Issues with Poor Vinyl Pressings

Tanoj

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Hi Friends,

Although i Love vinyl, i find the quality of sound is largely dependent upon the quality of press, i have found few common issues with poorly pressed vinyl, sharing with you to check if there are any other issues apart from these, and is there any way we get to know the quality before purchase etc

1. Imaging issue with few vinyls ( the singer tend to be singing near the right speaker ) , initially i thought there is some issue in my setup chain or speaker positioning etc... later realized that its issue with the vinyls

2. Poor quality sound, no depth, sounds very shrilly

3. A poor quality vinyl gets wrapped soon and also the center part slightly bulges, i use record stablizer which helps to press this kind of vinyls

4. vinyl sounds too warm ... few vinyls sound so warm i almost feel like listening to cassette tape and feel sleepy

Regards

Tanoj
 
Hi Friends,

Although i Love vinyl, i find the quality of sound is largely dependent upon the quality of press, i have found few common issues with poorly pressed vinyl, sharing with you to check if there are any other issues apart from these, and is there any way we get to know the quality before purchase etc

1. Imaging issue with few vinyls ( the singer tend to be singing near the right speaker ) , initially i thought there is some issue in my setup chain or speaker positioning etc... later realized that its issue with the vinyls

2. Poor quality sound, no depth, sounds very shrilly

3. A poor quality vinyl gets wrapped soon and also the center part slightly bulges, i use record stablizer which helps to press this kind of vinyls

4. vinyl sounds too warm ... few vinyls sound so warm i almost feel like listening to cassette tape and feel sleepy

Regards

Tanoj

I have noticed that first/early pressings(used) had much better quality control and and superior mastering than recent pressings. I am very skeptical when buying newly released vinyl. Have noticed more defects like warp, scratches, bumps/dimples in recent releases. Also most newly released vinyl is from digital sources, so defeats the purpose. From what I have heard/read is US vinyl tends to have more defects than UK/German presses...Japanese vinyl is supposed to have the best quality control and sound quality followed by UK, German and Holland pressings.

I recently bought a Motley Crue record (UK first pressing from 1987) still sealed in shrink wrap.The common thought is Vinyl in shrinkwrap for more that 8-10 years tends to shrink further and warp the record...hence I got it at an extremely low price. The upside was the record was absolutely new and plays perfectly without any warp:yahoo:
 
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Yes, I also feel the same thing what Tanoj experienced about the things. Thank you Tanoj.
 
With records, you can never predict. Some brand new records may sound awful while some second hand records may sound superb. Lots of factors are involved especially with pre used records. If records were earlier played on bad TT without proper alignment,, VTF etc, it will clearly show up on a good TT and good set up. Especially inner grove distortion.
 
From what I have heard/read is US vinyl tends to have more defects than UK/German presses...Japanese vinyl is supposed to have the best quality control and sound quality followed by UK, German and Holland pressings.

I have different opinion. I am not happy with most UK pressings what I have. US pressings are better. Holland, German pressings are really charm. Even I have few EMI Hong Kong pressings and those are really excel in sound.
 
Japanese vinyl is quite. Matering is tweaked and is not the same as the original. I don't like the mastering options used by the Japanese. So it will boil down to personal preferences. I have always found I prefer the first pressings of a singer from the country he or she is in. For example, UK for Beatles, UK for Floyd, US for Billy Joel
 
Japanese vinyl is quite. Matering is tweaked and is not the same as the original. I don't like the mastering options used by the Japanese. So it will boil down to personal preferences. I have always found I prefer the first pressings of a singer from the country he or she is in. For example, UK for Beatles, UK for Floyd, US for Billy Joel

I do not have any Japanese pressings so cannot comment from experience. These seem to be selling at ridiculously high prices. Is it because of the superior mastering and vinyl quality or they are pressed in limited quantities(more demand than supply)?
 
Not because of mastering. Because of vinyl quality and they play quiet which is a huge bonus
 
If you want to hear an album the way the band wanted it you will have to buy the first press from the country the singer is from. This is not to say Japanese mastering is not good. It's just different.
 
I have different opinion. I am not happy with most UK pressings what I have. US pressings are better. Holland, German pressings are really charm. Even I have few EMI Hong Kong pressings and those are really excel in sound.

This is the opposite of my experience. I have lots of MINT graded UK vinyl and they sound warm and airy compared to the slightly brighter US counterparts - I have compared 3-4 of my Jethro Tull records with a friend's US versions. He likes his better so I guess its a matter of personal preference. I have a few Holland/German pressings and find them on par with UK.

Also have read lots of complaints on the Steve Hoffman forum about recent US vinyl being plagued with quality issues.
 
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Tull is a UK band. UK first press will sound best. In those days Holland and Germany usually used UK masterings. Hence they would sound similar. US and Japan would do their own mastering and cutting of the lacquer. US In many cases might add a little reverb to enhance space which could lead to a little brightness
 
My own experience: UK pressings tend to be far and away the best pressings out there, most especially for their own native artists (as pointed out by Prem), but also for issues of artists from other lands. German and Japanese LPs are also excellent pressings, nice thick and quiet vinyl, with excellent packaging. The Japanese, however, seem to tweak the RIAA curve in their re-masterings to produce a somewhat bright sound which is more favourable to the sensibilities of Japanese ears. US pressings tend to vary depending on time (50s & 60s albums are generally good, while 70s pressings are spotty), and record label (Blue Note excellent, RCA variable).

Speaking of Japanese sounds, there is a theory floated by Jacques Mahul (founder of Focal) that speakers (and perhaps music too) produced by different countries are often the very opposite of the sound patterns of their native languages. For example, Britons speak English with a high level of inflection, but their speakers are very balanced. German sounds more bass oriented, so German speakers tend to be bright, Americans speak English without much cadence, so their speakers tend to be more dynamic...and so on. Interesting! India has too many languages for any pattern, I guess, to emerge for our local speakers. :)
 
US In many cases might add a little reverb to enhance space which could lead to a little brightness

The most famous case of this was the re-masterings in the US of the Beatles' early albums to make them sound 'more radio-friendly' in their Capitol releases. Which is why most fans prefer the original Parlophone UK issues. The recent 14-LP Beatles Mono box set is based exclusively on the UK masters, and their sound has been a revelation to US listeners who'd only been previously exposed to the Capitol pressings.
 
I agree with G401fan. Especially with the old UK Decca pressings. Lovely stuff. However this debate is as good as other debates like Analogue vs Digital, Idler vs Belt vs Direct Drive, etc. One can go on and on with it :)

I believe its all very personal. Some like pure vinyl sound without background noise. Some love ticks and pops but I am sure, none love distortion, poor mixing, poor mastering, irregular track levels, etc.

From the records that I have, my Decca pressings from the UK are some of my favourite ones. I have always had problems with the positioning of the centre hole. Being a person very sensitive to speed and pitch, I find a lot of the Indian pressings to have off-centre holes which causes WoW during playback. I find this very irritating. I have found the $1 record pressings from US to be absolute junk (obviously).
 
. I have always had problems with the positioning of the centre hole. Being a person very sensitive to speed and pitch, I find a lot of the Indian pressings to have off-centre holes which causes WoW during playback.

Indian KAPCO pressings are very bad in this. 50% of their pressings are off-center holes.
 
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