Audiophile Reissues Or Original Pressings

[FreddieFerric]

I have to admit, that I'm not too much of a fan of these "audiophile" 180 gram reissuses that are available all over the place. These are the "new" titles that I've purchased within the last few months:

Eric Clapton, Slowhand
Alice Cooper, School's Out
Boz Scaggs, Self Titled
Doobie Brothers, The Captain and Me
Derek And The Dominoes, Layla
Madonna, Immaculate Collection

Granted, this is not (thankfully) a very long list, but I have to say I am not very impressed with any of these. Invariably, IMHO, they seem to lack dynamics and spaciousness. Overall, they seem to leave me unispired and uninterested in playing out the entire record.

I wonder if anyone else shares these thoughts. For me I guess, I'll take the cheapo thin originals any day.

[richteer]

Interesting. With only one or two exceptions, I've preferred the reissued version of a record. Alas, I don't actually have any of those that you mention for a direct comparison.

[analogapartment]

When I see the 180gm reissue, I'm less inclined to purchase it because I say to myself "Oh, I can find that anywhere".

The one case where I do cave and pick them up is on imports or artists that I absolutely love.

Great question btw

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by analogapartment

When I see the 180gm reissue, I'm less inclined to purchase it because I say to myself "Oh, I can find that anywhere".

The one case where I do cave and pick them up is on imports or artists that I absolutely love.

Great question btw

Welcome to the site. FWIW, I saw that question posed on your own site and it prompted me to bring the subject up over here. This question about these 180 gram reissues has been on my mind ever since I picked up Slowhand about 3 months ago and absolutely hated it.

Is this new craze giving the vinyl hobby a bad name?

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by BluRayFred

Welcome to the site. FWIW, I saw that question posed on your own site and it prompted me to bring the subject up over here. This question about these 180 gram reissues has been on my mind ever since I picked up Slowhand about 3 months ago and absolutely hated it.

Is this new craze giving the vinyl hobby a bad name?

Hi Fred,

I know that Tom Port of Better Records normally prefers better original pressings to the 180 gm and half speed masters. He is of the opinion that generally the original label and engineer got things right and that the new engineer did not.

Rich

[dobyblue]

It's definitely something you should consider on a record by record basis and use sites like the Steve Hoffman forums, Audio Karma, etc., to help you with your decisions.

For example, the 320 stamper pressings of Nirvana's Nevermind which were released in Germany in 2003 and most recently Universal UK Back to Black 2008 absolutely blow away the original pressings, the MOFI pressings, the Japanese 200g pressing and the Simply Vinyl pressing. Having listened to the MOFI which a friend has, the Gold CD and the original CD and recently acquiring an EU back to black pressing I can concur that the 2008 pressing is as good as they say and it was mastered for vinyl in 2003 by Willem Makee.

The US Back to Black pressing of Axis also receives a lot of rave reviews being that it states it's an all analog (mastering, pressing, etc.) production whereas most of the original Universal US B2B pressings were pressed from CD-quality digital sources, or so it's assumed given how many they launched at the start.

The 180g Go Disc 2008 release of Portishead's "Dummy" is a repressing of the 320 Willem Makee stamper as well, it is supposed to be much better than some of the older pressings.

Plenty of original pressings will stomp the newer pressings, but it's still worth taking the time to find out as it's not a blanket statement and occassionally you'll find a newer pressing that's actually had the proper care taken.

Bob Marley, I think you'll consistently want to look for original pressings - I've not read anything great about any Marley repressings where the person giving the opinion also has original Island pressings.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It's definitely something you should consider on a record by record basis and use sites like the Steve Hoffman forums, Audio Karma, etc., to help you with your decisions.

Absolutely, couldn't agree more.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

I know that Tom Port of Better Records normally prefers better original pressings to the 180 gm and half speed masters. He is of the opinion that generally the original label and engineer got things right and that the new engineer did not.

That's fair enough, but let's not forget that Tom Port is in the business of selling those über expensive "hot stampers". I don't doubt that some of his wares are better than some of the more iffy reissues, but he's not exactly a disinterested party!

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by richteer

That's fair enough, but let's not forget that Tom Port is in the business of selling those über expensive "hot stampers". I don't doubt that some of his wares are better than some of the more iffy reissues, but he's not exactly a disinterested party!

Hi Rich,

No question that Tom is in the business and does sell the really expensive "Hot Stampers". But, Tom is of the opinion that even the average original pressing generally sounds as good or better than many of the reissues. Tom does also sell a lot of vinyl that is not in the Hot Stamper category that are at least reasonably priced and less expensive than a reissued vinyl disc. But, to Tom's credit for those LPs that he has listened to (even those that are not Hot Stampers) he will frequently include his grading of the audio performance of that particular disc.

Rich

[Drew664]

I only own 2 records, and one of them is a 180g reissue/compilation (Eva Cassidy - Songbird). There isn't an original LP to compare them to (which is what this thread is about, sorry!), but it looks like Steve Hoffman remastered her tracks, and this is one of those 'better than the original' albums.

Thought maybe I'd add a little love for the 180g reissues.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Drew664

I only own 2 records, and one of them is a 180g reissue/compilation (Eva Cassidy - Songbird). There isn't an original LP to compare them to (which is what this thread is about, sorry!), but it looks like Steve Hoffman remastered her tracks, and this is one of those 'better than the original' albums.

Thought maybe I'd add a little love for the 180g reissues.

You Drew have good taste my friend!

John

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Hi Fred,

I know that Tom Port of Better Records normally prefers better original pressings to the 180 gm and half speed masters. He is of the opinion that generally the original label and engineer got things right and that the new engineer did not.

Rich

Hi Rich, Overall I have to agree with that assesment. While I admit that my experience with the reissues is very limited, I have just been left feeling really flat with what I hear. I would also observe that original master tapes tend not to age as well as fine wine.

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It's definitely something you should consider on a record by record basis and use sites like the Steve Hoffman forums, Audio Karma, etc., to help you with your decisions.

...Bob Marley, I think you'll consistently want to look for original pressings - I've not read anything great about any Marley repressings where the person giving the opinion also has original Island pressings.

Can't argue with that. Sound logic. As to Marley, I appreciate that input. I had my hands on a couple of his original releases a few weeks back but decided to pass on them due to the asking price.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Drew664

I only own 2 records, and one of them is a 180g reissue/compilation (Eva Cassidy - Songbird). There isn't an original LP to compare them to (which is what this thread is about, sorry!), but it looks like Steve Hoffman remastered her tracks, and this is one of those 'better than the original' albums.

Thought maybe I'd add a little love for the 180g reissues.

Hoffman rocks! I should pick this up, I absolutely love her version of Songbird.

[Drew664]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Hoffman rocks! I should pick this up, I absolutely love her version of Songbird.

Yes, she has something about her singing voice. The jazzy type music she does I don't like as much as songs like songbird, bridge over troubled water (not in album ), fields of gold, etc. Wade in the water seems to be about the only jazzy exception, as that song is just awesome.

Allison Krauss seems to be about the only one that has a voice like hers. If anyone knows about a good female vocal, throw me a bone. Like I said I've only got 2 records, and I'm kind of looking for a good library before I jump into a good vinyl set up.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Drew664

Yes, she has something about her singing voice. The jazzy type music she does I don't like as much as songs like songbird, bridge over troubled water (not in album ), fields of gold, etc. Wade in the water seems to be about the only jazzy exception, as that song is just awesome.

Allison Krauss seems to be about the only one that has a voice like hers. If anyone knows about a good female vocal, throw me a bone. Like I said I've only got 2 records, and I'm kind of looking for a good library before I jump into a good vinyl set up.

Nice to hear another person who enjoys the vocal stylings of female singers. I'm a huge fan of many and they cover just about every music genre. My absolute favourite female singer is Ricky Lee Jones. Her self-titled debut album is a must have for any audiophile IMHO.

John

[richteer]

Originally Posted by John72953

Nice to hear another person who enjoys the vocal stylings of female singers. I'm a huge fan of many and they cover just about every music genre. My absolute favourite female singer is Ricky Lee Jones. Her self-titled debut album is a must have for any audiophile IMHO.

John

Agreed. Many years ago (when that LP was first released), the intro to Easy Money was one of the standard bass testers. I guess I should try to get my hands on the recent ORG 45-RPM remaster of Pop Pop...