heavysoulbrutha
Member
Yeah, I was reading up on the BN80's just before my big purchase and it said they're just the standard jackets. Makes sense as they retail for about $10 less than the TP's.
The Blue Note Thread
- Thread starter stpaulbrowns
- Start date
Yeah, I was reading up on the BN80's just before my big purchase and it said they're just the standard jackets. Makes sense as they retail for about $10 less than the TP's.
Dylanfan253
Active Member
I only have the one each but the tone poet Lou Donaldson May be the most well pressed records I own. I buy a lot of used and new and I would say 90 percent of new records I have to flatten but this is flat now surface noise almost at all. I think the tone poets even at full retail are worth it if they are all similar in quality. The BN80 seem to be well worth it especially when compared to the 75 series which I have five or six. I pick up the 75’s when they pop up for less then 15 usd because most of these are severely warped and even when cleaned and flattened still have a lot of surface noise.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
The Tone Poets are really great value. BN80s are as well but Tone Poets are nicer and pressed at a better plant.
Doctor_of_Jazz
Active Member
Those jackets can be very thin, and really make the product feel less substantial, but the records are thick 180g. I suppose that's what matters, but I personally would rather pay a bit more and get a solid gatefold (ala Tone Poet).
Got my first MMJ release in the mail. I won’t pretend to be an audiophile. But wow, I’m impressed. I forgot how good Andrew Hill Judgement is. What a monster of a record. And Elvin Jones is unreal.
Question for those that have MMJ releases: do you switch the inner sleeves to mofi sleeves? The inner sleeves don’t seem bad but I was going to switch.
Question for those that have MMJ releases: do you switch the inner sleeves to mofi sleeves? The inner sleeves don’t seem bad but I was going to switch.
Dark Star Boogie
Well-Known Member
I’ve switched mine.
Doctor_of_Jazz
Active Member
Congrats! I do if i have one, but if not (which is usually the case), I add an ultra thin anti static sleeve, and put that in the waxy one they send. THIS is the brand I have bought, but the price fluctuates tremendously. Usually I get them for about $17. I can see I've bought these 26 times. YOWSA!
Dylanfan253
Active Member
I agree the tip on glossy jacket is nice and for 25 bucks or less they are great but the 80 series could at least have glossy jackets with the same cardboard like the Pink Floyd and Beatles re issues
Speedracer
Well-Known Member
Those jackets can be very thin, and really make the product feel less substantial, but the records are thick 180g. I suppose that's what matters, but I personally would rather pay a bit more and get a solid gatefold (ala Tone Poet).
TBH I have been more impressed with the BN80s than with the TPs. Now that isn't to say that the TPs aren't very, very good, because they are. But they are about what you would expect from them. The BN80s blow me away every time. In my experience sound quality is pretty much on par with MMJ and TP. I put on Art Blakey - Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World (Volume 1) the other day and was shocked how good it sounded, especially for a live recording.
And tbh I don't really have a problem with the covers. They do their job. Of course, the Tone Poet covers are pretty much the best in the game, so that comparison isn't really fair. Those inner cover photos are always stunning.
I agree. I don't know any other serie offering such a great sound experience for, sometimes, 15€. It's only 5€ more than some shitty DOL or Waxtime releases and you have a AAA records remastered by Kevin Gray.
BazookaTooth
Well-Known Member
With the 30% discount BN was offering early December or if you wait for a 3 for 2 deal. I just came back from Portugal with 5 BN80 records for 16,49€ each.
keylime_5
Well-Known Member
The BN80 covers aren't great, you can see that's where they were able to bring the price down while delivering top of the line mastering and really good pressing quality on thiccc 180g vinyl. But the sound quality makes up for the cheap jackets and then some. You do have to replace the paper sleeves with plastic ones too, I invested in a pack of plastic inner sleeves when I knew I was gonna end up buying most of the BN80s.
If you compare the SQ of the BN80s with the Tone Poets and MMJ releases it's pretty equal really, you're mostly paying for the better pressing plant, the super nice tip-on jacket, and in some cases the bigger name titles (in the case of MMJ). Amazing time to get into Blue Note collecting. All these great BN80 and TP releases this year, plus the TP 2020 releases are announce, and MMJ SRX 2020 titles apparently are going to be announced soon.
If you compare the SQ of the BN80s with the Tone Poets and MMJ releases it's pretty equal really, you're mostly paying for the better pressing plant, the super nice tip-on jacket, and in some cases the bigger name titles (in the case of MMJ). Amazing time to get into Blue Note collecting. All these great BN80 and TP releases this year, plus the TP 2020 releases are announce, and MMJ SRX 2020 titles apparently are going to be announced soon.
mitchwagz
Well-Known Member
I kind of have a feeling that MMJ SRX reissues are going to end up being mostly popular titles that everyone wants (Blue Train, Maiden Voyage, The Sidewinder, etc) but won’t be reissued any time soon as part of the Tone Poets or BN80. And MMJ will sell them for $60-80 a pop because they can unfortunately.
agutierrezb
Well-Known Member
Man, this live Lee Konitz that was just reissued via BN80 is fantstic. I have streamed it a couple of times in order to decide if I should pick it or not, and I gotta said I am pleasantly surprised. Charlie Haden is one of the best sidemen ever, always adapting his playing to whoever he's playing with, and man... Brad Mehldau is just amazing. I love the way he can seamlessly transition from traditional comping when Lee is soloing to his angular and pretty modern way of soloing.
I will definitely be gradding this record, and if you haven't listened to it yet, you should. Don't let the lack of drums keep you from delighting yourself from this record like I initially did; the artistry these 3 guys bring to the date is more than that of plenty of quintets.
I will definitely be gradding this record, and if you haven't listened to it yet, you should. Don't let the lack of drums keep you from delighting yourself from this record like I initially did; the artistry these 3 guys bring to the date is more than that of plenty of quintets.
Doctor_of_Jazz
Active Member
That is one of the BN80s I skipped, but haven't streamed it, so don't know what I'm missing apparently! I'll give it a sample - thanks for the tip!
It always makes me laugh to think that Charlie Haden is Jack Black's father-in-law. What were those holiday parties like? AWESOME I BET!
Dtknuckles
Well-Known Member
Doctor_of_Jazz
Active Member
Dtknuckles
Well-Known Member
A triplet none the less!
I agree with this. I compared a BN80 Indestructible with the MMJ version and they're identical. I threw in an OG copy as well and that sounded very different, so I doubt my hearing was off at all. Honestly the BN80 are a really amazing deal, I don't mind the cheap sleeve at all since the record itself is just very well done. And I haven't had any issues with warps or noise or defects, so Optimal did a good job.