is great.

I’ve had a few disappointing Discogs experiences with Ziggy, lots of noise and scratches on supposedly VG+ titles.

Edit - I think I was really lucky with my Bilbo Hunky Dory, there’s no surface noise at all, cleaner than half the new titles I buy. So there are good copies out there.
 
Yeah. I couldn’t justify the EMI price tag, I have a 73 Japan pressing and think I might have a slightly beaten up 82, but would need to check when I’m back home. It does sound great but is beaten up a little, from memory has a little more low end than the Bilbo, but not quite as clear in the mid. But it’s a while since I listened to it. I also have an 82 Japanese Ziggy which is great.

I’ve had a few disappointing Discogs experiences with Ziggy, lots of noise and scratches on supposedly VG+ titles.

Edit - I think I was really lucky with my Bilbo Hunky Dory, there’s no surface noise at all, cleaner than half the new titles I buy. So there are good copies out there.
I have the Mofi Ziggy and I got it sealed and I think it's stunning. I know some people think it changes the original mix too much but man I think it's a showpiece.

I'm going to keep looking for a clean Bilbo but in the meantime I'll have a shootout with it and the JP 82. If I like the 82 the same then I'll stick with it. My rig is pretty transparent in the highs and it's got good low due to the L100s so I tend to not worry to much about stuff thats deemed to be a little bass shy. But I definitely prefer clear mids and highs. We shall see.
 
I have the Mofi Ziggy and I got it sealed and I think it's stunning. I know some people think it changes the original mix too much but man I think it's a showpiece.

I'm going to keep looking for a clean Bilbo but in the meantime I'll have a shootout with it and the JP 82. If I like the 82 the same then I'll stick with it. My rig is pretty transparent in the highs and it's got good low due to the L100s so I tend to not worry to much about stuff thats deemed to be a little bass shy. But I definitely prefer clear mids and highs. We shall see.

I’m sure the 82 will be all the Hunky Dory you need
 
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